Latest news with #JamesOhrenschall
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Legislation would extend review period between death warrant and execution
State Sen. James Ohrenschall said he 'personally doesn't support the death penalty' and would rather see it abolished, but the legislation would at least ensure attorneys have an adequate amount of time to litigate issues once a death warrant is issued. (Photo: Jeniffer Solis/Nevada Current) Four years after state lawmakers failed to pass legislation to abolish the death penalty, despite having a Democratic trifecta, a bill this year would extend the time period for carrying out a potential execution. Nevada law currently calls for an execution to take place between 60 and 90 days after an execution is warranted. Senate Bill 350, sponsored by Democratic state Sen. James Ohrenschall of Las Vegas, would lengthen the timeframe to between 180 and 270 days. Ohrenschall said he 'personally doesn't support the death penalty' and would rather see it abolished. There have been 23 states that have abolished the death penalty, citing concerns including but not limited to racial disparities in the number of death row inmates, the high costs of capital cases going to trial, and documented likely instances of people being put to death after wrongful convictions, as well as people being exonerated while on death row. The legislation seeks to ensure attorneys have an adequate amount of time to litigate any issues that arise once an execution is ordered, Ohrenschall said. The legislation would also ensure that there is only one execution warrant that would be pending in Nevada at any given time. 'In Nevada, unlike other states, an execution warrant is issued by the district judge in the county where the conviction occurred,' said David Anthony, an attorney who specializes in capital cases who alongside Ohrenschall described the bill to a legislative panel. 'In many other states, execution warrants are issued by a single entity.' The bill passed out of the Senate April 21 on a 13-8 party-line vote. The legislation was heard Wednesday by the Assembly Judiciary Committee. Nevada hasn't executed anyone since 2006. The state tried, and failed, to execute Scott Dozier in 2017. A lengthy legal battle over the drugs being used to kill Dozier resulted in the execution being postponed until he died by suicide in early 2019. Ohrenschall, along with Democratic Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager, both introduced separate bills in 2021 to abolish the state's death penalty. Former Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak said at the time he had a 'hard time with the idea of a complete abolition' and thought executions should be reserved for extreme cases. Despite uncertainty on whether Sisolak would sign a bill abolishing the death penalty, the Nevada Assembly voted 26-16 in a party line vote to advance Yeager's bill. The legislation then stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee and died without getting another vote. Anthony said SB 350 represented 'a common sense reform that helps bring the law into conformity with what the actual practice is in litigating capital cases.' While there are ways for people to appeal their cases and delay their execution, 'there are certain constitutional rights that cannot be litigated until there is an execution warrant,' he said. The bill, Anthony said, would also give the Nevada Department of Corrections additional time to complete all the protocols statutorily required prior to an execution, including mental health evaluations and health exams. NDOCDirector James Dzurenda told lawmakers Wednesday the logistics of training staff, notifying victims and procuring the drugs for an execution is hard to accomplish in a short time period. The logistics for planning more than one execution concurrently would be 'a nightmare process for corrections,' he added. 'What we do is we prepare,' Dzurenda said. 'Even right now we are preparing for an execution in case we get one next week. That's a lot of wasted taxpayer money. If we had an extension at the beginning of an execution we could prepare when we get a warrant. Right now we have to prepare before we get a warrant.' There are currently 59 people on death row in Nevada according to the Death Penalty Information Center. But Dzurenda also said that if the timeframe is extended 'too much could actually hurt the process' and opens the possibility for 'appeals that may not have been necessary in my eyes or get these far fetched appeals that could stretch out an execution.' Similar to efforts to get rid of the death penalty, the Nevada District Attorneys Association opposed efforts to change the timeframe for carrying out executions. Jennifer Noble, a lobbyist with the association who testified against the bill Wednesday, said there is already a lengthy and robust process for people to challenge and appeal their guilty verdict as well as the death sentence. 'This bill will not make anything easier on victims,' Noble said. Nevada Attorneys for Criminal Justice, in a letter supporting Ohrenschall's legislation, wrote it wouldn't lead to unnecessary delays but 'rather reflect the time actually needed to ensure due process at a time when the stakes could not be higher.' Mark Bettencourt, the executive director with the Nevada Coalition Against the Death Penalty, said while the coalition was still pursuing an end to the death penalty, the legislation was a 'common sense bill' to ensure that if an execution was carried out it wasn't rushed. 'It's been almost 20 years since we've had an execution in this state,' he said. 'To rush that now risks a botched execution and taking the life of an innocent person.'
