Lombardo’s Bills Still Alive Despite Deadline

(John Latshaw) – Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo’s omnibus bills, which were declared “exempt” from the deadline for bills to be passed out of committee, are still up for consideration in the Nevada Legislature

The bills aim to address a range of issues including education, elections, and disabilities.

The governor’s elections bill – which includes a requirement that all mail-in ballots be received by election day – “is going to need to get a hearing because the Democrats are saying they’re not changing anything,” Sondra Cosgrove said in an interview with KUNR.

“But I’ve heard from Democrats that they also do not like the fact that it takes 10 days to count the ballots.”

While Democrats have expressed concern about the elections bill, the disability community is supportive of SB 431, which would create a cabinet in the governor’s office to coordinate various state agencies involved in disabilities.

“I can tell you, because I’m involved with the disability community, they want that bill heard,” Cosgrove said.  “Because right now if you have any type of disability, you’re dealing with like nine different state agencies, and a federal bureaucracy, and no one’s coordinating.”

The “exempt” status means bills may be re-referred to a money committee or the Legislative Counsel Bureau for further review.  But all exempted bills, not just the governor’s, are ultimately subject to the veto pen.

“For the governor’s bills, (the exempt declaration is) literally saying ‘he has the veto pen, and if we kill his bills, he’s going to veto our bills,’” Cosgove added.  “So do you want to make the man with the veto pen angry by just killing his bill? Probably not.”