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23-04-2025
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Nevada Legislature: Another deadline passes, another update on bills the Current is watching
Nevada Assembly Chambers in 2023 (Photo by Trevor Bexon / Nevada Current) Tuesday marked the 79th day of the 120-day Nevada State Legislative session. It was also the deadline by which non-exempt bills needed to pass the full Senate or full Assembly or be declared dead. For the small but mighty staff of the Nevada Current, it was a relatively quiet day. None of the dozens of bills we are watching met their demise. That's not wholly unsurprising. About half the bills we've written about have been exempted by the Legislature from standard deadlines because they come with fiscal notes and have been sent to the Legislature's money committees for consideration. Speaking of: The next major big day in Carson City is Thursday, May 1. That's when the Economic Forum will meet and potentially adjust the state's revenue forecast up or down. As we've noted throughout this session, there is reason to be concerned that the outlook won't be rosy. But as of right now, there's still hope. Here's a status check on all the bills we've written about (so far). We've included links to the bills themselves, as well as our prior coverage, so you can learn more about them. * Notes: Bills exempt from the legislative deadline are marked with an asterisk. Lead sponsors are listed in parentheses. Bills with no lead sponsor listed are sponsored by interim committees. Senate Bill 391* (State Sen. Dina Neal, D) would establish a corporate landlord registry and cap purchasing power for corporate owners. Status: Referred to Senate Judiciary, no hearing scheduled. Assembly Bill 121 (Assemblymember Venicia Considine, D) would require all non-optional fees, such as sewer and water, be listed in advertisements for rental properties. It would also require landlords to offer a way for tenants to pay rent without added processing fees. Status: Passed Assembly on party lines; 27 yeas 15 nays. Assembly Bill 201 (Assemblymember Erica Roth, D) would expand efforts to automatically seal eviction records. Status: Passed Assembly on party lines; 27 yeas 15 nays. Assembly Bill 211 (Assemblymember Venicia Considine, D) would allow a third party to take over the property until repairs are made and living conditions improved. Status: Passed Assembly; 41 yeas, 0 nays, 1 excused. Assembly Bill 223 (Assemblymember Venicia Considine, D) would give tenants more power to hold landlords accountable for failing to provide livable conditions. Status: Passed Assembly on party lines, 27 yeas 15 nays. Assembly Bill 280 (Assemblymember Sandra Jauregui, D) proposes rent stabilization for seniors. Status: Passed Assembly on party lines, 27 yeas 15 nays. Assembly Bill 283 (Assemblymember Max Carter, D) would restructure the eviction process. Status: Passed Assembly on party lines, 27 yeas 15 nays. Assembly Bill 437 (Assemblymember Jill Dickman, R) would establish a Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) plan. Status: Placed on Chief Clerk's desk. Assembly Bill 475* would provide funding for eviction diversion programs in Clark and Washoe counties. Status: Heard by Assembly Ways and Means on April 4, no action taken since. Assembly Bill 540* (Gov. Joe Lombardo, R) would allocate $250 million to build more housing and expand the definition of affordable housing to include people with higher incomes. Status: Heard by Assembly Commerce and Labor on April 2, no action taken. Senate Bill 218 (State Sen. James Ohrenschall, D) would adopt 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. Status: Passed Senate on party lines; 12 yeas, 8 nays. Senate Bill 316* (State Sen. Rochelle Nguyen, D) would curb how much profit pharmacy benefit managers can make. Status: Referred to Senate Finance. Senate Bill 442 mandates utilities report the number of disconnections due to non-payment. Status: Passed Senate with bipartisan support, 17 yeas, 4 nays from Republicans. Assembly Bill 44 (Attorney General Aaron Ford, D) seeks to crack down on 'knowingly deceptive' price fixing. Status: Passed Assembly; 24 yeas, 18 nays. Three Democrats voted with Republicans in opposition. Assembly Bill 204* (Assemblymember Max Carter, D) would prevent collection agencies from threatening to arrest people for debt, obtain a lien against a primary residence, seek to foreclose on home, or garnish wages. Status: Referred to Assembly Ways and Means. Senate Bill 54* would require the state's Department of Health and Human Services to apply for a federal waiver and amend the state Medicaid plan to cover medical respite