The Nevada Legislature doesn’t meet until February next year but requests for new bills are already piling up.
As of Monday, there are requests by lawmakers, state agencies and study committees to draft 400 pieces of legislation including ones to prohibit prostitution, limit the amount of interest charged on credit cards and allow out of state doctors to practice in Nevada during emergencies.
There have been 500-600 bills introduced in the past in each the Senate and the Assembly during the 120-day session.
Many of the requests involve changing the education system, the marijuana laws and domestic violence statutes. The requests are listed weekly by the legal division of the Legislative Counsel Bureau. The request lists the name of the lawmaker or the agency asking for the bill and it contains one sentence calling for a revision of a law.
Once drafted, the legislator or the sponsor can talk it over with supporters or opponents on what, if any, changes need to be made before its introduction.
Sen. Joe Hardy, R-Boulder City, is specific with his request to prohibit prostitution throughout the state. Some rural counties now allow bawdy houses. And there’s a ballot question this election in Lyon County to outlaw these bordellos.
Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui, D-Las Vegas, is proposing to exempt adult and infant diapers from the sales and use tax.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is suggesting a number of the law changes on marijuana. One would permit the tasting and sale of marijuana in such locations as coffee shops. Another would permit a district attorney to eliminate a misdemeanor marijuana conviction from a person’s criminal record.
The committee also has asked for a bill to enact an interstate compact with California regarding marijuana banks in both states. Marijuana is now a cash only transaction in Nevada and banks are fearful of federal sanctions if the drug money is deposited in their institutions.
Sen. Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, wants a law to cap credit card interest rates at prime plus 3 percent. And he wants a bill to prohibit the state-run Medicaid program to pay for any drug advertised by manufacturers on television.
Assemblywoman Heidi Swank, D-Las Vegas, is suggesting the name of Confederate military officer Jeff Davis Peak be removed from the mountain in eastern Nevada and it be rechristened “with a more appropriate tribal-related name.”
The state Department of Wildlife is asking for a bill draft to revise the law that prohibits carrying a loaded muzzle-loading rifle or muzzle-loading muzzle in or on a vehicle.
The Tourism and Cultural Affairs Department suggests fees collected by the state Land Registrar be directed for development of the Stewart Indian School south of Carson City.
Sen. Pat Spearman, D-North Las Vegas, wants to name I-11 that would run from Las Vegas through Northern Nevada as the “Purple Heart Highway.”
And there’s a suggestion by Assemblyman Richard McCarthy, R-Las Vegas, to put a limit on the number of bills that can be requested at a Legislature.
Some of the requests may never be introduced or combined with other legislation. But these requests give the legal staff a head start on the scores of bills introduced on the opening day. Of course, the first bill to be passed will be the appropriation of an estimated $15 million to pay the cost of the session.