Author: Vickie Samuelson

This report is on the bills that I followed through the 2025 Legislative Session. So far, most of the bills are still on the Governor’s desk waiting to be signed, vetoed or passed without his signature. He has six days as of today to accomplish this, so the process should move quickly.

I will have another report on June 14th with the status of each bill.

Next session will be in 2027.

Assembly

AB73    This bill relates to campaign practices, requiring certain communications relating to an election that includes synthetic media (AI) must be disclosed. The bill was amended and passed as amended in the Assembly.

AB79    This bill relates to campaign finance. The bill prohibits a committee for political action from spending campaign contributions for personal use, including an elected public officer. On  4/22, the bill was amended and passed on the 3rd reading with 28 yeas and  14 nays. The bill moved to the Senate. On 5/13, it was heard in the Senate with no action. That means, the bill will still move forward.                                   

 AB81     Daylight Saving to change to Standard time bill was heard in the Senate on 5/13, no action was taken. This bill didn’t get a second hearing so now it has Failed. 

AB123     This bill relates to election communications, prohibiting a person during any speech or other communication made in the course of his or her political campaign from making threatening statements to end one’s life. Did get the required Second hearing. The bill will be moving forward.

 AB148     This bill relates to election deadline for a county or city clerk to distribute.

sample ballots. Final passage from the Assembly unanimously. On 5/15 the bill was heard in the Senate work session.

 AB176     This bill prohibits any government entity from substantially burdening certain activity relating to reproductive health. This bill did get the second reading, so it will move forward.

AB197      This bill relates to government administration requiring governmental entities to keep certain personal information of people in non profit organizations. On 4/22, the bill passed, with 41 yeas and 1nay1. On 5/7, the  Senate took no action. The bill moves forward.

AB235      This bill relates to health care providers that practice in reproductive health care or volunteer for a healthcare facility that provides services for reproductive health any provider of gender affirming care and the spouse, domestic partner or minor child’s personal records kept by the state to be kept confidential. This bill did get the second hearing and is now in the Senate.

AB343       This bill relates to hospital pricing of certain services.. This bill was heard on 5/15, which met the deadline. The bill was amended and referred to the Ways and Means committee.

AB346        End of Life. This bill did not get the required second hearing so it has Failed

Senate

SB74       This bill is a redo of many processes that need updating or cleaning up that hasn’t been done in years. The last action on this bill was on 4/21, the bill was amended and passed out of the work session. Now in the Assembly.

SB100        Establishes  provisions governing the performance of certain election duties in a timely manner and penalties. On 5/13, the Assembly heard the bill and amended it. On the third reading, the Senate passed the bill. Yeas 14 nays 7.

SB102         This bill prohibits a person from, with intent to defraud, knowingly creating, filing, or otherwise submitting certain documents relating to elections and prohibiting a person from creating or serving in a false slate of presidential electors or conspiring to create or to serve in a false slate of presidential electors. This bill passed the Assembly in a work session. On 5/15, the bill passed the Senate 13 yeas and 8 nays.  

SB217         IVF bill was amended and placed on the second reading where it was amended then moved to the Finance Committee.

SB352         Prohibits health insurers and providers from engaging in discriminatory actions. The bill passed the Assembly Yeas 16and 4 nays. It is Now in the Senate.

ARJ 1 Proposes to amend the State Constitution to revise provisions relating to the assessment and taxation of real property which is sold or transferred. In a Senate hearing on 5/16 in a work session it was passed out without recommendations. That means legislators approved it moving forward in the process but didn’t necessarily support it.

The above listed bills are the bills that I will follow until the end of the session, so more updates will be coming. The session is almost done; June 2 is a hard stop. I do anticipate a special session because of the budget, which is my opinion only.

Below are some bills that I have gotten information on from other news organizations including Native Voters Alliance, Review Journal, Nevada Independent, Nevada Current  and immediate press releases.

(1) For Immediate Release

May 13, 2025

Horsford Bill Passes Divided U.S. House with Bipartisan Support. 

Legislation Will Expand Local Control, Diversify Economy & Increase Economic Growth in North Las Vegas.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) released the following statement today as the U.S. House of Representatives passed his Apex Area Technical Corrections Act by a unanimous vote.