care for people experiencing homelessness. Status: Referred to Senate Finance. Senate Bill 244* (State Sen. Roberta Lange, D) would expand the types of obesity treatments covered by Nevada Medicaid, including approving weight-loss drugs like Ozempic for wider use. Status: Referred to Senate Finance. Senate Bill 353* (State Sen. Marilyn Dondero Loop, D) would increase Medicaid reimbursement for mental health providers. Status: Referred to Senate Finance. Senate Bill 217* (State Sen. Nicole Cannizzaro, D) would establish the right to assisted reproduction treatment, including in vitro fertilization. Status: Referred to Senate Finance. Assembly Bill 176 (Assemblymember Selena Torres-Fossett, D), known as the Right to Contraception Act, would strengthen protections against a state or local government burdening access to contraceptive measures. Status: Passed Assembly unanimously. Assembly Bill 235 (Assemblymember Erica Roth, D) protects employees and volunteers of reproductive health care facilities, as well as their spouses, domestic partners or minor children, by allowing them to request a court order that keeps their personal information confidential on otherwise public records within the offices of county recorder, county assessor, county clerk, city clerk, Secretary of State, or Department of Motor Vehicles. Status: Passed Assembly; 33 yeas, 9 nays. Six Republicans supported. Assembly Bill 411 (Assemblymember Sandra Jauregui, D) would allow prescriptions for drugs used for medical abortions and miscarriage management to list the name of the prescribing health care practice, rather than the name of the specific individual providing the prescription. Status: Passed Assembly; 26 yeas, 15 nays, 1 excused. Senate Bill 172* (Sen. Edgar Flores, D) seeks to bolster protections for farm workers and amend overtime pay laws to include agriculture workers. Status: Referred to Senate Finance. Senate Bill 260* (Sen. Edgar Flores, D) seeks to ensure that outdoor workers receive protection when air quality reaches unhealthy levels due to wildfire smoke. Status: Referred to Senate Finance. Assembly Bill 112 (Assemblymember Duy Nguyen, D) would allow workers covered by collective bargaining agreements to use their accrued leave to care for family members. Status: Passed Assembly; 29 yeas, 13 nays. Two Republicans voted with Democrats in support. Assembly Bill 191* (Assemblymember Natha Anderson, D) would give graduate assistants the right to collectively bargain for better pay and conditions. Status: Referred to Assembly Ways and Means. Assembly Bill 388* (Assemblymember Selena La Rue Hatch, D) would require private employers with more than 50 workers, as well as all public employers, to provide paid family and medical leave. Status: Referred to Assembly Ways and Means. Assembly Bill 502* would boost the state's ability to investigate and enforce prevailing wage violations. Status: Referred to Assembly Ways and Means. Senate Bill 431* would apply the state's live entertainment tax to tickets resold by third-party vendors and dedicate some funding to transit. Status: Referred to Senate Finance. Assembly Joint Resolution 1* (Assemblymember Natha Anderson, D) would let voters in 2028 decide whether the taxable value of property should reset when a home is sold. Status: Passed Assembly; 26 yeas, 16 nays. Democrat Brittney Miller joined Republicans in opposition. Assembly Joint Resolution 8 (Assemblymember Joe Dalia, D) would let voters in 2028 decide whether Nevada should establish a dedicated business court with the goal of enticing large companies to incorporate here. Status: Passed Assembly with bipartisan support; 40 yeas, 2 nays. Democrats Selena La Rue Hatch and Erica Roth opposed. Assembly Bill 256 (Assemblymember Selena La Rue Hatch, D) would create a Regional Rail Transit Advisory Working Group to assess the need for a regional rail system in the state's largest metro areas, as well as potential funding sources for such a system. Status: Passed Assembly unanimously. Assembly Bill 276* (Assemblymember P.K. O'Neill, R) would adjust the commerce tax threshold to inflation. Status: Referred to Assembly Ways and Means. Assembly Bill 277 (Assemblymember Rich DeLong, R) would make the Net Proceeds of Minerals Bulletin public again. Status: Passed Assembly unanimously.. Assembly Bill 530 would allow the Clark County Commission to extend fuel revenue indexing (FRI) an additional decade beyond its current sunset date. Status: Passed Assembly with bipartisan support; 39 yeas, 3 nays. Republicans Jill Dickman, Danielle Gallant, and Gregory Hafen were opposed. Senate Bill 69 (Storey County) would require companies seeking massive tax abatements to