By McKenna Ross, Las Vegas Review-Journal, February 3, 2025
More than 60 lawmakers — plus lobbyists, staff and media – will fill the halls of the Nevada State Legislative Building on Monday for the start of the 83rd Legislative Session.
Nevada’s part-time legislature meets every odd year for 120 days. That means bills and a two-year budget must be discussed, and eventually, passed, in about four months.
The first floor session, when all the lawmakers of one house meet, begins at 11 a.m. in the Assembly. The Senate will follow with its floor session at noon. Agendas are expected to be posted 30 minutes prior to commencement, according to the Legislature’s website.
Here’s what you need to know as the session begins:
Makeup
Fourteen first-time lawmakers join the 21-member Senate and 42-member Assembly. Three of the freshmen join the state Senate, and 11 join the Assembly.
Democrats maintain control of the legislative branch — at odds with the executive branch, run by Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican. In the Senate, the party makeup is 13-8, and the Assembly is 27-15.
While Democrats were unsuccessful in achieving supermajorities in both chambers — which would have helped them avoid a repeat of record vetoes in 2023 — their majority still allows them to determine which bills get pushed through the legislative process.
Legislative priorities
With 986 potential pieces of legislation up for debate so far, control of the lawmaking process is an advantage. Legislative Democrats have said their goals of the session include improving funding in school systems, as well as improving accountability and transparency in public schools. They also include expanding health care options for Nevadans, reintroducing a slate of housing-related bills Lombardo rejected in 2023 and regulations around artificial intelligence.
Meanwhile, Lombardo said in his State of the State address last month that he plans to introduce five major pieces of legislation. They’re expected to be extensive bills that tackle school accountability, performance and school choice. Other proposals include splitting the Department of Health and Human Services, providing more incentives for housing development for “attainable” housing units, strengthening penalties against certain crimes and implementing stricter election reforms.
Nevadans can also expect protracted budget discussions. The Nevada Constitution mandates the Legislature to pass a balanced budget — normally a set of bills approved in the waning days of the session. But the Governor’s Finance Office presented an executive budget proposal to the Legislative Commission’s Budget Subcommittee in mid-January that had a $335 million shortfall. Lombardo’s staff said they would submit amendments to close that gap.
The discussions come at the same time as a change in the federal administration. President Donald Trump has vowed to reduce federal spending, particularly on programs that do not align with his agenda. A directive last week called on the federal government to pause funding for some federal loans and grant programs while they are under review. The order was rescinded, but White House officials have said the underlying goals of reducing spending on diversity, equity and inclusion programming, climate change and other topics remain.
Nevada gets about a third of its budget from federal sources. Lombardo said this week his administration is in communication with the federal government about how the directive should be interpreted but that programs providing direct assistance, including Medicare, Social Security and Head Start, would not be affected.
Dates to know
Lawmakers stick to a strict schedule for when bills can be introduced and other requirements, given the limited timeline they have. Here are some important deadlines:
Feb. 3: First day of session.
Feb. 6: Subcommittees start meeting jointly.
Feb. 10: Bill draft requests from legislators due. These requests go to the Legislative Counsel to draft a new law or modify an existing one.
Feb. 17: Budget and appropriation-related bill draft requests are due.
Mar. 17: Legislator’s bills must be introduced.
Mar. 24: Budget and appropriation-related bills must be introduced.
April 22: A bill must be passed in its house of origin.
May 1: The Economic Forum, an independently produced forecast of state revenue, is due. All state agencies, the governor’s office and the legislature use this forecast for budgeting the upcoming biennium.
May 5: Start resolving budget differences.
May 17: Finish budget differences.
May 28: Budget bills introduced, exempt bills from committee.
June 2: Last day of session.
New state buildings in Las Vegas
The Nevada Legislature’s offices in Southern Nevada moved from the Grant Sawyer State Office Building, near downtown Las Vegas, to McCarran Center, 7230 Amigo St. Residents can attend some in-person and satellite hearings from that building near the Harry Reid International Airport.
Contact McKenna Ross at [email protected]. Follow @mckenna_ross_on X.