WEEK THIRTEEN UPDATE

With only 32 days left in Nevada’s 83rd Legislative Session, as well as this week’s Economic Forum and the NSHE Budget Closings, we are at the point in the Session where the fiscal impacts on and outcomes for UNLV are becoming more visible.  

At Tuesday’s Assembly Education Committee convening, UNLV and UNR presented SB293 which updates the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) law in the State of Nevada to allow higher education athletic departments to handle NIL agreements in-house in order to better protect student athletes.

Thursday, the Economic Forum met to revise revenue projections for the 2025-2027 Biennium. As anticipated, the revised projections are lower than what was projected when the Session began. The revised forecast reflects a decrease of $191 million in expected revenue, and a reduction of $160 million in the State Education Fund, for a total decrease of $350 million over the next two fiscal years.

On Friday, the Senate Committee on Finance and Assembly Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittees on K-12/Higher Education/CIP convened to close Nevada System of Higher Education budgets. As a result of the Economic Forum’s projections, the Subcommittees did not move forward with the new Higher Education Funding Formula. Additionally, the Governor’s request to move COLA funding from the base budget and, instead, utilize “one-shot” funding was accepted. Discussions related to COLA funding, as well as other one-time appropriations for higher education will be revisited in subsequent meetings as legislators work to balance the budget.

4/28/25 – UNLV Health Sciences leadership, including Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine’s Interim Dean Allison Netski and Chief of Staff Marianna Sarimiento, Assistant Vice President of Mental and Behavioral Health and Executive Director of UNLV PRACTICE, Dr. Michelle Paul, and Interim Dean of Integrated Health Sciences Merrill Landers, enjoyed a visited with Senator Fabian Donate.

4/28/25 – AB329 (Support), Senate Committee on Judiciary, Harrison Epstein, second year law student at the UNLV Boyd School of Law and legislative extern with the Clark County Public Defender’s Office, testified in support of AB329, a bill designed to strengthen protections for victims of crimes in Nevada, emphasizing the importance of supporting crime victims as an aspect of crime prevention and justice enforcement.

4/28/25 – AB153 (Support), Senate Committee on Judiciary, Douglas Unger, Professor with the UNLV Department of English, Acting President of the UNLV Chapter of the Nevada Faculty Alliance, and member of the Nevada Prison Education Project, testified in support of AB153, a bill designed to improve access to education in Nevada prisons, stressing the reduced recidivism that assistance and mentoring can help bring about.

4/28/25 – SB188 (Presentation), Assembly Committee on Health and Human Services, Leticia Delgado, UNLV student and legislative intern with State Senator Fabian Doñate, presented SB188, a bill designed to mandate broader use of language assistance in Nevada healthcare, highlighting the importance of clear and effective communication in medical care settings.

4/28/25 – AB394 (Support), Senate Committee on Education, Dr. Kanani Espinoza, UNLV alumnus and Senior Director of Policy & Public Affairs at Rowe Law Group, testified on behalf of UNLV in support of AB394, a bill requiring the Board of Regents of the University of Nevada to adopt emergency response plans in the context of opioid overdoses, and emphasized the importance of addressing opioid overdoses as a public health concern.

4/28/25 – AB394 (Support), Senate Committee on Education, University of Nevada Regent Joseph C. Arrascada testified in support of AB394, a bill requiring the Board of Regents of the University of Nevada to adopt emergency response plans in the context of opioid overdoses, and highlighted the robust response systems already in place at NSHE institutions to address other health concerns such as cardiac arrests and allergic reactions. 

4/28/25 – AB394 (Support), Senate Committee on Education, Kelechi Odunze, UNLV student and Student Body President, testified in support of AB394, a bill requiring the Board of Regents of the University of Nevada to adopt emergency response plans in the context of opioid overdoses, and emphasized the importance of providing life-saving opioid antidotes in critical circumstances.

4/28/25 – AB144 (Support), Senate Committee on Government Affairs, Jordyn Griffin, third-year law student at UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law and legislative extern with Rowe Law Group, testified on behalf of UNLV and NSU in support of AB144, a bill recognizing Indigenous Peoples Day in Nevada on the second Monday of October of each year.

4/28/25 – UNLV Health Sciences leadership, including Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine’s Interim Dean Allison Netski and Chief of Staff Marianna Sarimiento, Assistant Vice President of Mental and Behavioral Health and Executive Director of UNLV PRACTICE, Dr. Michelle Paul, and Interim Dean of Integrated Health Sciences Merrill Landers, as well as UNLV’s Government and Community Engagement’s Vice President Constance Brooks and Director of State Government Affairs Leonardo Benavides, enjoyed a visited with Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro.