enter into agreements to defray the costs of the government-provided services they would require. Status: Passed Senate with bipartisan support; 17 yeas, 4 nays. Four Republicans opposed. Assembly Bill 185 (Assemblymember Natha Anderson) would bar most HOAs from prohibiting licensed home-based childcare operations within their communities. Status: Passed Assembly with bipartisan support; 32 yeas, 10 nays. A third of the Republican caucus supported. Assembly Bill 238* (Assemblymember Sandra Jauregui, D) is known as the Nevada Studio Infrastructure Jobs and Workforce Training Act. It massively expands the state's film tax credit program to support a production studio in Summerlin in Las Vegas. Status: Referred to Assembly Ways and Means. Senate Bill 220* (State Sen. Roberta Lange, D) is known as the Nevada Film Infrastructure, Workforce Development, Education and Economic Diversification Act. It massively expands the state's film tax credit program to support a production studio in southwest Las Vegas. Status: Referred to Senate Finance. Assembly Bill 376* (Assemblymember P.K. O'Neill, R) would create a 'regulatory sandbox' for the insurance industry. Status: Referred to Assembly Ways and Means. Assembly Bill 457* (Assemblymember Venicia Considine, D) seeks to close a potential loophole that can be used by corporate landlords to avoid paying the state's commerce tax. Status: Passed Assembly on party lines; 27 yeas 15 nays. Assembly Bill 487 would ban retail pet sales statewide. Status: Passed Assembly with bipartisan support; 32 yeas, 9 nays, 1 excused. Six of the chamber's 15 Republicans supported. Senate Bill 318* (State Sen. Skip Daly, D) would ban charter schools from contracting with for-profit education management organizations. Status: Referred to Senate Finance. Assembly Bill 217 would prohibit school employees from granting permission to immigration officers to enter a school, or provide student records, including information on a student's family, without a warrant. Status: Passed Assembly; 31 yeas, 11 nays. Four Republicans joined Democrats in support. Assembly Bill 224* (Assemblymember Erica Mosca, D) would dedicate $100 million in state general obligation bonds for high-needs school construction projects in low-population counties that cannot fund them through typical means. Status: Referred to Assembly Ways and Means. Assembly Bill 441 (Assemblymember Daniele Monroe-Moreno, D) would change how Opportunity Scholarships are administered. Status: Passed Assembly on party lines; 27 yeas 15 nays. Senate Bill 88* would discharge medical debt from those incarcerated once they leave prison. Status: Referred to Senate Finance. Assembly Bill 91* (Assemblymember Erica Roth, D) is known as 'second look' legislation and would create an avenue for those incarcerated to have sentences reviewed by the State Board of Parole Commissioners after they've served extended periods of time. Status: Referred to Assembly Ways and Means. Assembly Bill 111 (Assemblymember Brian Hibbetts, R) would make driving the wrong way a misdemeanor crime. Status: Passed Assembly unanimously. Assembly Bill 119 (Assemblymember Steve Yeager, D) seeks to crack down on paramilitary organizing and activities. Status: Passed Assembly on party lines; 27 yeas 15 nays. Assembly Bill 320* (Assemblymember Jovan Jackson, D) seeks to stop judges from using dress codes to turn away defendants. Status: Referred to Assembly Ways and Means. Assembly Bill 381* (Assemblymember Melissa Hardy, R) is known as Reba's Law and mandates prison time for killing a domestic animal. Status: Passed Assembly Judiciary. Assembly Bill 402* (Assemblymember Selena Torres-Fossett, D) would authorize traffic monitoring cameras in construction work zones when workers are present. Status: Referred to Assembly Ways and Means. Senate Bill 457 (Gov. Joe Lombardo, R) is known as the Safe Streets and Neighborhoods Act. Status: Referred to Senate Judiciary, no hearing scheduled. Senate Bill 199* (State Sen. Dina Neal, D) — would establish guardrails around artificial intelligence. Status: Referred to Senate Finance. Assembly Bill 96 would mandate that cities and counties with populations exceeding 100,000 people include 'heat mitigation' as part of their master plans. Status: Passed Assembly; 29 yeas, 13 nays. Republicans Gregory Koenig and Toby Yurek voted with Democrats in support. Assembly Bill 460* (Assemblymember Cecelia González) streamlines the process for selecting a temporary guardian for minors prior to any immigration action. Status: Referred to Assembly Ways and Means.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Too busy fretting over you-know-who to follow the NV Legislature? The Current's got you covered.