Rep. Horsford authored the legislation to allow Clark County to acquire certain federal land (referred to as the Apex Site) for industries that generate hazardous by-products. 

“I’m thrilled to see this divided Congress finding common cause to support my constituents in North Las Vegas,” Rep. Horsford said. “This vote is a resounding affirmation for our community to have the autonomy it needs to make critical investments without facing unnecessary hurdles from Washington. Allowing for local control of the Apex Site will mean more local jobs, more industries to work in, and more economic growth for our community.”

Today’s vote is a reflection of Rep. Horsford’s ability to work with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to advance priorities for Nevada’s 4th Congressional District.

Under Rep. Horsford’s legislation, the City of North Las Vegas would no longer need approval from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to further develop existing electric power, water, natural gas, telephone, railroad, and highway facilities on the Apex Site. 

(2) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 14th, 2025

Speaker Steve Yeager to present AB398 with a Conceptual Amendment Addressing Charter School Teacher Pay Raises

Carson City, NV –  On Thursday, May 15th Speaker Steve Yeager will present AB398 which provides additional compensation for hard to fill positions for Title 1 schools and special education teachers with a conceptual amendment addressing Charter School teacher pay raises.

Hearing Details:

Date: Thursday, May 15th 2025

Time: 8:00AM PST

Location: Assembly Ways and Means Committee – Nevada Legislature

Click here to view the agenda and for the link to view online.

Background:

Last week during the education budget closings, Speaker Yeager committed on the record to work on legislation to provide funding for charter school teacher pay raises. The amendment will mirror the language of SB231 from the 2023 session, which allocated funding for teacher and education support professional raises, but also required transparency and accountability. The SB231 money from the last session resulted in teacher pay raises of approximately 20% across all 17 school school districts.

This bill was heard in the Assembly May 15. 

(3) Competing plans test priorities for Nevada Schools

A Democrat-backed education proposal that maintains educator pay raises and tightens hiring processes for key school administrators will have its initial hearing Monday at the Nevada Legislature.

The wide-ranging Senate Bill 460, or the Education through Accountability, Transparency and Efficiency Act, is a 104-page piece of legislation sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas. The comprehensive measure also opens the possibility of school board takeovers and gives school districts the ability to object to charter school placements.

It requests $317 million in appropriations for its various proposals, with $250 million of that being to extend the raises lawmakers first passed in 2023.

“I believe wholeheartedly in the promise of public education, and that’s why I’m excited to introduce this bill. These reforms can improve outcomes for students, help us hire and retain great teachers and staff, and give parents more confidence in our educational system,” Cannizzaro said in a statement accompanying the bill filing last month. “We all agree that our kids deserve the best possible educational opportunities.

That means investing in classrooms while ensuring publicly funded schools are more transparent and accountable to deliver for students, parents and our community.”

The bill is heavy on school governance accountability and attracting and retaining staff.

On accountability, SB 460 introduces the concept of a School District Oversight Board, chaired by the governor, which can take over for a local school board if the board fails to follow “any state law.” The oversight board can exert power for up to 90 days at a time if the local board also does not provide a satisfactory corrective plan to the state.

SB 460 requires the state Board of Education to prepare a plan to improve achievement in English language arts, math and science in elementary schools.

Administrators who don’t reach goals for three consecutive years may receive school district support, and the school board will assess the principals’ performance – and potentially remove the principal or require them to reapply for their job.

On charter oversight, a provision of SB 460 allows school boards to object to the formation of a proposed charter school within its boundaries if the board determines that the charter’s academic, financial or organizational plans “do not meet the needs of the community.”

The State Public Charter School Authority would rule on the objections. Additionally, the bill adds school district representation to the authority — a school board member, a superintendent and a financial administrator.

And on private school oversight, the bill proposes requiring preschools with students who receive state-funded Opportunity Scholarships to complete demographic and enrollment reports on scholarship recipients, and ensure that recipients take the standardized exams given to public school students and report the results to the state.

The bill also gives the Clark County School District board members appointed by municipal governments voting powers.

Giving appointees the vote is being considered in a separate bill as well.

On staffing, the bill notably allocates $250 million to school districts to extend the teacher and support staff pay raises, matched with district funds and separately affirmed by lawmakers, as legislators granted in 2023.

