16 new vetoes boost Lombardo total to 49; HOA limits, price fixing bill rejected

Yahoo

10-06-2025

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed 16 more bills on Monday, including two that would have reined in powers wielded by HOAs — homeowners associations. He also vetoed a price-fixing bill.
The Republican governor has now vetoed 49 bills passed by the Democrat-controlled Nevada Legislature, which adjourned in the early morning hours of Tuesday, June 3. Lombardo has 10 days after adjournment (excluding Sundays) to veto bills.
Lombardo set a record after the 2023 legislative session, vetoing 75 bills.
Veto messages reflected Republican principles — smaller government and pro-business laws — as Lombardo his decisions. Here's a closer look at some of the vetoes issued on Monday:
PRICE FIXING: One of the vetoed bills, Assembly Bill 44 (AB44), was singled out as 'a striking case of government overreach.' AB44 would have granted the Nevada Attorney General the authority to investigate and prosecute pricing decisions involving an 'essential good or service,' a definition that Lombardo said threatened to cripple a wide range of businesses.
Notably, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, who presented the bill to lawmakers, is a Democratic candidate seeking to challenge Lombardo in 2026.
When prices go up, whether it's eggs, gasoline or electricity, there is often a public outcry for government action.
But Lombardo attacked the language of AB44 as subjective and a threat to free markets.
JUNE 4: Lombardo vetoes 33 bills in days following Nevada Legislature, 229 signed
HOA POWERS: Two bills that Lombardo vetoed involved HOAs.
AB185 would have required HOAs to allow in-home daycare businesses to operate inside communities. Democrats who sponsored the bill said community rules were preventing more child care businesses from setting up. In his veto message on AB185, Lombardo said:
'It is important to note that people choose to live in HOA communities with the clear understanding that certain activities are governed by agreed-upon rules designed to protect the consistency of the neighborhood. AB 185 undermines that mutual understanding by allowing some owners to bypass long-standing community standards through legislative action.'
Senate Bill 121 (SB121) was also rejected, with Lombardo stating that the choice to buy within an HOA community comes with responsibilities to maintain community standards. The bill would have limited landscaping and parking restrictions. It also would have given homeowners at least three years after purchase to bring landscaping up to community standards. The same bill would have prohibited fines for some oil stains.
CAMPAIGN FUNDS: AB79 would have toughened restrictions on how campaign funds could be used and required reporting on how that money is spent. But Lombardo said he was vetoing it for other reasons. 'Though ensuring transparency in elections is an important goal, AB 79 contains provisions, some vague, that would make political involvement less feasible for many and lack sufficial judicial oversight,' according to his veto message. He said the bill needed to do a better job of defining what constitutes a 'spent' or 'unspent' contribution.
PROTECTING PROSTITUTES: AB209 would have set up protections for sex workers meant to encourage them to report violent crimes. It hinged on the prostitute asking for medical attention. But Lombardo said the wording of the bill could create a loophole that gives them immunity for more than is intended. A sex worker could actually use a request for medical attention to invoke immunity. Further, AB209 undermines law enforcement and assumes police aren't trustworthy.
ICE ACCESS IN SCHOOLS: Lawmakers sought to keep immigration enforcement out of schools, but Lombardo vetoed AB217. The bill would have prohibited school employees, public schools or school districts from allowing access for ICE agents. Lombard called it well-intentioned, but attacked it as an overreach on a number of levels, even saying the bill would make school grounds into 'sanctuary zones' 24 hours a day.
SUMMARY EVICTIONS: AB283 would have changed the summary eviction process, requiring landlords to file the initial court complaint. Similar attempts during the 2023 legislative session were vetoed, and Lombardo held firm with a veto on Monday. He called it 'lopsided, red-tape laden' and predicted disastrous consequences on Nevada's housing market if it were to become law.
EXECUTIONS IN NEVADA: SB350 would have extended the time frame for executing a prisoner who was sentenced to death from the current 90 days to a full year. The bill sponsor argued that 90 days wasn't enough time to properly challenge court rulings. 'Since rather than promoting fairness or finality, SB 350 threatens to undermine the very foundation of justice by creating endless delays that retraumatize victims' families and erode public confidence in our legal system, I cannot support it,' Lombardo said in his veto message.
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