On July 1, 2019, almost 300 new laws went into effect in Nevada covering legal issues ranging from insurance to crimes to education to health care.  Additional laws go into effect this month, and more changes go into effect in January.   These new laws were passed during the Legislature’s 2019 session that ended in early June.  The bills themselves and history are lengthy regarding all of these laws.  A summary of all of them can be found at https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Session/80th2019/Reports/EffectiveJuly.cfm..  Here are my top Five picks of importance, then my top twenty follows:

TOP FIVE NEW LAWS IN NEVADA

• Past Marijuana convictions of 1 oz. or less can have the record sealed:
• The Statute of Limitations on Sexual Assault cases is lifted;
• There is No More Tax on most Home Durable Medical Equipment;
• Neon is now the Official Element of the State of Nevada;
• It is now Easier to remove Public Offices who Engage in Malfeasance.

The Nevada state assembly meets every two years in Carson City. The Nevada legislature is a  bicameral body,  meaning it consists of the lower house called the Assembly with 42 members and the upper house which is known as the Senate with 21. There are a total of 63 seats and the Nevada legislature is the third smallest bicameral state legislator in the United States after Alaska and Delaware. The next election for the Assembly will be November 3, 2020. The Assembly meets every two years in Carson City. Our current assembly is made up of 29 democrats and 13 Republicans.  The most recent session of the Nevada state legislature, the 80th, ended sine die (The legal and Latin term for proceedings that have been adjourned with no appointment date to resume ) on June 4, 2019. They are now in the interim period between legislative sessions.

In Nevada our legislature meets every other year in odd numbered years and they meet for a 120 day consecutive session beginning the first Monday in February. It is the duty of the Nevada Legislature to an enact laws for the state, to specify the tax rates to be levied on individuals, property, gaming, sales, and to appropriate the funds collected for the support of public institutions and the administration of government.  In Nevada, our legislatures are under term limit restrictions and they cannot serve more than 12 years. Members of the Assembly are elected to two-year terms and members of the Senate are elected for four year terms. However a member of either house can only serve for 12 years in total.   Nevada currently has a democratic state governmental trifecta meaning that both houses in the legislature and the governor’s office are democrat.  The 2019 elections marked the first time in the nation’s history that any state legislature holds a majority of female lawmakers.

TOP TWENTY NEW LAWS IN NEVADA FROM THE 2019 LEGISLATURE

• Assembly Bill 192allows people convicted of possession of an ounce or less of marijuana to ask a court to have their records sealed. In addition, under Assembly Bill 431, an estimated 77,000 people whose felony conviction prevents them from voting will have their voting rights restored. In the future, all felons will be allowed to vote as soon as they are released from prison. People convicted of crimes have already benefited from this bill.
• Assembly Bill 152 creates two new crimes that are punishable by a prison sentence.  This bill makes filing certain fake legal documents a criminal act.  Another new crime for which you can also face incarceration under Assembly Bill 152 is  destroying or defacing Native American gravesites, or historic or prehistoric sites.
• Assembly Bill 142. Lifts the 20-year statute of limitations in sexual assault cases. Starting in July, the 20-year statute of limitations was eliminated and in cases in which police can use DNA evidence to identify a suspect, an arrest can be made.
• Senate Bill 103 will help Low-income residents by allowing local governments to waive impact fees and building permit fees for developers who construct affordable housing which may lower costs.
• Senate Bill 448 is another bill to give builders incentive to build low income housing and it provides for $10 million in transferable tax credits per year to encourage developers to build more affordable housing.
• Senate Bill 151 will hurt landlords in this state by slowing down Nevada’s speedy time frame for evictions.  It also limits late fees for unpaid rent.
• Assembly Bill 326provides for tax credits for businesses that open grocery stores in areas that don’t currently have one a grocery store nearby.
• Assembly Bill 223 requires the state to request federal waivers in order to provide some dental care through the state’s Medicaid program for people 21 and older who suffer from diabetes.
• Assembly Bill 59 eliminates the residency requirement for people 65 and older to have lived in Nevada for five years in order to apply to get a free pass to visit the state’s parks,
• Senate Bill 447 was enacted as a result of voter approval of an exemption on the ballot in 2016 and 2018 to end sales tax on medical equipment such as oxygen tanks or motorized wheelchairs.
• Assembly Bill 136 requires construction workers building schools in Nevada to receive 100 percent of the prevailing wage for those projects. The Republican-controlled Legislature reduced the prevailing wage rate for those projects to 90 percent in 2015 claiming that it would reduce the cost of building schools in Nevada.
• Assembly Bill 140 provides that people who hold a medical marijuana card issued by the state of Nevada cannot be discriminated against when it comes to adoption or child custody cases,
• Senate Bill 430 lists the disorders for which people can seek medical marijuana for treatment and has been increased to include anorexia. anxiety, autism, and autoimmune disorders.
• Assembly Bill 397 makes it easier to remove public officers who take part in malfeasance or employment discrimination. Under this provision, the Nevada Equal Rights Commission can begin the process by recommending the removal of any person who it finds has engaged malfeasance or employment discrimination
• Assembly Bill 248 states that legal settlements with victims regarding sexual assault, sex discrimination or retaliation can no longer contain nondisclosure provisions that prevent a person from discussing the case.
• Senate Bill 224 Provides that it is no longer public information how long retired public employees worked in government, the date they retired or the last public agency for which they worked. The names of retirees and the amounts of their pensions, however, will remain publicly accessible.
• Assembly Bill 289 provides that it will no longer be mandatory for a third grade child to be held back if they are not reading at grade level. The parents of the child who is not reading at grade level in third grade will have to approve of holding their child back a year.  Under a bill passed in 2015 (which was set to go into effect this school year) it would have required that all students who couldn’t read at grade level in third grade would be held back.  The Assemble  decided instead to provide more  help to students leading up to third grade.
• Assembly Bill 309allows county commissions, including the Clark County Commission, to vote to approve a quarter-cent sales tax increase to pay for education, affordable housing, and programs to combat homelessness and workforce training.
• Assembly bill 216 requires the state treasurer to establish a database for funding opportunities for higher education. This bill was also effective on July 1, 2019.
• Assembly bill 182 established neon as the official state element for the state of Nevada affective July 1, 2019

If you or a loved one has a legal question or is injured in any type of accident, call our office immediately and we will make sure that you receive the care you need and deserve, and advise on how to preserve evidence.  If you have been in any type of accident and have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our offices today.  At my office, we are experienced in helping injured victims get the compensation they are entitled to.  Insurance companies never have the best interest of the injured person at the top of their priorities.  They want to pay as little on every claim as possible.  Having worked for an insurance company as an attorney for 9 years before opening my boutique law firm specializing in helping injured people, I reviewed thousands of auto accident claims and policy provisions.

At the Law Offices of Laura Payne Hunt we are here to help you and your family in the event that accidents and tragedies occur. For any of your legal needs, do not hesitate to contact our offices.  The Law Offices of Laura Payne Hunt is a boutique, family owned law firm in Henderson that specializes in helping injured people and the community with legal issues involving auto accidents, wrongful deaths, slip and falls, truck accidents, injuries to children, bicycle accidents, dog bites, and all types of injury claims.  Please do not hesitate to call us anytime you have a legal question or you or a loved one has sustained an injury at 702-450-(HUNT) 4868 and text 24/7 at 702-600-0032.

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