For CCSD specifically, the bill requires the district and its teacher and administrator unions to negotiate a salary incentive program for teachers and principals who complete professional development or continuing education.

And on high-level hiring, SB 460 lays out minimum education and experience requirements for superintendent and chief financial officer applicants. Superintendent and CFO candidates for districts in the largest counties would need to be approved by the Nevada Department of Education before being hired. The Nevada Department of Education would also be able to fire superintendents, and appoint an interim leader, if at least 30% of their district’s schools are not demonstrating academic growth.

Cannizzaro and Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo have dueling omnibus bills before the 2025 Legislature to reform Nevada’s K-12 education system. Lombardo’s Assembly Bill 584, which was introduced Wednesday, contains items in common with Cannizzaro’s bill such as school board and principal accountability. The governor’s bill, however, is friendlier to charter schools and other school choice options. No hearing has been scheduled yet for AB 584.

Lombardo has indicated that charter schools were his line in the sand. When the Democrat-majority appropriations committees voted this month for a state education budget that only set aside money for the proposed educator raises to employees of school districts, Lombardo said he would reject the budget if it came to him without consideration for charter educators.

Charter schools are also public schools, with state oversight and funding but more flexibility and independence than traditional school districts.

“I’ve been clear and consistent on this. I will not sign an education budget that does not include equal pay for public charter school teachers and make teacher pay raises, including those for charter school teachers, permanent,” he responded in a statement.

“Further, I will veto any education budget bill that falls short of addressing a serious need for accountability, transparency and real parental choice. All 63 legislators have been aware of my position for months, and it is my expectation that they will pass a bill that improves education for all Nevada children.”

The message is apparently coming through — although it hasn’t been confirmed with any votes, a separate bill on pay for teachers in “hard-to-fill” positions from Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager, D-Las Vegas, now includes an amendment to set aside nearly $20 million for charter staff raises.

(4) On the National Front

Horsford Fights GOP Budget for Over 17 Hours

Lawmaker Offers Amendment After Amendment Highlighting Dangers of Planned Cuts

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04), the Silver State’s sole lawmaker serving on the House Ways and Means Committee with jurisdiction over healthcare and taxes, today voted to protect his constituents – and all Nevadans – from a dangerous budget proposal that cuts deeply from programs working Americans rely on to fund tax giveaways to the billionaires.

While Horsford and every Ways and Means Democrat voted against moving the budget proposal out of committee, the proposal passed and now goes to the Congressional Budget Committee, where it will be combined with budget proposals from ten other committees before a vote by the full House.

Horsford offered five amendments during the marathon markup session that lasted seventeen-and-a-half hours:

Advanced Premium Tax Credit (APTC): A provision to make permanent the Advanced Premium Tax Credit. First introduced in the Affordable Care Act, expanded by the American Rescue Act, and extended through the end of 2025 by the Inflation Reduction Act, the APTC is a federal premium tax credit which has helped nearly 20 million Americans gain access to affordable health care coverage through the ACA marketplaces.

Veterans Housing Fund: A one percent surtax on the largest corporations to provide essential mental health services and housing opportunities for at-risk veterans.

Restoring Employment for Veterans: An amendment to ensure veterans who were recently laid off because of DOGE-led cuts to the federal workforce are included in the Workers Opportunity Tax Credit.

Tax Relief for New Businesses: An amendment to increase the startup tax deduction from $5,000 to $50,000 to help new businesses get off the ground and drive economic activity across the country.

Credit for Domestic Travel: With international travel down 20 percent since January, and consumer confidence at a 50-year low, this tax credit would incentivize domestic travel to support local economies that rely on tourism.

Each amendment was defeated by party line votes. Rep. Horsford released the following statement:

“The only reason to ram a bill through committee in the dead of night is to hide its impact from Nevadans and people across the country,” Rep. Horsford said. “This budget is a butcher’s block for the programs and benefits working Americans depend on, and a giveaway for the wealthiest among us. Nevadans are right to be wary of a plan that cuts Medicaid, Social Security, SNAP, education funding and much more, but this plan is still a long way from becoming law. I fought for more than seventeen hours today, and I’m just getting started.”

