Carson City picks up pace as first deadline nears
This week will see the official halfway point for the 2023 Legislature, as committees start to vote out more bills in anticipation of an April 14 deadline for measures to pass out of the committee where they were originally sent.
Officially the ninth week of the session, the calendar will begin to feature more “work sessions,” in which bills that were previously heard come up for final committee votes.
Here’s a look at a few of the issues that will come before lawmakers this week:
■ Aid in dying: On Tuesday, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee will hear Senate Bill 239, which would allow doctors to prescribe medicine that terminally ill patients can take to end their lives. A version of this legislation has come up repeatedly in past sessions, but has never been approved. This bill — up for a work-session vote — proved controversial when it was heard in committee, with hours of emotional testimony on both sides.
■ Abortion protections: Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro’s bill to codify an existing executive order on abortion — Senate Bill 131 — is also up for a committee vote on Monday in the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee. The bill would protect patients who live in states where abortion is illegal from prosecution if they come to Nevada to seek an abortion, and also protect doctors and other health care professionals who perform abortions. (This is separate from Senate Joint Resolution 7, which would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.)
■ Help for teachers: The Senate Finance Committee on Monday will hear a bill to re-establish a fund that would provide reimbursements for Nevada teachers who go into their own pockets to pay for school supplies for their classrooms. The fund was discontinued in 2021, but Senate Bill 339 would create it once again. It would provide $500 per teacher per year for supplies, and even allow teachers to apply for additional money if they use up the initial allotment.
■ Dog days of summer: They’re on the way, and a couple of bills would ensure that dogs are treated right, especially when temperatures start to rise. Assembly Bill 86, on the agenda of the Natural Resources Committee on Monday, would prohibit using a collar that has not been fitted, or a restraint with a weight attached. It also bans keeping dogs outside unless they have adequate shelter, water and shade. On Tuesday, the Senate’s Natural Resources Committee will conduct a work session on Senate Bill 269, which would prohibit restraining a dog outside during a heat warning issued by the National Weather Service.
■ No sirens!: Senate Bill 391, set to be heard on Wednesday in the Government Affairs Committee, would prohibit the sounding of so-called sundown sirens, which were formerly used to signal minorities to leave town as the sun set. The attorney general would be authorized under the bill to bring a civil action against any town that violated the rule.
■ On the ballot: The Senate’s Legislative Operations and Elections Committee will take up two matters that may eventually go to voters. The first one will be familiar — a constitutional amendment to remove the Nevada System of Higher Education from the state constitution. Senate Joint Resolution 7 (of the 2021 session) passed two years ago, and if it passes again this year, will go back on the ballot in 2024. (A similar effort was narrowly defeated by voters in 2020.) Also in the committee is Senate Bill 268, which would ask voters on the 2024 ballot if they think the Legislature should legalize fireworks sales and use in all Nevada counties. (The measure doesn’t specify whether we’re talking about “safe and sane” fireworks, or the really fun ones.)
Contact Steve Sebelius at SSebelius@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253. Follow @SteveSebelius on Twitter.