Nevada Legislature: 11th hour sprint on final day not enough for film studio, two Lombardo bills

Tha tha that’s all, folks!

The Nevada State Legislature channeled their inner “Looney Tunes” and ended this year’s session in dramatic fashion, with a Senate Republican-led filibuster and the death of several high-profile bills. Most prominent among the casualties was the heavily lobbied proposal to give $1.4 billion in transferable tax breaks to the film industry, as well as two of Gov. Joe Lombardo’s priority bills.

Lawmakers did, however, pass the constitutionally required budget bills, meaning no special session is required. That’s an improvement over the 2023 session when lawmakers were forced into a brief 1-day session to pass one of five budget bills.

As the clock ticked toward midnight on Monday, Lombardo’s crime bill and health care bill, as well as the Summerlin Studios film tax credit bill, appeared to have a chance at sprinting across the finish line. But all three fell victim to Nevada’s constitutional rule that legislative sessions only last 120 days and must end precisely at midnight.

In the Senate, the Republican caucus chose to use a series of parliamentary motions to protest and delay votes on two last-minute resolutions introduced by Democrats. In the Assembly, there were less theatrics but a procedural rule delayed an immediate vote and the clock ran out.

Here’s a recap of what happened.

For a second time, film tax fizzles

Democratic Assemblymember Sandra Jauregui’s proposal to provide Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Howard Hughest Holdings with the largest public subsidy in state history went further in this year’s legislative session than a similar proposal did two years ago. But ultimately, Assembly Bill 238 met the same fate as its predecessor: It died in the Senate.

The bill would have massively expanded Nevada’s film tax credit program to support the build out and operation of a 31-acre film studio currently referred to as the Summerlin Studios. It was one of two film tax credit bills introduced this session. The other film tax credit bill, sponsored by Democratic State Sen. Roberta Lange, centered on a film studio in southwest Las Vegas. It received a committee hearing earlier in the session but never received a full floor vote. Both film studios were included in a combined bill in the 2023 session.

On Monday, Lange proposed an amendment to turn Jauregui’s bill into an interim study. The move came after lobbyists for Lange’s film tax credit bill unsuccessfully pushed for the two bills to be merged into one.

Sony Pictures executives have said Summerlin Studios is “shovel ready” but contingent on the approval of a massive expansion of the state’s film tax credit program. It was not immediately clear Monday how the developer and film studios will proceed.

Lombardo’s priorities

Going into the session, Lombardo announced he would introduce five “priority bills” — on education, housing, crime, health care, and economic development. At sine die, an amended version of the housing bill had inched across the finish line, and provisions of the education bill had passed after being amended into a competing omnibus education bill sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro.

The governor’s crime bill and health care bill looked as if they had a chance of passing in the last hour of the session. The crime bill passed the Senate with broad bipartisan support, then passed the Assembly with an amendment. The Senate just needed to concur on the amendment but never got the chance. Meanwhile, the health care bill passed the Senate on party lines, with all members of the governor’s party opposing the bill and all Senate Democrats supporting it. The Assembly had to adjourn before it could vote on the bill.

Lombardo’s economic development bill had received a hearing May 22 but appeared to move very little after that.

A spokesperson for the governor declined to comment on the end of the legislative session or the prospect of a possible special session to consider his priority bills. Lombardo will likely shift his focus to signing or vetoing the dozens of bills now on his desk. He has 10 days to veto the bills or they automatically become law.

Legislative Commission controversy

Senate Concurrent Resolution 8 would have changed the partisan split of the Legislative Commission, according to Senate Minority Leader Robin Titus. The language of the resolution was not available on the Legislature’s website.

Titus said the caucus received the resolution 30 minutes prior to the vote. Democrats used parliamentary rules to cut off debate on the resolution.

Republicans responded with a confusing series of parliamentary motions that were overlapped with Democrats attempting to shut them down and move the proceedings along. Republican State Sen Ira Hansen called for voice votes to be retaken using the chamber’s electronic voting system. Republican State Sen. Lori Rogich at one point delayed voting electronically and when prompted to replied, “I’m thinking.”

After the clock struck midnight, there was a debate over whether any additional actions could be taken. Legislative Counsel Bureau staff offered a legal interpretation, but Republican Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony, who presides over the Senate, rejected it, saying he needed to see the explanation in writing.

The stalemate ended with Titus explaining the caucus’s protest and saying they were willing to move on.

“We will look at what we have as a body and as a minority moving forward in protest of what happened,” she said. “Unfortunately, it leaves a bad taste in what was otherwise a very good session.”

Titus told media the protest had nothing to do with any other bills. When asked if she thought the governor should call a special session, she said no.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with additional info on Lombardo’s bills.