Nevada bond reform measure passes Senate

Nevada lawmakers continued to push their extensive reform agenda Wednesday, passing a bill sharply reducing the size of a bond that must be posted to appeal a construction defects award.

The vote on SB134 by Majority Leader Michael Roberson, R-Las Vegas, comes just a day after Gov. Brian Sandoval signed into law the comprehensive construction defects reforms in AB125.

SB134 drew some protests from Democrats in committee but only two no votes on the floor by Sens. Tick Segerblom and David Parks, both of Las Vegas. Segerblom said he sees the bill as “helping the rich and hurting the poor.”

SB134 caps the amount of the bond a major firm must post to appeal at $50 million. Roberson said the size of jury awards in cases have grown exponentially in the past decade or more, leaving companies unable to post bonds to match awards of a billion dollars or more.

He said the bill doesn’t change the fact a business would still be liable for the whole award if its appeal failed.

It caps the amount a small business must post at $1 million.

In addition, there are three more bills part of that reform effort set for committee hearings today.

SB120 by Sen. Greg Brower, R-Reno, would require school districts consider a teacher’s performance evaluation when ordering layoffs. SB158 requires collective bargaining agreements be made public 10 days before they are adopted by the local government. SB168 by Sen. James Settelmeyer, R-Gardnerville, protects a local government’s ending fund balance from collective bargaining up to a total of 25 percent of total expenditures and lets local governments reopen collective bargaining agreements during a fiscal emergency.