Pot measures among hundreds to survive key legislative deadlines

By Yvonne Gonzalez

Thursday, April 27, 2017 | 2 a.m.

CARSON CITY — Lawmakers have hundreds of bills to consider this session after a recent deadline trimmed a few more from the list.

Two deadlines have passed so far, with a bill on vacating certain marijuana convictions among those to move forward after the most recent cutoff on Tuesday. Many measures have exemptions or waivers from deadline pressure, including Assembly Bill 270, which is related to how much utilities pay for customers’ excess solar power.

Lawmakers now have until May 19 to get bills to pass another committee vote, and May 26 to push legislation through an additional floor vote. With a session end date on June 5, bills need approval from the Assembly and Senate before going to Gov. Brian Sandoval for his signature.

Party-line votes passed about a half-dozen measures out of Assembly, including a resolution urging Congress not to repeal the Affordable Care Act or its key provisions.

Another 27-15 vote passed Assembly Bill 320, replacing state test scores in teacher evaluations with pupil achievement data generated by the school or district. A similar measure that would have removed test scores from evaluations entirely was nixed after a previous deadline.

Democrats also pushed through Assembly Bill 259, which would allow people to petition to have certain marijuana convictions vacated and sealed. Concerns were raised on the floor Tuesday about the potential negative impact of reducing punishments for criminals, while support for the bill focused on helping to reverse consequences of the War on Drugs.

Assembly Bill 420 was reconsidered and passed onto the Senate with a 29-13 vote after the measure initially failed to secure a two-thirds majority. The bill allows inmates to be invoiced for using videoconferencing equipment for visits, and allows for the use of electronic devices for education or legal research, among other provisions.

Concerns about security were raised before the bill went to its first vote. Assemblyman Ira Hansen, R-Sparks, successfully made a motion to reconsider, saying he voted yes in committee and failed to say he planned to vote no later.

A handful of bills failed to pass the Senate floor by the 79th day of the Legislature on Tuesday, including Senate Bill 395, which would have required cybersecurity plans for critical infrastructure.

One of the bills that did pass the Senate requires businesses to have a license or permit from a local government in order to operate certain businesses or events where marijuana use is allowed. Senate Bill 236 passed with 12-9 party-line vote.

About 10 pieces of legislation died after failing to pass the Assembly on Tuesday.

Assemblyman Jim Marchant, R-Las Vegas, sponsored one of those measures. Assembly Bill 360 would have appropriated $30 million for a study of the feasibility of establishing a high-speed rail system between Las Vegas and Reno, among other provisions.

Lawmakers also left behind Assembly Joint Resolution 8, which would have urged the U.S. Senate to protect a woman's reproductive rights while vetting a nominee for the Supreme Court. Justice Neil Gorsuch was recently sworn in to take the spot held by late Justice Antonin Scalia.

Assemblyman Jim Wheeler, R-Gardnerville, said recently that almost 58 percent of Republican bills and almost 8 percent of Democrat bills failed this session.

“When Republicans controlled the gavel” in 2015, he said, about 34 percent of Republican bills and nearly 45 percent of Democrat bills failed.

“This is unacceptable,” Wheeler said.

Assembly Democrats say almost 93 percent of bills have passed with bipartisan support this session.

Unanimous votes included Assembly Bill 260, related to punishments for “johns” who seek to illegally purchase sex, and Assembly Bill 268, which deals with pre-release services for inmates.

“We saw bipartisan efforts — passing both Democratic- and Republican-sponsored bills,” Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, D-Las Vegas, said.