Latest news with #AB346
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Antitrust Act, medical aid in dying, study of water use fees among bills that failed to advance
(Photo: Jeniffer Solis/Nevada Current) The Nevada State Legislature's latest deadline brought an unsurprising end to a 'medical aid in dying' bill Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo had promised to veto. The bill was one of 31 declared dead Friday. Similar to a bill vetoed by the governor two years ago, Assembly Bill 346 would have legalized the prescribing, dispensing and administering of medication designed to end the life of terminally ill patients. Lombardo in 2023 became the first governor to veto such legislation, and a day after AB346 was heard by a legislative committee last month vowed to veto it again. Despite Lombardo's position, the legislation did continue to move through the Legislature. The full Assembly voted on it, where it passed 23-19. The vote did not fall on party lines. It was referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services but never received a committee hearing. Other notable bills that died Friday: Senate Bill 143 (State Sen. Rochelle Nguyen, D) would have authorized the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Natural Resources to evaluate and review the excessive use fees and other water conservation efforts that impact turf and tree canopy. The bill passed the Senate unanimously and was heard by Assembly Natural Resources on May 5. But it was never given a committee vote. Senate Bill 218 (State Sen. James Ohrenschall, D) would have adopted the Uniform Antitrust Pre-Merger Notification Act, requiring companies to submit to the state attorney general the same notices and information they are already required to provide federal agencies prior to mergers or acquisitions. The bill passed the Senate on party lines, with the 13 Democrats in support and the eight Republicans in opposition. It was referred to the Assembly Committee on Commerce and Labor but never given a hearing. Assembly Bill 119 (Assemblymember Steve Yeager, D) sought to crack down on paramilitary organizing and activities. It passed the Assembly on party lines, with the 27 Democrats in support and the 15 Republicans in opposition. It was referred to the Senate Committee on Government Affairs but never given a hearing. Assembly Bill 291 (Assemblymember Jovan Jackson, D) would have made changes to the record sealing process for people with multiple past convictions. The bill passed the full Assembly on party lines. It was given a Senate Judiciary hearing in late April but never given a committee vote. Assembly Bill 437 (Assemblymember Jill Dickman, R) would have established a Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) plan, an 'insurance of last resort' for properties unable to find coverage elsewhere. The bill's death was tied to an April 23 deadline, but missed the Current's publication time, so we're mentioning it here. The bill made it to the floor of the Assembly but languished on the Chief Clerk's desk and was never given a floor vote. The complete list of dead bills by deadline is available on the Nevada State Legislature's website.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Deadline arrives as Nevada lawmakers work furiously to pass bills out of committee
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A deadline today will be the death knell for some of the nearly 1,100 bills in the Nevada Legislature. Some of the bills never went to a vote. Others were dead on arrival, identified by Gov. Joe Lombardo as bills he would veto. Democrats control the Assembly and Senate in Carson City, but Lombardo's veto pen could be the ultimate weapon for Republicans again this session. Lombardo vetoed a record 75 bills the last time the Legislature met. Here are some of the bills that appear to be dead this year, unless lawmakers stage an end-run to revive them before the session ends on June 2: HOTEL SAFETY ACT: Senate Bill 360 (SB360) would require daily room cleaning at hotels in Clark and Washoe counties, endorsed by the powerful Culinary Union. The bill, sponsored by Republican State Sen. Lori Rogich, never went to a vote in the Committee on Health and Human Services. Las Vegas hotel rooms would be cleaned daily under proposed Nevada law MEDICAL AID IN DYING: Assembly Bill 346 (AB346) would make it legal for a terminally ill patient to request medication to end their own life. The bill mirrored legislation from 2023 that was vetoed, but wasn't identical. Nevertheless, Gov. Lombardo signaled his intentions in an April 4 post on X: 'Expansions in palliative care services and continued improvements in advanced pain management make the end-of-life-provisions in AB346 unnecessary, and I would encourage the 2025 Legislature to disregard AB346 because I will not sign it.' The bill, sponsored by Democratic Assem. Joe Dalia, was passed in the Assembly Select Committee on End-of-Life Care on Thursday. Medical aid in dying bill discussed at legislature, powerful testimony presented in Las Vegas NEVADA LOTTERY: Assembly Joint Resolution 5 (AJR5) from 2023 is a proposed constitutional