UPDATE NOV. 16
The Assembly passes three bills, which are now heading over to the Nevada Senate.
AB5 is one of the bills that passed, specifically the Film Tax Credit. The bill passes 22-20 in the Nevada Assembly.
Another bill makes it through the Assembly, AB4, which is the Government crime bill that passed 31-11.
AB4 deals with various crimes, new ones, and adds penalties for certain offenses.
AB6 also passes unanimously through the Assembly. The bill relates to public safety around school zones and school crossing zones.
It is unclear when the Senate might vote on these three bills.
Major bills have passed out of the Assembly and will head over to the Senate.
UPDATE NOV. 15
On day three of the Nevada Legislative special session, a bill is being sent to the governor's desk to be signed after it passes both the Nevada Senate and Assembly.
A bill called SB3 relates to public assistance, providing temporary financial assistance to eligible people and households facing extraordinary circumstances, according to the government document.
The bill also defines an extraordinary circumstance as someone, or a household that is facing something that creates an unusual or significant need for state assistance to protect Nevada residents.
In the Assembly, 42 were yeas, and 0 were Nays. In the Senate, 21 were yeas, and 0 were nays.
The Nevada Assembly Democratic Assembly Democratic Caucus responded, saying the bill is designed to protect Nevada families from potential disruptions to federal SNAP funding.
Tracy Brown-May, Chair of the Select Committee of Health and Wellness, said, “Today, I am encouraged and hopeful. This measure creates the mechanism to make sure Nevada families have access to safety net programs and the most basic access to food.
The Chair of the Select Committee also said, "No Nevadan should go hungry. No child should experience a lack of food or the trauma and uncertainty that comes with not knowing when you will eat again. We should NEVER push people into deciding between what is more important - shelter, medicine, or food.”
NOV. 14
Rolling into day two of the 36th Nevada Legislative Special Session, things were much slower.
Assembly committee meetings were delayed by hours, but just after 6 p.m., the Assembly Select Committee on Jobs and Economy held the work session for the film tax credits bill. The meeting was originally scheduled for 11 a.m.
Things moved more slowly on day two of the Nevada Legislature's Special Session.
"The amendments that we continued to get throughout the day, which is why we were a little bit delayed getting here, because we're trying to get this right," said Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D,) District 9, during the meeting.
The legislation is trying to create the Summerlin Production Studios Project in Clark County. Once the capital investment requirement is met from the studios by December 31, 2028, they would be eligible for $95 million per fiscal year in transferable tax credits.
The work session document contains seven pages of amendments.
One of the more notable ones was setting aside money from the room tax to go towards select medical expenses for retired state employees who are insured through the Public Employees' Benefits Program.
The amendments also require the development agreement not to allow the development of a gaming establishment on the Summerlin Studios property.
Another notable change was simplifying the diversity hiring requirement for the project. This did not sit well with Assemblymember Selena Torres-Fossett (D), District 3.
"Diversification in Nevada workers is important to me and important to my family, and I will continue to fight for Nevada workers," she said during the work session. "My 'no' today is to not say those things are not important, but rather this investment does not seem like a good idea."
She, along with four other members of the committee, voted not to pass the motion, but ultimately the motion carried 9-5.
Speaker Yeager was critical of the bill almost not getting a hearing after Assemblymember Selena La Rue Hatch (D), District 25, tried to kill the bill in the assembly chamber on the first day.
"I'm certainly happy that the motion failed because I look out here at the folks that are in this room," Yeager said to the committee room, where there was not an empty seat.
"And I think about what a lack of transparency and what a slap to the face it would have been to Nevadans to not give these folks, whether you support the bill or not, to give these folks a chance to weigh in on this bill," he continued.
La Rue Hatch responded swiftly and released a statement regarding his comments.
"Speaker Yeager chose to make his comments center on the idea of transparency," she sent in a press email. "Let’s be clear: I have fought for transparency every step of this Special Session. It was Speaker Yeager who chose to restrict the public’s ability to participate by shutting off the phone lines, a move that I strongly opposed on the floor and in committee."
While there's still a lot that needs to be sorted out in the Assembly, the Senate floor is moving rather quickly.
Thursday night, the Senate passed four bills out of its chamber. One of those is a direct response to what we saw with the government shutdown and SNAP benefits.
"There has been a lot of conversation around 'well, couldn't you just declare a fiscal emergency and sweep money from the rainy-day funds,'" said Sen. Nicole Cannizzaro (D), Senate Majority Leader. "The problem with that is we can't sweep money from the rainy-day fund in a fiscal emergency; those funds just bolster current appropriations in the current general fund. They don't go to a program that would allow us to put that money towards people. To allow us to put food on the table for families, and that is one of the struggles that we have had in the last few weeks."
Senate Bill 3 is looking to create the Silver State General Assistance Program in the Nevada Division of Social Services.
It will allow the state to intervene if it deems an "extraordinary circumstance" is taking place to help people who use welfare services.
It passed unanimously.
The other notable bill is looking to address the health care workforce shortage.
"Senate Bill 5 sets up a grant program, $60 million, that will allow for this state to build out the health care infrastructure to bring in specialists," Cannizzaro said.
This legislation was much more contentious. It did pass 15-6, with all Senate Republicans voting no.
"If I support this bill, I am offering up to one million dollars in taxpayer funding for abortions, so I urge a no vote on Senate Bill 5," said Sen. Ira Hansen (R), District 14, during that meeting.
Shortly after, Senate Minority Leader Robin Titus said she likes a lot of what the bill is trying to tackle. However, she felt it would undermine parts of President Trump's Big Beautiful Bill.
"I have great issue with circumventing what our government has said," Titus said.
Those two bills are now awaiting a decision from the Assembly.