Nevada will be hit particularly hard if the Republican budget becomes law. Medicaid cuts alone could impact 811,000 residents in the Silver State, which will have to either add $6.7 billion to the state budget, or kick hundreds of thousands of people off their coverage, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, nearly 100,000 in Nevada’s 4^th Congressional District alone received medical coverage through Medicaid expansion, which is the funding being targeted for cuts. Additionally, approximately 33,000 people in the 4^th Congressional District, and 109,000 people statewide would be at risk of losing SNAP food assistance benefits.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, if the APTC is not made permanent, residents in Nevada’s 4^th Congressional District could see an average premium increase between 150-200 percent. A 40-year-old making $31,000 per year would experience a $95 increase, from $58 to $153. And a 60-year-old couple making $82,000 per year would experience a $1,045 increase, from $581 to $1,626.

Key Budget Stats & Facts

• $5 trillion: Cost of Republican tax plan, mostly benefiting the wealthy.
• $1.8 trillion: Cost to extend 2017 law to 98% of Americans.
• 13.7 million: Estimated number of Americans losing coverage due to GOP health care cuts.
• $278,000/year: Average annual gain for the top 0.1% under GOP plan.
• $.75/day: Relief for families earning under $50K/year.
• Trump’s Tariff Tax: Costing American households an average of $2,800/year in higher prices.
• Americans for Tax Fairness has reported that Trump’s tariff tax has already cost American households $14 billion

Legislative Report for 4/5/2025

Source is Nevada Economic Forum, this is an AI generated summary of the report:

On May 1st, 2025, the Nevada Economic Forum released updated revenue projections for the upcoming 2025-2027 biennial budget, which the legislature will use to finalize the state budget. Here’s a breakdown of the fiscal analysis as of that date:

Key Findings:

• Lower Revenue Projections: The Economic Forum projected approximately $191 million less in general fund revenue for the next two-year budget cycle compared to their previous forecast in December 2024. This represents a 1.6 percent reduction.
• Significant Impact on Education Funding: The State Education Fund is expected to see a decrease of nearly $160 million from prior projections. This contributes to a total decrease of approximately $350 million in anticipated state funds.
• Reasons for Downgrade: Economists cited concerns about a potential economic slowdown due to the Trump administration’s trade policies, particularly impacting tourism from Canada, as well as a potentially strained labor force amid reduced immigration and modest gains in unemployment.
• Sales Tax Decline: A significant portion of the lower revenue projection is attributed to a decrease in sales tax revenue, which was down 3.2 percent compared to the same point last year.
• Impact on Budgeting: The reduced revenue forecast is expected to lead to budget cuts and could result in the failure of legislative bills with significant price tags.
• Education Funding Concerns: The substantial drop in projected education funding raises questions about potential expansions to education programs in the coming biennium. Governor Lombardo’s proposed budget had relatively flat per-pupil funding for the next fiscal year, with a slight increase in FY 2027, but this new forecast puts further pressure on education funding.
• Increased Unemployment Forecast: The Governor’s Finance Office projects that the state’s unemployment rate will rise from 5.69% to 6.55% in the next fiscal year before slightly recovering.
• Decline in Tourism: Visitor volume is also expected to decrease by 4.4% in FY 2026 before a slight rebound in the following year.

Legislative Activity:

• Legislative budget committees had been working to close budgets in anticipation of the Economic Forum’s May 1st projections.
• There were disparities between the Governor’s recommendations and legislative proposals in certain areas, such as funding for the Nevada Knowledge Account.

Overall Outlook:

The fiscal analysis released on May 1st, 2025, paints a concerning picture for Nevada’s upcoming budget cycle. The lower revenue projections, driven by economic uncertainty and declining sales tax, will likely force lawmakers to make difficult decisions regarding budget allocations and potentially scale back or eliminate some planned initiatives. The significant shortfall in projected education funding is a particular area of concern.

It’s important to note that the May 1st forecast from the Economic Forum is the final official revenue estimate that the Legislature must use to balance the budget for the next two fiscal years (2025-2027

Nevada State Democratic Party spokesperson Tai Sims: 

“In an economy that is already struggling under Joe Lombardo, Donald Trump’s reckless tariffs and Elon Musk’s erratic DOGE cuts are devastating working families’ budgets, harming businesses, and forcing the state to contend with sharp declines in revenue projections. With Lombardo’s encouragement, Trump’s reckless tariffs and economic policies are going to force painful budget decisions on the state all the while costing Nevadans jobs and leading to higher costs and less money in people’s pockets.”

Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro released the following statement after the Legislature’s Economic Forum projected a nearly $200 million drop in state general fund revenues over the next two years. Economists said that the drop in revenue is a direct result of the damage that the Trump administration’s chaotic economic and trade policies are doing to Nevada’s economy. Today’s projections reflect changes in economic circumstances since the Economic Forum last met in December 2024. 

“The Trump administration’s reckless economic policies are damaging Nevada’s economy, leaving us with a new $200 million gap in the state budget,” said Leader Cannizzaro. “Trump’s trade wars are killing American consumer confidence, reducing both domestic and international tourism to the state, and driving up prices for ordinary Nevadans. Today’s revenue projections show that our economy is now slowing with the potential for job losses and higher inflation on the horizon. Over the remaining few weeks of the session, Senate Democrats will work to minimize the damage and the impact on vital educational, health care, and social services that Nevadans need.” 

For more coverage and analysis, here is an article in the Nevada Independent and The Nevada Current.

The Nevada Legislature’s upcoming deadlines help establish a timetable for its short 120-day schedule. Tuesday’s deadline (April 22) requires most bills to pass out of their originating house in the bicameral Legislature.

A previous deadline, April 11, for bills to be passed by their originating legislative committee, was the first indication of which bills would survive.

Of several hundred pieces of legislation, 281 failed to meet the Legislature’s first committee passage deadline, according to data provided by the Legislative Counsel Bureau.

Between the first deadline and the one coming on April 22nd, dozens of bills have already moved through the deadlines. To name a few, AB81 would move Nevada to Standard Time and remove Daylight Savings time. AB217 is a prohibition on immigration enforcement officers entering schools unless they have a search warrant. SB451 would attempt to extend an existing Clark County property tax that funds about 800 Las Vegas police officer positions.

Several bills moving through the Legislature are identical or similar to proposals rejected by Gov. Joe Lombardo in 2023 when he set a record with 75 vetoes. They include an effort to legalize medical aid in dying for terminally ill adults and another measure to criminalize creating a fake slate of presidential electors. Both passed out of their original houses.

A number of bills likely won’t see action in the coming days because of their special exempted status. According to the Legislative Counsel Bureau, 188 bills and resolutions have received exemptions from Legislative leadership — a waiver that can be applied to bills that make large appropriations or otherwise would affect the state’s revenue.

Other priority bills for Democrats, including legislation strengthening gun control and renter protections and establishing free school lunches, were targeted in the Republican governor’s last batch of vetoes. Many are exempt from Tuesday’s deadline or had yet to make it to the full Assembly or Senate for a floor vote as of Friday afternoon.

These include some of the most consequential bills of the session, including Lombardo’s priority legislation. Only two of the Republican governor’s five omnibus bills on health care, education, crime, housing and economic development have been introduced: Assembly Bill 540, addressing housing “attainability,” and Senate Bill 457, which focuses on crime and public safety reform. The latter has not had a hearing.

Budgeting Headwinds

Bills with a significant fiscal impact or other effect on the state’s general fund may have a more difficult path forward in the Legislature as lawmakers worry about possible funding cuts, either from the Trump administration’s large-scale effort to reduce the size of the federal government, or from revenue declines resulting from an uncertain economic outlook.

One strategy for legislative leaders could be to let bills with hefty price tags fail at deadlines or wait until the findings of the Economic Forum, a state-mandated economic forecast produced in December to inform the governor’s recommended budget, then produced again as the final official revenue estimate used to formulate the biennial budget. That forecast for the state’s 2025-27 budget will be released on May 1.

The Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Committee on Finance, the two legislative committees closest to the budget process, dominated the past week with joint budget meetings, reconciling agency and the governor’s requests with what’s possible. Danielle Monroe-Moreno, Chair of the Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee, and fellow Las Vegas Democrat Marilyn Dondero Loop, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, delivered sobering news on Monday, according to local news reports.