amendment to allow sales of lottery tickets. The proposal passed two years ago but has not been scheduled for a vote this session. GUN BILLS: Two bills sponsored by Democratic Assem. Sandra Jauregui seem to be on the same track they followed in 2023, when they passed in the Legislature but went down to vetoes from Lombardo. AB105 and AB245 have wide support among Democrats, but Republicans aligned with gun rights oppose the bills. History tells us that Lombardo will veto them this session if they make it to his desk. WATER APPLICATIONS: AB419 would require the state water engineer, who oversees water rights conflicts and manages water in the public interest, to have private meetings with people who apply for water rights. The bill is alive, but it's barely hanging on after the Assembly Natural Resources Committee passed it 'without recommendation,' with three members voting against it. The bill's status allows finance committees to continue working on it, but it's in a kind of limbo. Remarks during Thursday's bill hearing and again on Friday suggest that lawmakers think it would be better to work on the bill after the session has ended. Republican Assem. Rich DeLong is the bill's sponsor, and water conservation groups have lined up against it. Bills that don't advance today could come back as amendments to other bills after the deadline. In some cases, entire bills are gutted and replaced by amendments. After the April 11 deadline, legislation faces an April 22 deadline to advance. Bills originating in the Assembly have to pass a vote of the full Assembly to go to the Senate, and vice-versa. We will also track bills that advance through the 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘Euthanasia pill' proposed as Nevada law after Gov. Lombardo's veto in 2023
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A bill to legalize a euthanasia pill designed to end a patient's life has been introduced at the Nevada Legislature after Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed a similar bill two years ago. A patient who has been diagnosed with a terminal condition would be allowed to request medication to end their own life under certain conditions: Patient must be at least 18 years old. Patient has been diagnosed with a terminal condition by at least two practitioners. Patient has made an informed and voluntary decision to end his or her own life. Patient is mentally capable of making such a decision. Patient is not requesting the medication because of coercion, deception or undue influence. The proposal passed by a narrow margin in 2023, before it was eventually vetoed. Now, a Republican who voted against the bill is sponsoring the new version, Assembly Bill 346 (AB346). Republican Assem. Danielle Gallant and Democratic Assem. Joe Dalia are the bill's sponsors, along with co-sponsor Democratic Assem. Edgar Flores. All three of the sponsors represent areas in Southern Nevada. The bill was referred to the Assembly Select Committee on End of Life Care today in Carson City. It has not been scheduled for a hearing yet. Doctors and others involved in the patient's care are protected from prosecution or professional discipline under language of AB346, and given the right to refuse to prescribe the medication. But if they refuse, they are required to facilitate the transfer of the patent to another health care provider. Medical professionals would dispense the euthanasia pill, but only the patient would be allowed to administer it. Other sections of the law are written to ensure the death certificate states that the patient died of their terminal condition. 'A death resulting from the self-administration of a medication that is designed to end the life of a patient is not mercy killing, euthanasia, assisted suicide, suicide or homicide when done in accordance with the provisions of this bill.' It further prohibits insurance companies from refusing to honor insurance benefits based on the use of a euthanasia pill. AB346 also states that the pill cannot be prescribed solely based on the patient's age or a disability. Two years ago, Gov. Lombardo said in his veto message for the bill (Senate Bill 239 during the 2023 session): 'SB239 allows for physician assisted suicide in the State of Nevada. End of life decisions are never easy. Individuals and family members must often come together to face many challenges — including deciding what is the best course of medical treatment for a loved one. Fortunately, expansions in palliative care services and continued improvement in advanced pain management make the end-of-life provisions in SB239 unnecessary.'Given recent progress in science and medicine and the fact that only a small number of states and jurisdictions allow for similar end-of-life protocols, I am not comfortable supporting this bill.' Before Lombardo's veto, that bill barely made it out of a Senate committee on a 3-2 vote, passed narrowly in the full Senate on an 11-10 vote, and passed the full Assembly 23-9. A national group, Compassion & Choices, said in 2023 that Lombardo was the first governor to veto a medical-aid-in-dying bill. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
