Some bills to miss deadline

CARSON CITY -- A construction defect bill sought by Nevada's powerful but struggling construction industry and a measure to loosen caps on medical malpractice awards have died in key legislative committees.

The measures were among dozens of proposals not expected to survive today's deadline for Assembly-approved bills to be advanced by Senate panels and Senate-endorsed measures to be advanced by Assembly committees.

Senate Bill 349, the construction defects measure, had been in the Assembly Judiciary Committee since its mid-May approval in the Senate.

Asked Thursday whether SB349 was dead, Assembly Judiciary Chairman Bernie Anderson, D-Sparks, said it was.

SB349 would have curtailed homeowner lawsuits against builders and subcontractors. It was targeted by critics who said it would unfairly limit home buyers' rights.

Assembly Bill 495, the measure easing malpractice award caps, had been in Senate Judiciary since its approval in the Assembly on April 20.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Terry Care, D-Las Vegas, confirmed Thursday that the bill was dead, but added there was no connection to the Assembly Judiciary's shelving of the construction defects plan.

AB495, which would have loosened the caps on malpractice awards, was a response to the hepatitis C outbreak in Southern Nevada that led to the largest patient notification in U.S. history. More than 50,000 patients at two now-closed outpatient clinics were notified last year that they might have been exposed to blood-borne diseases by shoddy injection practices.

Proponents argued that patients needed better access to justice when the unthinkable happens. But critics said AB495 could have required doctors to buy more costly insurance.

Other bills shelved as of Thursday include:

• Senate Joint Resolution 2, a plan to end Nevada's current system of electing judges and replace it with a variation of the so-called Missouri plan system of appointing jurists.

• Assembly Bill 293, to give lawmakers the power to block appointments by Nevada governors to high-ranking positions in several agencies.