2025 Legislative Session
It's back, therefore I'm back.
After ages of not writing anything here on Substack, I’m back at it now that Nevada lawmakers are once again busy trying to pass new laws. The good news is that the Dems lost a little ground this time. As long as the Republicans stick together for the big issues, I think we’ll be able to fend off some of the crazier progressive agenda items. And although they still have the majority, the Dems do not have a supermajority, so the Governor’s vetos will be safe. Add to that the changing political winds at the federal level and a pretty noticeable social shift to the right (or arguably to the reasonable center, which is now considered “right”) across the country, I’m hopeful that this session will be less insane than the last one.
I spent the bulk of the past few days combing through bills to see how things are looking. So far they posted 900+ Bill Draft Requests and we’ve seen about 450 of the bills introduced in the past week and a half. I expect that we may see 1300-1500 bills in total this session. Here’s a summary of the ones I’m keeping an eye on so far.
SB6: Makes an appropriation to the Desert Research Institute of the Nevada System of Higher Education to support the Nevada State Cloud Seeding Program. Sponsor: Senate Committee on Natural Resoures. They want US to pay to have toxins dumped on us. No thanks! First committee hearing is tomorrow, Thursday 2/13 at 3:30 PM. It’s the only item on the agenda. Here’s a one click CALL-TO-ACTION that makes it easy for you to let the senators know that you are opposed to state funding of unproven and unsafe chemical weather modification. LINK to HEARING
SB139: Repeals the crime of terminating a pregnancy through performing certain acts under certain circumstances. Primary Sponsor: D-Rochelle Nguyen. The “certain circumstances” are if you take a drug (prescription or otherwise) that is known to harm or kill your fetus AFTER 24 WEEKS of gestational age and your fetus dies you will no longer be charged with manslaughter, as is written in current law. I imagine this is so that women having medicated abortions AFTER 24 WEEKS won’t be charged with a crime. The bill has been introduced and was sent over to the Senate HHS Committee. The hearing has not yet been scheduled.
SB171: Enacts a shield law to protect the transgender community. Primary Sponsor: D-James Orenschall. Oh, but here’s the kicker. This bill does nothing to “protect the transgender community”. The bill completely protects the medical providers that engage in “gender care”. It prohibits medical boards from limiting licensure of such providers, prohibits the Governor from extraditing such a person to another state if the person has been charged with a crime as related to “gender care”, prohibits state agencies from assisting in certain investigations and
proceedings regarding “gender care” initiated in other states and requires medical boards to consider reciprocal licensure with other states for '“gender care” providers. The bill has been sent to the Senate Committee on Commerce & Labor. The hearing has not yet been scheduled.
AB20: Revises provisions relating to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Sponsor: Assembly Committee on Growth & Infrastructure. This one’s creepy. Currently, people can request a symbol be added to their driver’s license or state ID indicating that they have A medical condition. This bill seeks to add individual codes for different medical conditions. Tracking people’s medical diagnoses on their driver’s license. The first hearing is scheduled tomorrow 2/13 at 1:30 PM in the Committee on Government Affairs. LINK
AB176: Revises provisions relating to reproductive health care. Sponsor: D-Selena Torres-Fossett. This is the “Right to Reproductive Health Care Act”. The bill language repeats the term “guarantees the access of a person to reproductive health care, drugs or devices related to reproductive health care or information related to reproductive health care” over and over again, but I really can’t figure this one out yet. My best guess is that it would hobble the government or any entity that tries to limit any “reproductive care” (which is really a nice sounding political term for abortions). If any of you dear readers have a chance to give it a look and can figure anything out on this one please let me know. There’s no hearing scheduled yet.
AB186: Revises provisions governing pharmacists. Sponsor:D-David Orentlicher. This adds the word “administering” to the practice of pharmacy which currently only includes “manufacturing, compounding, labelling, dispensing, and distributing drugs and medical devices. It also adds “performing” lab tests on top of just ordering them. I know that last session a bill was passed allowing pharmacists to prescribe certain medications including HIV PrEP so I’m assuming this has to do with creating an easier flow of getting these drugs directly into customers. Just skipo the doctor now. But we’ll better be able to see the motive once the bill is presented in the hearing. Which has not yet been scheduled.
The following are bills that I find interesting. Not necessarily things that fall within the health freedom purview, but some are potential freedom limiting bills that I am keeping an eye on, out of a general interest. Others are just weird.
AB205: Revises provisions governing sexual education. Sponsor:D-Heather Goulding. This one applies to sex education in schools. Instead of asking parents to OPT IN for their child to participate in the class or curriculum, parents will have to OPT OUT. If a child is not properly opted out, they will be required to attend the class. Existing sentence: “Parent or guardian of the pupil consenting the pupil’s attendance”. Proposed new sentence: “Parent or guardian of the pupil refusing to authorize the pupil’s attendance”. This has not been scheduled for a hearing yet.
AB209: Provides immunity from criminal liability for engaging in prostitution or committing certain acts while engaged in prostitution. Sponsor:D-David Orentlicher. Interesting submission by Senator Orentlicher, I must say. This will give prostitutes immunity from criminal liability for the following offenses if they are a victim of or were witness to a variety of crimes including lewdness with a child, kidnapping and murder or if they “seek assistance from a law enforcement agency, 911, emergency service or medical provider” while turning tricks.
prostitution
drug offenses
obstructing a peace officer
breaching the peace
loitering
trespassing
I can already hear the 911 lines buzzing. “Hello 9-1-1, I’m just out here hooking and I saw my boyfriend shoot this guy”.
SB89: Revises provisions relating to firearms. Sponsor: D-Julie Pazina. This bill will prohibit a person from purchasing, owning or possessing a firearm if they’ve been convicted of “committing or attempting to commit a hate crime involving violence”. Further description of this “hate crime” is spelled out as having “an element of which is that the conduct of the offender was motivated by the actual or perceived race, color,
religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression of another person or group of persons”. No hearing yet.
SB141: Revises provisions relating to local facilities for detention. Sponsor: D-Melanie Scheible. Oh boy. This one seeks to require policies and training programs at detention facilities across the state for prisoners who are transgender, gender non-conforming, gender non-binary and intersex. No hearing scheduled yet.
Thanks for making it to the bottom of this list. I’ll write regular articles as new bills come up or if we need help letting the legislators know how we feel about any of the bills. 111 days to go……