(Photo: Jeniffer Solis/Nevada Current) The Nevada Current's small but mighty staff of five has so far covered dozens of bills introduced into the 2025 Legislative Session. If you've missed a story or two (or dozen) of them, we understand. (There. Is. A. Lot. Going. On.) Here's a look at the bills that caught our eye and where they are, complete with links to our prior coverage. The next major legislative deadline is Tuesday, April 22. By that date, non-exempt bills need to be voted on by either the full Senate or the full Assembly. * Notes: Bills exempt from legislative deadlines are marked with an asterisk. Lead sponsors are listed in parentheses. Bills with no lead sponsor listed are sponsored by interim committees. (State Sen. Dina Neal, D) would establish a corporate landlord registry and cap purchasing power for corporate owners. Status: Passed Senate Judiciary. Assembly Bill 121 (Assemblymember Venicia Considine, D) would require all non-optional fees, such as sewer and water, be listed in advertisements for rental properties. It would also require landlords to offer a free way for tenants to pay rent. Status: Passed Assembly Commerce and Labor. Assembly Bill 201 (Assemblymember Erica Roth, D) would expand efforts to automatically seal eviction records. Status: Passed Assembly Judiciary. (Assemblymember Venicia Considine, D) would allow a third party to take over the property until repairs are made and living conditions improved. Passed Assembly Commerce and Labor. Assembly Bill 223 (Assemblymember Venicia Considine, D) would give tenants more power to hold landlords accountable for failing to provide livable conditions. Status: Passed Assembly Commerce and Labor. Assembly Bill 280 (Assemblymember Sandra Jauregui, D) proposes rent stabilization for seniors. Status: Passed Assembly Commerce and Labor. (Assemblymember Max Carter, D) would restructure the eviction process. Status: Passed Assembly Judiciary. Assembly Bill 437 (Assemblymember Jill Dickman, R) would establish a Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) plan. Status: Passed Assembly Commerce and Labor. Assembly Bill 475* would provide funding for eviction diversion programs in Clark and Washoe counties. Status: Heard by Assembly Ways and Means, no action taken. * (Gov. Joe Lombardo, R) would allocate $250 million to build more housing and expand the definition of affordable housing to include people with higher incomes. Status: Heard by Assembly Commerce and Labor, no action taken. Senate Bill 218 (State Sen. James Ohrenschall, D) would adopt 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. Passed Senate Commerce and Labor. (State Sen. Rochelle Nguyen, D) would curb how much profit pharmacy benefit managers can make. Status: Passed Senate Commerce and Labor. mandates utilities report the number of disconnections due to non-payment. Status: Passed Senate Growth and Infrastructure. Assembly Bill 44 (Attorney General Aaron Ford, D) seeks to crack down on 'knowingly deceptive' price fixing. Status: Passed Assembly Commerce and Labor. Assembly Bill 204 (Assemblymember Max Carter, D) would prevent collection agencies from threatening to arrest people for debt, obtain a lien against a primary residence, seek to foreclose on home, or garnish wages. Status: Passed Assembly Commerce and Labor. Senate Bill 54 would require the state's Department of Health and Human Services to apply for a federal waiver and amend the state Medicaid plan to cover medical respite care for people experiencing homelessness. Passed Senate Health and Human Services. Senate Bill 244* (State Sen. Roberta Lange, D) would expand the types of obesity treatments covered by Nevada Medicaid, including approving weight-loss drugs like Ozempic for wider use. Status: Passed Senate Health and Human Services, referred to Senate Finance. Senate Bill 353* (State Sen. Marilyn Dondero Loop, D) would increase Medicaid reimbursement for mental health providers. Passed Senate Commerce. * (State Sen. Nicole Cannizzaro, D) would establish the right to assisted reproduction treatment, including in vitro fertilization. Status: Passed Senate Health and Human Services. (Assemblymember Selena Torres-Fossett, D), known as the Right to Contraception Act, would strengthen protections against a state or local government burdening access to contraceptive measures. Status: Passed Assembly Health and Human Services. Assembly Bill 235 (Assemblymember Erica Roth, D) protects employees and volunteers of reproductive health care facilities, as well as their spouses, domestic partners or minor children, by allowing them to request a court order that keeps their personal information confidential