Neon named Nevada’s official element

Both the Senate and Assembly have passed the legislation declaring Neon Nevada’s official element.

Sen. Heidi Gansert, R-Reno, said the legislation was brought and lobbied for by students from the Carson City Montessori School. She said this makes Nevada the first state in the nation to approve an official element.

Sen. Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas, said the bill recognizes Neon as “an iconic part of our history.”

AB182 returns to the Assembly for concurrence on the amendment that added several more sponsors to the original list. Since the vote was unanimous in both the Senate and Assembly, there should be no difficulties obtaining that concurrence, after which the bill will go to the governor for his signature.

Neon joins a long list of officials state symbols including the desert tortoise as the official reptile, mountain bluebird as the official bird, ichthyosaur as the state fossil, piñon pine as the state tree and silver as the state mineral.