Lombardo's crime bill focuses on harsher penalties in Nevada, penalizing repeat offenders
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Republican Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo is proposing harsher penalties for repeat offenders, DUI drivers and other criminals as part of his sweeping crime bill introduced Monday.
Fentanyl trafficking
The governor's proposal, Senate Bill 457, lowers the amount prosecutors would need to charge a person accused of trafficking fentanyl to a minimum of four grams. The current threshold is 28.
Sentences for fentanyl trafficking would decrease to a maximum of six years for low-level trafficking, but would increase the maximum fine to $50,000. Sentences for high-level trafficking, an amount of 28 grams or more, could include prison sentences of life with parole eligibility after 10 years or 25 years with parole eligibility after 10 years.
DUI
The proposal amends Nevada's DUI law to clarify the law for impaired driving with the use of marijuana. It also increases the possible sentence for a DUI driver who commits their third offense within seven years or who is undergoing substance misuse treatment to a minimum of two to a maximum of 15 years. Current Nevada law requires a sentence of 1-6 years for a third DUI offense within seven years.
It also includes a proposal to charge DUI drivers who kill with second-degree murder, an issue he first discussed with the 8 News Now Investigators in an exclusive interview last month.
Nevada prosecutors have tried to charge DUI drivers, who kill a person and who speed and who drive with no care for another person's life, with murder, but the Nevada Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that the state's DUI with death law was more appropriate. A change in state statute would reverse that problem.
Enhanced penalties
The proposal calls for additional penalties for felons who reoffend. Should a reoffender commit that crime while out of custody on a prior offense, a judge could sentence them to an additional year to 20 years in prison.
In addition, the limit to become a 'habitual criminal' would drop to two previous convictions rather than the current five.
A fiscal note from the Department of Corrections notes the changes in habitual criminal convictions would add $42 million to the state's budget every biennium. The department estimates it costs $91 to house an offender per day, and it expects hundreds of new offenders to enter the prison system should the bill become law as written.
Shoplifting
The bill decreased the felony-theft threshold from $1,200 to $750.
For the bill to pass, Lombardo will have to compromise with Democrats who control both the Nevada Assembly and Nevada Senate.
This story will be updated.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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