on otherwise public records within the offices of county recorder, county assessor, county clerk, city clerk, Secretary of State, or Department of Motor Vehicles. Status: Passed Assembly Government Affairs. (Assemblymember Sandra Jauregui, D) would allow prescriptions for drugs used for medical abortions and miscarriage management to list the name of the prescribing health care practice, rather than the name of the specific individual providing the prescription. Status: Passed Assembly Health and Human Services. Initiative Petition 1, the Clark County Education Association-backed ballot measure that would give Nevada teachers the right to strike, passed the deadline for consideration by the Nevada State Legislature. That deadline was in mid-March but came and went with no fanfare because CCEA leadership has made it clear they are using it as a bargaining chip for their other legislative priorities. The 'A Teacher In Every Classroom' question is now slated to appear on next year's general election ballot unless the union voluntarily withdraws it. Senate Bill 172 (Senator Edgar Flores, D) seeks to bolster protections for farm workers and amend overtime pay laws to include agriculture workers. Status: Passed Senate Commerce and Labor. Assembly Bill 112 (Assemblymember Duy Nguyen, D) would allow workers covered by collective bargaining agreements to use their accrued leave to care for family members. Status: Passed Assembly Commerce and Labor. * (Assemblymember Natha Anderson, D) — give graduate assistants the right to collectively bargain for better pay and conditions. Status: Passed Assembly Government Affairs, referred to Assembly Ways and Means. Assembly Bill 388* (Assemblymember Selena La Rue Hatch, D) — requires private employers with more than 50 workers, as well as all public employers, to provide paid family and medical leave. Status: Passed Assembly Commerce and Labor, referred to Assembly Ways and Means. Assembly Joint Resolution 1* (Assemblymember Natha Anderson, D) would let voters in 2028 decide whether the taxable value of property should reset when a home is sold. Status: Passed Assembly Revenue. Assembly Joint Resolution 8 (Assemblymember Joe Dalia, D) would let voters in 2028 decide whether Nevada should establish a dedicated business court with the goal of enticing large companies to incorporate here. Status: Heard by Assembly Judiciary, then withdrawn and put on the Chief Clerk's desk. On Monday, taken off the Chief Clerk's desk and amended. Assembly Bill 256 (Assemblymember Selena La Rue Hatch, D) would create a Regional Rail Transit Advisory Working Group to assess the need for a regional rail system in the state's largest metro areas, as well as potential funding sources for such a system. Passed Assembly Legislative Operations and Elections. (Assemblymember Rich DeLong, D) would make the Net Proceeds of Minerals Bulletin public again. Status: Passed Assembly Revenue. would allow the Clark County Commission to extend fuel revenue indexing (FRI) an additional decade beyond its current sunset date. Status: Passed Assembly Growth and Infrastructure. (Storey County) would require companies seeking massive tax abatements to enter into agreements to defray the costs of the government-provided services they would require. Status: Passed Senate Revenue and Economic Development. (Assemblymember Natha Anderson) would bar most HOAs from prohibiting licensed home-based childcare operations within their communities. Status: Passed Assembly Government Affairs. Assembly Bill 238* (Assemblymember Sandra Jauregui, D) is known as the Nevada Studio Infrastructure Jobs and Workforce Training Act. It massively expands the state's film tax credit program to support a production studio in Summerlin in Las Vegas. Status: Heard by Assembly Revenue, referred to Assembly Ways and Means. Senate Bill 220* (State Sen. Roberta Lange, D) is known as the Nevada Film Infrastructure, Workforce Development, Education and Economic Diversification Act. It massively expands the state's film tax credit program to support a production studio in southwest Las Vegas. Status: Heard by Senate Revenue and Economic Development, referred to Senate Finance. Assembly Bill 376* (Assemblymember P.K. O'Neill, R) would create a 'regulatory sandbox' for the insurance industry. Passed Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee. * (Assemblymember Venicia Considine, D) seeks to close a potential loophole that can be used by corporate landlords to avoid paying the state's commerce tax. Status: Passed Assembly Revenue. Assembly Bill 487 would ban retail pet sales statewide. Status: Passed Assembly Natural Resources. Senate Bill 318 (State Sen. Skip Daly, D) would