Governor's staff, from left, Chief of Staff Josh Hicks, Legal Counsel Chris Nielsen, and Nick Vander Poel, director of the state Office of Energy, talk Friday, April 10, 2009, during a hearing at the Legislature in Carson City, Nev. About 200 bills and resolutions died Friday as another session deadline passed. (AP Photo/Nevada Appeal, Cathleen Allison)
As another deadline hit on Friday, about 200 bills and resolutions wound up on the scrap heap of rejected legislative ideas while about 770 other proposals remained alive for more debate during Nevada lawmakers' session.
The rejected measures, on subjects ranging from toll roads and motorcycle helmets to Tasers and tax abatements, didn't meet a deadline that required bills to be approved by the first committees to review them following their introduction in the Assembly and Senate.
Many lawmakers had hoped to keep their proposals alive, while others saw elements of their plans merged into surviving bills. Others just figured they'd let their proposals die without a fight because time is running short with the 120-day session past its midway point.
"In a 120-day session, you don't have time for everything," said Assembly Commerce and Labor Chairman Marcus Conklin, D-Las Vegas.
Friday's deadline is one of many set by legislative leaders to ensure that the 2009 session's work can be completed by June 1, when lawmakers are scheduled to adjourn.
While many measures died as the week ended, many more moved ahead, including one to impose steep fines on sex traffickers who lure or force children into prostitution. Proponents of AB380 told lawmakers that Las Vegas was identified by the FBI as one of 14 cities around the country with high rates of child prostitution.
Also preserved was Gov. Jim Gibbon's energy bill, SB395, which requires energy efficiency in government operations, restricts construction of new power facilities that emit greenhouse gases, and requires that at least 25 percent of electricity sold to consumers by energy companies be from renewable sources by 2025.
Legislators also advanced AB8, a plan for a statewide registry tracking people who abuse and neglect the elderly. Currently, police officers and adult protective services staffers must report suspected abuse, but those reports aren't kept in a central database.
Also recommended were AB82, a proposal from the secretary of state's office that makes numerous changes in Nevada election laws; and SB397, to tax customers a dime per plastic grocery bag.
A legislative committee also voted Friday for AB1, which would make it a misdemeanor to demonstrate at a funeral or memorial service for fallen soldiers with the intent to disrupt the service. Protesting at a ceremony such as a parade wouldn't be prohibited.