Nevada Legislature convenes amid COVID pandemic

CARSON CITY — The Nevada Legislature convened for its 81st regular session Monday, kicking off its biennial 120-day lawmaking sprint slowly in a legislative building still shuttered to the public and observing strict masking and distancing requirements due to the COVID-19 threat.

Both the Assembly and Senate convened and worked through customary opening business of swearing in all 63 lawmakers and confirming leadership and staffing in both houses. But no committees were convened on the first day to begin the daily process of hearing the hundreds of bills that will come before legislators in the coming months.

“I think we’re going to have to work through some glitches to make sure everything is working,” said Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, D-Las Vegas. “What we want to do is take it slow to start so that we work through those things.”

Added Frierson: “Volumewise, we may not get through as many bills this session as a traditional session because we have to focus on the problems of today.”

Democrats control both houses but no longer hold the Assembly supermajority they enjoyed in 2019, suggesting that lawmakers will have to work more collaboratively across the aisle on bills. With Nevada confronting the continued economic fallout from the pandemic, legislative leaders predict far more modest action on any policies that carry a price tag and fewer pieces of legislation overall. Proposals on taxes, elections, and criminal justice reform are likely to take center stage.

If Democrats are to push for tax increases this session, they’ll need at least a few Republicans on board. But so far, those talks with Republicans haven’t happened, Assembly Minority Leader Robin Titus, R-Wellington, said while speaking to members of the press Monday.

“They may say that it takes people at the table, but they have not reached out to say ‘let’s have a meaningful discussion,’” Titus said.

Lawmakers also will be reviewing and amending Gov. Steve Sisolak’s proposed $8.7 billion biennial state budget, which cut the state’s general fund spending by $187 million over the current budget. In a statement released on the opening day of the session, Sisolak said his budget “reflects the emergency we are currently in.”

“There’s nothing traditional or customary about fighting through and emerging from a global pandemic, catastrophic personal and financial consequences, business shutdowns, and what continues to be unknown territory,” the governor said. “We are still in the midst of this pandemic and subsequent crises that have been created. There is no doubt this past year has looked different, and our path forward will look different too, including the 81st Legislative Session.”

And dealing with the fallout from a pandemic that as of Monday has killed nearly 4,300 Nevadans and sickened more than 279,000 will underlie major portions of the session.

“I want to be very clear that our top priority this session is to combat that virus, and to make sure that we are putting Nevada in the strongest position possible to emerge from this crisis in a much better position,” Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzarro, D-Las Vegas, said as the Senate worked toward early evening agenda.

Contact Capital Bureau reporter Bill Dentzer at bdentzer@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DentzerNews on Twitter. Contact Capital Bureau Chief Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.