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nevada Legislature hits 2nd deadline, but less drama expected this time
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The second major deadline arrives today for the Nevada Legislature, but it's unlikely to produce the kind of shockwaves that followed the first deadline. 'Reba's Law,' which would toughen the penalties in animal abuse crimes, caused an uproar when it didn't get a committee vote at the April 11 deadline. Since then, lawmakers have given it an exemption, and it is safe at the April 22 deadline. The law is named for an English bulldog that died after it was sealed inside a plastic tub and left outside next to a dumpster on a July 2024 day that reached 110 degrees. No such drama is expected today as the Nevada Legislature hits the deadline for bills to pass a vote. Unless they are exempt, bills that originated in the Assembly must pass a vote of the full Assembly; bills that originated in the Senate must pass a vote of the full Senate. Exemptions are generally given to bills that make an appropriation. Those bills require work by the finance committees, and extra time is provided for that process. The April 11 deadline killed more than 280 bills, but only a handful of bills are in danger this time. Some of those bills could get last-minute action as the floor sessions in the Assembly and Senate plod along in Carson City. And that might require lawmakers to revive legislation that has been set aside. Agendas could changing rapidly right to the end of today's actions. PET STORES: AB487 would stop retail stores from selling dogs and cats. Advocates say the ban will help stop animal abuse, consumer fraud and practices that put animals' health in danger. With shelters overflowing with dogs and cats, advocates are trying to combat puppy mills from flourishing. The bill passed 32-9 on Monday, advancing to the Senate. It was sponsored by the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. BALLOON BAN: AB194 takes a dim view of the tradition of balloon releases at outdoor birthday parties and other celebrations. The bill would outlaw releasing balloons filled with helium or other lighter-than-air gases. It passed 26-15 on Monday, advancing to the Senate. The bill was sponsored by Democratic Assem. Sandra Jauregui. SHIELDING DOCTORS: SB171 would prevent protect medical professionals from having their license stripped or other punitive actions for providing or assisting in medically necessary gender-affirming health care services. Professionals who are licensed in multiple states wouldn't be penalized in Nevada if another state acted to discipline them. The bill passed on a 13-8 vote on Tuesday, advancing to the Assembly. Democratic Sen. James Ohrenschall sponsored the bill. AI-MODIFIED IMAGES: AB73 would require campaign materials to disclose if photos or video are modified by artificial intelligence. The bill is aimed at 'deep fakes' and other uses of AI images that misrepresent facts and erode trust in elections. The bill has passed out of the Assembly Legislative Operations and Elections Committee, but has not received a vote yet in the full Assembly. GUN OWNERSHIP: AB 245 would ban anyone under the age of 21 from owning a semi-automatic shotgun or center-fire rifle. A violation would be punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000. The bill also criminalizes letting someone under 21 handle those types of weapons. The bill passed in the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Monday. Democratic Assem. Sandra Jauregui sponsored the bill. Similar legislation was vetoed by Gov. Joe Lombardo in 2023. 'INTIMATE IMAGES': SB213 would add AI-modified or AI-created photos/videos to materials addressed in existing law about unlawfully distributing intimate images. It would be a category D felony to blackmail someone with these types of images — the same as if they were real images. The bill hasn't received action since it was passed in committee on April 17 and placed on General File the next day. Republican Sen. Jeff Stone sponsored the bill. STREET VENDORS: SB295 requires the health district to come up with pre-approved carts that people can buy to get licensed. It's a solution that lawmakers believe is needed after only six vendors in the Las Vegas valley actually went through the process to get a license since the legislation was originally passed in 2023. Many vendors say the requirements are too expensive. The bill passed in the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services on Monday, but needs a vote of the full Senate to advance. Democratic Sen. Fabian Doñate is the bill's sponsor. CONFISCATING GUNS: SB347 rewrites provisions in the law that allow police to confiscate guns from people placed on a 'Legal 2000' mental health hold. Police approached lawmakers with concerns that the existing law seemed to clash with Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure. The bill, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Melanie Scheible, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee, but needs a vote from the full Senate. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Pediatricians, families of trans youth seek a shield law for providers of gender-affirming care
State Sen. James Ohrenschall sponsored a similar bill in 2023. It passed both houses on party-line votes and was then vetoed by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo. (Photo: Jeniffer Solis/Nevada Current) For Eida Fuji, the mother of a transgender child, access to gender-affirming medical care wasn't a matter of 'policy disagreement' but a matter of life and death for her family. 'I was faced with a choice of burying a son or gaining a daughter,' Fuji said in a tearful testimony to state lawmakers last month. 'My daughter is alive today because she had access to the gender-affirming care she needed. This care did not harm her or confuse her. It saved her life. Without it, I have no doubt I would be mourning my daughter instead.' Despite widespread support from medical groups, the nation has seen an increase in legislative, political, and cultural attacks against gender-affirming care, including social transitioning and puberty blockers. Nevada law doesn't restrict medically necessary gender-affirming care. Yet, families of trans children along with pediatricians throughout the state still worry bans in other states could prevent trans youth from seeking care and doctors from providing it. Senate Bill 171, sponsored by Democratic state Sen. James Ohrenschall, seeks to enact a shield law for medical providers who offer gender-affirming care and prevents a medical license board from punishing or disqualifying providers. The bill passed out of the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee Thursday in a party-line vote. The legislation also prevents a Nevada governor 'from surrendering or issuing a warrant for the arrest of an individual who is charged in another state with the crime of providing, assisting or receiving medically necessary, gender-affirming health care services unless those acts are prohibited under Nevada law.' He sponsored a similar bill in 2023. It passed both houses in a party-line vote and then was vetoed by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo. In his veto message, the governor wrote the bill 'decreases the Executive Branch's authority to ensure the highest public health and child safety standards for Nevadans.' Ohrenschall, along with the numerous medical providers and pediatricians who testified in support of the bill, said the legislation is needed more than ever. 