This Tuesday was the First House Passage Deadline, which requires bills that are not exempted to have passed the first house floor vote or they would no longer be considered for action by the State Legislature. The next important legislative deadline is the Second House Committee passage, which is Friday, May 14. This means that bills and resolutions that are not exempted and do not pass a committee vote will not be considered for future action.
As a result of the upcoming bill deadline, the majority of legislative actions this week were Floor Sessions by the Assembly and Senate. There were only a few committee hearings this week.
Assembly Bill 40
Revises provisions relating to petroleum storage tanks
Legislative Summary: AB 40 addresses the Fund for Cleaning up Discharges of Petroleum, and defines small businesses based on revenue previously written into statute. After a recent audit of the program showed less than 5 percent of the Fund’s available disbursements going to small and independent operators, the Division of Environmental protection suggested changes. These changes would allow the removal of the small business definition from statute and the move to a regulatory definition that would make the reimbursement of funds more available to small and independent owners and operators of petroleum tanks.
The Chamber supports the language changes that make cleanup funds appropriately available to smaller operators in parity with larger businesses.
Primary Bill Sponsor: Assembly Committee on Natural Resources
Position: Support
Assembly Bill 57
Temporarily suspends certain requirements relating to certain teacher and administrator evaluations
Legislative Summary: AB 57 would temporarily change the existing standard of fifteen percent of a teacher’s evaluation that factors in a student’s growth to zero percent for three academic school years. Per Section 1, the percentage would be lowered for school years 2020-2021, 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. Person Section 2, the fifteen percent would be restored for the 2023-2024 school year. While the Chamber recognizes that teachers and students have been impacted by COVID, suspending three years of measuring a student’s growth as part of a teacher’s evaluation is a concern especially as students are expected to return to the class for 2022-2023.
Originally student growth was 40 percent of a teacher’s performance evaluation when it was originally adopted in 2015; it is now potentially being lowered to zero percent for at least three years. There is also a concern from the Chamber that this temporary measure of zero percent would become a permanent change in state law, and it would make it nearly impossible to hold a teacher accountable for student success and academic achievement.
Primary Bill Sponsor: Assembly Committee on Education
Position: Oppose
Assembly Bill 308
Revises provisions relating to landlords and tenants
Legislative Summary: AB 308 addresses several technical changes relating to landlords and tenants, specifically late fees, security deposits and notifications for rent increases. AB 308 adds statutory language prohibiting late fees from being charged to tenants until three calendar days after rent is due.
Additionally, AB 308 provides clarifying language on the definition and restriction on security deposits. Finally, AB 308 provides statutory requirements for notice that a landlord must provide to a tenant before increasing rent, based on the length of lease agreements.
As introduced, AB 308 is the product of discussions involving a broad-based group of stakeholders and incorporates significant feedback from the business community.
The Chamber is in support of AB 308 and the clarification in statute for landlord and tenant agreements.
Primary Bill Sponsor: Speaker Jason Frierson
Position: Support
Assembly Bill 366
Revises provisions governing mental health records
Legislative Summary: AB 366 addresses the concerns of the retention, maintenance, and disclosure of health recorders specifically for mental health professionals. Mental health professionals include psychologists, marriage and family therapists, clinical professional counselors, social workers, independent social workers, clinical social workers, clinical alcohol and drug counselors, alcohol and drug counselors, and problem gambling counselors. AB 366 will not require a mental health professional to retain a recording of their mental health services during training approved by the Board. In Section 2, subsection 2, discarding the training recording will not result or be seen as noncompliance.
The Chamber is in support of AB 366 because of the additional assistance it will provide to mental health services.
Primary Bill Sponsor: Assemblywoman Jill Tolles
Position: Support
Assembly Bill 450
Revises provisions relating to workforce development
Legislative Summary: AB 450 would create an interim committee study that would identify opportunities for workforce training and programs with Nevada’s community colleges. The committee would consist of representatives from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, local chambers of commerce, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Nevada System of Higher Education. The findings must be reported to the Governor, the Chair of the Board of Regents and the State Legislature by August 1, 2022.
The Chamber is in support of the bill because of the need to better align workforce training programs with the needs of employers.
Primary Bill Sponsor: Assembly Committee on Education
Position: Support
Senate Bill 15
Revises provisions relating to grant procurement, coordination and management
Legislative Summary: SB 15 provides for additional technical and administrative support to the state Office of Grant Procurement, Coordination and Management. The bill would allow for the development of a manual of policies and procedures relating to grant procurement, coordination and management for state agencies.
Currently, the office is unable to fully utilize available federal grant dollars due to staff levels and scope of authority. It has been a longstanding Chamber priority, and a priority of the Southern Nevada Forum to support the State in efforts to capture more federal grant dollars that are available to states.
Primary Bill Sponsor: Senate Committee on Government Affairs
Position: Support
Senate Bill 95
Revises provisions relating to business entities
Legislative Summary: SB 95 revises provisions to state law pertaining to business entities. Section 2 of the bill moves the definition of “publicly traded corporation” in NRS Chapter 78 to the front of the chapter. Sections 11 and 14 clarifies the ability to hold a stockholder meeting, by only virtual means, the fixing of the record date, and certain notice requirements for publicly traded corporations. Sections 32 and 35 updates the use of domestic corporation versus publicly traded corporation and require a corporation to remain publicly traded.
The Chamber supports SB 95 as it provides greater clarification, confirming changes and modernization as it relates to business law. These proposed changes will also allow Nevada to remain competitive with other states such as Delaware.
Primary Bill Sponsor: Senator James Ohrenschall
Position: Support
Senate Bill 173
Revises provisions relating to education
Legislative Summary: SB 173 directly addresses the classroom time lost by students during the remote learning periods enacted throughout 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides an avenue for schools to submit plans to counteract lost opportunities for students by providing summer school opportunities.
This bill provides an opportunity for investment of federal dollars into summer school opportunities for in-person learning for students across Nevada, something the Vegas Chamber supports. The Chamber supports SB 173 as it will help K-12 students from across the state catch up on some of the months of lost learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Primary Bill Sponsor: Senator Marilyn Dondero Loop
Position: Support
Senate Bill 362
Revises provisions relating to public transit systems
Legislative Summary: SB 362 would allow Regional Transportation Commissions (RTC) in Clark and Washoe County to provide microtransit services as part of their public transit services portfolio. SB 362 would allow for RTCs in both Clark and Washoe to provide on-call public transit services without a specific determination from the Nevada Transit Authority.
Expanding public microtransit services has been a priority of the Southern Nevada Forum, as these services allow the RTC to make fewer and more specific expenditures that more specifically and directly serve the needs of members of the public who utilize public transportation options.
The Chamber is in support of SB 362 because it will result in inefficiencies. This will help small businesses by saving tax dollars. The flexibility of microtransit will bring customers directly to storefronts.
Primary Bill Sponsor: Senate Committee on Growth and Infrastructure
Position: Support