4/29/25 – SB162 (Presentation), Assembly Committee on Government Affairs, Madeline Krieger, UNLV student and legislative extern with Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizaro, presented SB162, a bill aiming to ensure compliance with civil rights and employment regulations as a condition of receipt of funding through Nevada tax dollars and thereby help combat discrimination in the state.

4/29/25 – SB157 (Support), Assembly Committee on Judiciary, Drianna Dimatulac, second-year law student at UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law and legislative extern with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, testified in support of SB157, a bill designed to make cannabis testing in Nevada less onerous, time-consuming, and costly, and emphasized the business and social benefits of updated testing regulations to the Nevada cannabis industry.

4/29/25 – SB293 (Presentation), Assembly Committee on Education, Eric Nepomuceno, UNLV Senior Deputy Athletics Director and Chief Operating Officer, presented SB293, a bill which would help align Nevada’s intercollegiate athletics Name, Image, and Likeness framework with the developing college athletics ecosystem, and help protect the interests of Nevada student-athletes.

4/29/25 – SB293 (Presentation), Assembly Committee on Education, Josh Pastner, UNLV Men’s Basketball Head Coach, presented SB293, a bill which would help align Nevada’s intercollegiate athletics Name, Image, and Likeness framework with the developing college athletics ecosystem, and help ensure Nevada’s intercollegiate athletics programs remain competitive.

4/29/25 – SB293 (Support), Assembly Committee on Education, Patricia Charlton, Chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE), testified in support of SB293, a bill which would help align Nevada’s intercollegiate athletics Name, Image, and Likeness framework with the developing college athletics ecosystem, emphasizing the importance of providing Nevada student-athletes with the same rights and opportunities as student-athletes in other states.

4/29/25 – SB322 (Support), Assembly Committee on Education, Patricia Charlton, Chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE), testified in support of SB322, a bill which would update training and professional development requirements for members of the Board of Regents of the University of Nevada, and recognized the need to adapt training and development protocols to the evolving professional and educational environments in Nevada.

4/29/25 – SB181 (Support), Assembly Committee on Growth and Infrastructure, Russell Rowe, Managing Principal of Rowe Law Group and UNLV alumnus, testified on behalf of UNLV in support of SB181, a bill which would provide for the issuance of Nevada State University themed license plates, and highlighted the importance of placing NSU on equal footing with other NSHE institutions in all contexts.

4/29/25 – SJR10 (Presentation), Assembly Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections, Dr. Dustin Hines, Associate Professor of Neuroscience with the UNLV Department of Psychology and co-Director of the Hines Group Comprehensive Neuroscience Lab, presented SJR10, a resolution urging the United States Congress to broaden access to therapeutic use and research of psychedelic substances, and highlighted the promising research into applications against treatment-resistant conditions such as depression, anxiety, addiction, and PTSD.

4/29/25 - Eric Nepomuceno, UNLV Senior Deputy Athletics Director and COO, met with Assemblymember Reuben D'Silva

4/30/25 – AB289 (Presentation), Senate Committee on Education, Nelson Chen, student in the UNLV accounting program and youth organizer for One APIA Nevada, presented AB289, a bill authorizing the Board of Regents of the University of Nevada to establish a course of study in financial literacy, emphasizing the need to provide instructions and guidance regarding successful financial strategies to students and young adults.

4/30/25 – AB530 (Support), Senate Committee on Growth and Infrastructure, Leonardo Benavides, UNLV Director of State Government Affairs, testified on behalf of UNLV in support of AB530, a bill which aims to continue to direct fuel taxes towards investment in the protection, maintenance and development of Nevada infrastructure and economy.

5/1/25 – SB115 (Support), Assembly Committee on Education, Leonardo Benavides, UNLV Director of State Government Affairs, testified on behalf of UNLV in support of SB 115, a bill aiming to provide investments to strengthen bilingual education in Nevada, highlighting the positive educational outcomes associated with the recruitment and retainment of bilingual educators and UNLV’s commitment to fostering their training and professional development.

5/1/25 – AJR8 (Presentation), Senate Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections, Benjamin Edwards, Professor of Law in the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law, presented AJR8, a resolution that proposes to amend the Nevada Constitution to provide for the establishment of a business court, and outlined how adaptation of the Nevada judiciary to modern economic concerns helps to foster commercial development.

SAVE THE DATE

• May 5 – Cinco de Mayo Day at the Legislature
• May 12 – ACLU Day at the Legislature
• May 14 – PBS Day at the Legislature
• May 16 – Second Committee Passage
• May 19 – AANHPI Heritage Day at the Legislature
• May 20 – Nurses Day at the Legislature
• May 23 – Second House Passage