'Many states have criminalized or otherwise restricted gender-affirming care, even when it's medically necessary or provided with the informed consent of the patients and their families,' he said. The states that have passed bans 'not only harm transgender individuals but create a climate of fear and uncertainty for health care providers who offer gender-affirming health care services.' Democratic state Sen. Melanie Scheible, a cosponsor of SB 171, said the bill was necessary to address the fact 'we are currently living in a constitutional crisis' and some states 'are attempting to expand their jurisdiction beyond their legal borders in ways we have not seen in generations before us.' 'If people, who apparently do not understand how state's rights work or how the United States Constitution is structured, are going to attempt to come to Nevada, threaten our providers for following our laws and not following their laws, we are saying to our providers 'we are going to protect you,' ' Scheible said. Though Lombardo vetoed the shield law in 2023, he did sign other legislation expanding protections for the trans community. Leann McAllister, the executive director of the Nevada chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, noted that Lombardo also signed legislation that shielded in-state providers serving out-of-state patients who sought abortion care. 'In my mind, evidence based care is evidence based care,' McAllister said. 'Why should abortion care be covered and not gender affirming care?' The American Academy of Pediatrics policy regarding trans kids 'encompasses all sorts of gender affirming care, even including the social transition,' which helps children and their families access their identity, said Terence McAllister, a Las Vegas based primary care pediatrician. 'The more important thing, the thing we really concentrate on, is the social transitioning and the mental health support from the very beginning,' he said. 'We know that children who are trans are at higher risk for depression, anxiety and suicide. It's not because they're trans, It's because they're not accepted.' Other medical interventions that are considered gender-affirming care include hormone treatment and puberty blockers. 'The most extreme type of intervention are surgical interventions, which are exceedingly rare in pediatrics,' he said. 'I've had no patients of mine who have gone to that step. It is just very unusual, very rare in pediatrics.' Nevada state law hasn't restricted specific types of gender affirming care, as long as it's deemed medically necessary and a parent or guardian has granted consent. Though the state hasn't actively sought to limit gender-affirming care like other states, Julpohng Vilai, a pediatrician based in Southern Nevada, said offering health care for LGBTQ adolescents has become increasingly challenging over the years. Vilai's patients tell him it is already a struggle for those in the LGBTQ community, in particular trans youth, to find adequate health care. Nevada already struggles with a physician shortage, making it all the more challenging for trans youth to find a doctor. As a result, many trans youth don't seek needed care 'because they're not sure if they can find it,' he said. 'When they actually do find a provider who is not only willing to provide that care, but has a lot of experience in providing that care and wants to provide, the support and care that people need is really important,' he said. Another reason finding care has become difficult is partly due to increased anti-LGBTQ rhetoric around the country and a growing number of bills in state legislatures seeking to restrict trans people from access to health care and public accommodations. President Donald Trump's return to office has intensified the attacks against the trans community. There are already pediatricians who were 'already on the fence' on providing gender-affirming care, who have decided not to take on trans patients 'at risk of retaliation or legal consequences,' Vilai said. Many doctors backing SB 171 worry efforts by other states to restrict medical care for trans youth could exacerbate provider uncertainty and reluctance in Nevada. That's why they are imploring lawmakers to pass a shield law to protect medical providers, they said. Ohrenscall said 26 states have passed bans on gender-affirming health care 'that have caused significant harm to the community.' Last year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sought to investigate an out-of-state provider offering gender-affirming care to a minor. Paxton accused a Seattle hospital of providing puberty blockers, which are banned in Texas, to youth in the state. His investigation was dropped. However, supporters of Nevada's bill worry there could be future efforts to investigate or even extradite doctors in other states who provide gender affirming care. Scheible used the example of marijuana laws and how various states mandate where consumption is legal and how many ounces a person may possess. Nevada's laws, she said, could be different from Colorado's law. She added it would be ludicrous for Nevada officials considered arresting or investigating someone in Colorado. 'That's exactly what other states are trying to do,' she said. 'They are trying to say in Texas we are going to ban the prescription of puberty blockers.' SB 171 is opposed by conservative groups, including the Nevada Republican Party, which argue the bill decreases the governor's authority to 'ensure the highest public health and child safety standards for Nevadans' — an echo of Lombardo's veto message two years ago. Ohrenschall reiterated that the legislation doesn't change 'what is legal, medical care in Nevada.' 'What it does do, and what it will do if it is passed, is protect health care providers, patients and their families when seeking legal medical care in Nevada,' he said. 'Much of the opposition testimony is misinformed. We did not hear from any health care provider opposed to this bill.'