President Donald Trump has upended the U.S. economy with his trade war, levying tariffs on Mexico and Canada, countries that are home to a large percentage of Las Vegas’ international visitors. Trump has since expanded that to a 10% blanket tariff on most U.S. imports and a 145% tariff on China in what he says is an effort to bring back American manufacturing.

The global tension and reports of increasingly aggressive U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents have decreased international travel while the strain on American wallets due to higher prices has sent consumer confidence spiraling. Due to its reliance on tourist dollars, Nevada’s economy is particularly sensitive to national and international economic downturns. That’s why the May 1 revenue estimate is critically important to the state government’s budgeting process.

By Wednesday or Thursday, we should know what bills will have a chance to become law. 

FYI On April 11, 2025 there was a deadline that removed bills that didn’t get a hearing. None of these bills were removed.

AB540 Nevada Attainable Housing Account- Governor Lombardo

The bill states the following: Nevada Attainable Housing Account and setting up of  money in accounts  requiring,  with certain  exceptions, an  eligible  entity  to  provide  or  secure certain matching funds as a condition of receiving money from the account; exempting any attainable housing project from provisions of law relating to public works and the payment of prevailing wages; requiring the Administrator of the Housing Division of the Department of  Business  and  Industry to adopt an allocation plan for attainable housing; creating and setting forth the duties of the Nevada Attainable Housing  Council;  authorizing  the Division to establish programs for the reporting of rental payments to credit reporting agencies; providing that attainable housing projects that receive financial assistance from the Nevada State Infrastructure Bank  are not subject to prevailing wage requirements; revising provisions  governing  the  sale, lease or conveyance of certain real property by the governing body of a county or city; requiring  the  governing  body of a county or city to adopt certain expedited processes relating the attainable housing; revising the definition of certain tiers of affordable housing. The bill provides that the provisions of law that require the payment of prevailing wages to skilled labor apply to any contract for construction work on a qualified project if all or part of the costs of the qualified project are paid for using a loan or other financial assistance from the bank.  

This bill provides an exception so that the requirement to pay prevailing wages  do not apply to any contract for construction work on a qualified project relating  to attainable housing if the qualified borrower demonstrates that the qualified project addresses a need for critical infrastructure in an area with a shortage of attainable housing. The bill also authorizes the bank to give a preference for approval to such a  qualified project if the qualified borrower, contractor and subcontractors agree to pay prevailing wages.

Nevada State AFL-CIO opposed the bill stating “When we talk about bridging the Nevada housing gap, there are two sides to that bridge.One side is housing supply. The other is wages sufficient to afford the housing available in your community. When the government exempts public dollars from prevailing wages, they drive down wages for the whole region, which hurts working families. When construction workers on affordable housing projects can’t afford housing themselves because they are being underpaid, the housing gap only gets wider. Solving the problem requires addressing both sides of the gap. Southern Nevada Desert Pines and Northern Nevada Carville Park Apartments are shining examples of how affordable housing should be developed, providing more than 1600 units of housing. The AFL-CIO, and its 150,000-plus members, strongly oppose AB540.

AB 81 Stop the Clock Assemblymember Hatch 

The State of Nevada exempts itself from being required to change to Daylight Saving Time. This would mean that the State would stay on Standard Time for the entire year. This would start July 1,2026. When the country started doing this more than 50 years ago,we were all on Standard time but we added Daylight Saving Time so that is the only one we can remove. This bill passed out with three nays.

AB73 Introduced, Communications relating to elections and Synthetic Media Cisco Aguilera, Secretary of State

Any communication made in support of or opposition to a candidate, group of candidates, or political party or that solicits contributions for the same, that which includes any form of synthetic media in the communication must disclose the communication in a clear and conspicuous manner. The bill states as an example, This (image/video/audio) has been manipulated. If a civil penalty is imposed for a violation of the requirements, the amount to the violation can not exceed $50,000 of each violation.

AB343 Introduced, Hospital Pricing of Goods and Services Assembly member Yeager

This bill requires hospitals to publish pricing for certain goods and services.In 2019 President Trump signed an Executive Order for this issue. Biden  issued an update to the order in 2022. Then on 2/2025 President Trump added an enforcement clause. Some of Nevada hospitals are compliant but this has been a slow process. This bill codifies similar requirements into Nevada Law. The bill requires the hospital to also publish and update annually a list of standard charges for all items and services they provide.