ban charter schools from contracting with for-profit education management organizations. Status: Passed Senate Education. * (Assemblymember Erica Mosca, D) would dedicate $100 million in state general obligation bonds for high-needs school construction projects in low-population counties that cannot fund them through typical means. Status: Passed Assembly Government Affairs, referred to Assembly Ways and Means. (Assemblymember Daniele Monroe-Moreno, D) would change how Opportunity Scholarships are administered. Status: Passed Assembly Revenue. Senate Bill 88* would discharge medical debt from those incarcerated once they leave prison. Status: Passed Senate Judiciary Committee, referred to Senate Finance. (Assemblymember Brian Hibbetts, R) would make driving the wrong way a misdemeanor crime. Status: Passed Assembly Judiciary. Assembly Bill 119 (Assemblymember Steve Yeager, D) seeks to crack down on paramilitary organizing and activities. Status: Passed Assembly Judiciary. Assembly Bill 320* (Assemblymember Jovan Jackson, D) seeks to stop judges from using dress codes to turn away defendants. Passed Assembly Judiciary. Senate Bill 457 (Gov. Joe Lombardo, R) is known as the Safe Streets and Neighborhoods Act. Status: Referred to Senate Judiciary, no hearing scheduled. Senate Bill 199* (State Sen. Dina Neal, D) — would establish guardrails around artificial intelligence. Status: Passed Senate Commerce and Labor. would mandate that cities and counties with populations exceeding 100,000 people include 'heat mitigation' as part of their master plans. Status: Passed Government Affairs.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Business
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Democrats tee up eviction reform Lombardo vetoed two years ago
Democratic Assemblymembers and eviction reform legislation sponsors Erica Roth (at podium) and Max Carter (applauding in background) at a press event in Carson City Wednesday. (Nevada Assembly Democrats photo) Upon returning home to Las Vegas from a trip from Los Angeles, Lousetta Keyes found a 7-day 'pay rent or quit' paper eviction notice taped to her apartment front door. There wasn't anything Keyes could do since it was late at night, she told state lawmakers at Wednesday's Assembly Judiciary Committee hearing as she recounted the recent experience. After a restless night spent worrying about why she was facing eviction, she went to her rental office first thing in the morning. That's when she was told the notices stemmed from being short $32 on rent. Keyes said because of surprise 'junk fees' attached to her monthly rental payment, she had no idea she had an outstanding amount. Let alone a number so little. Instead of going through a court process to seek an eviction for unpaid rent, Nevada's summary eviction process requires tenants be the first to file with the court after a 7-day notice is placed on their door. The basic notice template is easily accessible online to landlords and 'all they have to do is hit print,' Keyes said. 'They put a 7-day notice on my door for $32,' she said. 'That's not fair. If they had to file with the court they would have had to call me and ask why my rent was short.' Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed legislation in 2023 that would have reformed Nevada's eviction laws, considered some of the nation's most tenant-hostile. The bill was among numerous tenant protection and eviction protection bills he vetoed. Assembly Bill 283 would once again seek to restructure the process for filing an eviction. Democratic Assemblymember Max Carter, the bill's sponsor, said he not only wanted to give eviction reform another chance. He also wants to give Lombardo a 'second chance to do what's right for Nevadans, all Nevadans, not just corporate landlords.' Nevada has a 'summary' eviction process that allows landlords to evict tenants within days unless the tenant files a challenge to the eviction in court. That is the opposite of most states, where landlords must first file with a court to execute an eviction. Lombardo's veto message on the summary eviction bill said the legislation would 'impose additional and unnecessary delays' and costs 'make our summary eviction process more time-consuming' on property owners. The bill is about rebalanding a lopsided system, Carter said while presenting his legislation to the committee Wednesday. 'If you've ever attended eviction court, and Las Vegas Justice Court in particular, it is so tilted against tenants that it's ridiculous,' Carter said. 'It's shameful to watch. We need to do something to restore the balance.' AB 283 was one of two bills heard Wednesday by the Assembly Judiciary Committee seeking to address the impact of Nevada's eviction system. Assembly Bill 201 seeks to expand efforts to automatically seal eviction records. 