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New bills require police training on autism, insurance coverage for opioid alternatives
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Police would be required to complete four hours of training in how to interact with people with autism and other developmental disabilities if a bill introduced Monday in Carson City becomes law. A study of 8-year-olds conducted in 2020 found that one in every 36 are affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which impairs their social interactions. The prevalence of ASD has increased dramatically, going from 1:150 in 2000 to 1:44 in 2018, and 1:36 in the 2020 study, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ASD is nearly four times as common in boys compared to levels found in girls. Senate Bill 380 (SB380) is an effort to make interactions between police and people with ASD less likely to result in harm. When a person with ASD has a weapon, the situation can be deadly. The bill requires continuing education for peace officers on interactions and how to recognize and respond to persons with developmental disabilities, including ASD. Democratic State Sen. James Ohrenschall sponsored the bill. Another bill introduced Monday would require health insurance companies to cover opioid alternative drugs, commonly used in helping people break addictions to opioids. SB377, sponsored by Republican State Sen. John Steinbeck, would also empower the Nevada Commissioner of Insurance to suspend or revoke the certification of any health maintenance organization that failed to comply. Steinbeck, fire chief for the Clark County Fire Department since 2020, introduced another bill Monday that calls for tougher penalties on crimes committed in Nevada resort hotel. Find details on that bill (SB371) here: Proposal raises penalties for crimes at Las Vegas Strip, Nevada resorts Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Death penalty, guns topics of 2 bills introduced in Nevada Senate
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — If it seems like death penalty cases drag out in the courts already, new legislation introduced on Thursday would ensure that the process slows down even more. Senate Bill 350 (SB350) changes the time frame surrounding execution orders. Instead of current requirements that the warrant for carrying out the death penalty be issued with a window of 60 to 90 days, SB350 would make it a window of 180 to 270 days. Legal challenges that are common in such cases often lead to a second or even third warrant, which is required to set the week when for the execution within 15 to 30 days. SB350 would change that to 180 to 270 days. 'Reba's Law' at Nevada Legislature toughens penalties for animal cruelty, torture The bill, sponsored by Democratic Sen. James Ohrenschall, would allow lawyers more time to explore legal options and file lawsuits. ALSO THURSDAY: A bill designed to keep guns out of the hands of people in serious mental distress was introduced at the Nevada Legislature. SB347 builds on existing laws that allow police to place people on a mental health crisis hold. That authority can be used to hold a person — but not for more than 72 hours — for transport, assessment, evaluation, intervention and treatment during a mental health crisis. 'Shocked': Lawmaker bristles at where funds come from to bury Nevada's indigent prisoners Democratic Sens. Melanie Scheible and Nicole Cannizzaro want to expand that authority to include the confiscation of firearms, either owned or in the person's possession. When the person is released, they will be provided with procedures for getting the firearm(s) back and police will also be notified. But the return would not be immediate. The law enforcement agency would have 30 days to file a petition in district court to determine the dangers of returning the firearm. The person would be informed of the procedure for requesting a hearing on the matter and the consequences for failing to do so. If a court determines that the return of a firearm would result in a substantial likelihood of serious harm to the person or others, the court may authorize the law enforcement agency to retain possession, sell, destroy, trade or donate the firearm. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