Mesquite City Council meeting 4/08/25 by Linda Perkowski

Ceremonial Matters – Building Safety, National public works and National Public Safety.

Telecommunicators week. Acting Chief Fails gave a presentation on how grateful we are to have those dedicated people that answer 911 calls everyday on peoples worst days. He also included our Animal Control employees and volunteers.

Public Comments – Comments were made regarding the City Managers racial slurs and comments. It seems like they are just sweeping that under the rug with a written warning from the City Mayor.

Consent Agenda – aside from the regular budget, paid bills and purchase orders there was discussion about a block grant of $254,249.00 for use on the Woodbury All Wheels Skate Park Project. This final allotment has been delayed and they are just waiting for it to go through the payment process which has slowed down a bit.

Special Items – 3.1 Presentation of Mesquite Public Arts Commission 5 year plan. Presented a five year plan to the Council. They are proceeding with trying to create a butterfly pollination area within the arts district.

The new mural on the Jimmy Hughes building in front of the Mesquite Theater is finished and very impressive.

3.2 – Presentation from George and Mindy Creamer for the purchase of 9 acres of City owned property for a strip mall at 1220 Hardy Way. I believe this is the same parcel that the pickle ball courts were presented a few weeks ago. It seems like the public is more supportive of the pickleball courts.

3.3 – Presentation from Richard Weldin on the purchase of 44.97 acres of City Owned Property near the camel refuge. He owns the adjacent property and would like to preserve the area with a rv park or something that the community could enjoy. This area is restrictive in terms of what can be built there due to it being in a flood area. Public seemed to support this plan.

3.4 and 3.5 – These were two different presentations given for the same 15 acre parcel of City owned property adjacent to the Hospital. The Hospital wants to purchase this for expansion of services and so does the Commonwealth Development Corporation for the low income Senior Housing.

The Hospital claims they did not know that the Senior Housing project was planned, however they had the first right of refusal which they let expire and have no claim to the parcel.

The Council approved the Senior Housing Development and encouraged both parties to see if they could come up with plan to allow the hospital to purchase a small portion of the parcel that is attached to another city owned parcel, however significant grading would need to be done because that parcel is on an elevated parcel of property.

4 – Appraisal for the 44.97 Acres discussed in item three were presented and the City voted that it is in the best interest of Mesquite to sell the parcel.

5 – No council or department reports.

6 – Introduction of Bills.

6.1 – Consideration of allowing changes to Mesquite Municipal Code Chapter 10 “Signs” The entire code will be rewritten to make it simple and allow small businesses some latitude with that regard. The preliminary language was discussed and will be presented in its final form at a future meeting.

7.1 Consideration of an extension of time of 24 months for “The Retreat at Mesquite” No public comments – passed.

7.2 Consideration of Police Chief residency requirement – Discussion was heard about making it a requirement for the Chief of Police to live within Mesquite City limits. Some public comment though we should grandfather clause the requirement. That was not received well and the bill passed to require COM Police Chief to live in Mesquite City Limits.

7.3 & 7.4 Public Right of Way on Canyon Crest from Canyon Crest LLC and L&B Holdings no public comment, passed.

7.5 – Consideration of Resolution adopting Contract between COM & Regional Transportation Commision of Southern Nevada for Canyon Crest Boulevard and Horizon Boulevard Roadway Improvements – no public comment – passed.

7.6 Consideration and approval of Interlocal Contract between COM and the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada for the Mesquite Boulevard and Sandhill Boulevard Old Mill and Overlay Project. – no public comment – passed.

8.0 Public Comments – Ann Bley gave a report on the indivisible protest on April 5th and thanked the police for their presence and our protection.

On Saturday, April 5, I attended the “Hands Off” rally in Mesquite and I want to brag about it.

Just over 200 people gathered along the bridge on Grapevine Drive. People were carrying hand made signs on the issues that were important to them. We were all just having fun and talking about the issues and how we disagree with the actions of this administration.  Everyone was peaceful and we were glad to make our voices heard.

Officers of the Mesquite Police Department ensured there was no disruption to traffic control and to keep us all safe.

Enjoy the pictures that I and others took. It was a beautiful day for a rally.