'These records can negatively impact credit scores making it difficult to secure rental housing, employment and even access to loans,' said Democratic Assemblymember Erica Roth, the bill's sponsor. 'Even when the outcome of an eviction favors a tenant, a single eviction record can severely limit a person's ability to find safe and affordable housing, trapping them in a cycle of homelessness or substandard living conditions.' Members of the Housing Justice Alliance, which include organizations such as Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, Make the Road Nevada and ACLU of Nevada, called on lawmakers to support both bills. 'With our cost of living crisis and lack of tenant protections, we have an eviction-to-unhoused pipeline,' said Ben Iness. These bills are 'an important step to remedy that.' Real estate and property management groups opposed both bills. 'I think changing the process is not going to stop evictions from happening,' John Sande, a lobbyist for the Nevada State Apartment Association said in opposition to AB 283. 'The cause of eviction is the cost of housing.' There were at least 85,000 summary eviction cases filed last year in Nevada, said Jonathan Norman, the advocacy, outreach and policy director for the Nevada Coalition of Legal Service Providers. But that figure 'does not account for the number of cases where somebody receives a notice but the case does not proceed,' he said. The current law requiring tenants to file an answer to an eviction notice with the court — instead of having the landlords file with the court first — not only creates a burdensome process for renters. It also prevents the state from assessing the full scope of the eviction crisis. AB 283 would require landlords to file with the court after giving tenants a 7-day notice. Once the landlord filed with the court, the tenant would then have 7 judicial days – days the court is open – to respond. If a tenant responds to the notice before those 7 days are up, a court hearing is scheduled. But if the tenant doesn't respond to the court notice, an eviction is granted. 'The big shifts are when the landlord files a complaint and the tenant has a period to respond,' Norman said. The bill, he added, would bring the state in accordance with 'every civil process in the United States of America.' 'This is the only process where a tenant has to initiate the lawsuit against themselves,' he said. 'I just think of how absurd that sounds.' Republican Assemblyman Toby Yurek asked whether the bill would create unintended consequences by driving small landlords out of the housing market. 'You mentioned corporate rights landlords that certainly could absorb some of these costs that are going to be and delays that are going to incur with this process or this policy choice,' he said. 'My concern is for smaller landlords.' Carter said that in the states where landlords, not tenants, have to make the eviction filing, 'this isn't an onerous burden on small landlords.' Though an eviction happens in a single moment, 'the consequences last for years,' said Norman with the Nevada Coalition of Legal Service Providers. Nevada law already allows tenants to petition a court to seal an eviction record. AB 201 would seek to further protect renters from the economic onus of having a Nevada eviction on their record. The bill allows for court records to be automatically sealed one year after the eviction is granted or when a case is dismissed. 'If someone has been unlawfully evicted, they shouldn't have to face barriers to getting back on their feet and into housing,' Roth said. 'We are in a housing crisis and experiencing record numbers of people facing homelessness. We are seeing families on the verge of eviction every single month.' Experiencing an eviction and facing homelessness is already traumatic enough for people, Roth said. Landlords could oppose the records being sealed. If they don't, the record would be automatically sealed, Norman said. Landlords still have other tools, such as income requirements, to determine whether to rent to a tenant, he added. Republican Assemblymember Lisa Cole asked about how the bill would address tenants who receive more than one eviction over several years. She proposed amending the bill to include 'a limit where no more than two times can a record be sealed in five years.' Norman said they have had clients who have faced nine evictions in less than two years simply because 'landlords will (issue) multiple evictions within the same month.' The committee didn't take action on either bill.
