[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6651520,"mediaKeyId","2499314-bb426105ff51f82497056d3c5b505de2","parentId",2499314,"title","Bill seeks interim working group to plan regional rail in Nevada; wide support from transit, environmental and labor groups","audioSeconds",4049,"startMs",3154000,"endMs",7203000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2499314-bb426105ff51f82497056d3c5b505de2&start=3154&end=7203","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2499314-bb426105ff51f82497056d3c5b505de2/thumbnail_3154000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6651520/Nevada/Bill-seeks-interim-working-group-to-plan-regional-rail-in-Nevada-wide-support-from-transit-environmental-and-labor-groups","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6651520-4b6b66efa24467da5e81b69d6cde148a/orig.mp4?Expires=1770577625&Signature=PHLWI2xGgdRyIxTVv0xBSSRCSMQ5t-pjHy~DST9tRzMAP4E52b4MTuyWGFd~MNTxinCtRQN2H-ikuwvYb2cpf43k4ntWLviuTrs~my4lz0~UfwFkOQMSPrWsdRjKPq49fQ~H81gryL94KSSa8-tK1wUzNPxx7li~qp9Fsk8nYcKoHXJPfHIS9VaDJ9tPhkIpxDFSIM7qOGiKC5QIJdTyQscaDDkpPhGaPoiSize7JYaeh34ntPYgchCDWFPcWNVP5sOELn5hhCsUeZilQi8SKitZ~s3upGqZPU4wXQRbXv4T3n7UtuXGJFVc7tdQLcUvtvNPcazxn4TKz5-28K3bXQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Nevada Legislature","date","2025-03-05T02:08:16.61Z","article","Assemblymember Selena LaRue Hatch told the committee that Assembly Bill 256 would create a regional rail transit advisory working group to undertake an interim study and produce a plan to advance passenger rail transit across Nevada. “Fully functioning regional transit system with rail is not a 1 session bill,” LaRue Hatch said, and she described AB256 as the first step to combine existing planning and feasibility work and identify funding and legislative needs.

Presenters from the Nevada Rail Coalition and labor unions outlined the potential benefits. Anne Macquarrie summarized the 2021 Nevada State Rail Plan and said the state's existing rail footprint provides a foundation for cost‑effective passenger projects. Gabe Christiansen, representing railroad workers, pointed to potential quick wins using existing rights‑of‑way and argued rail can be more adaptable and have a smaller environmental footprint than repeated highway expansions. Supporters — including the Sierra Club (Tahoe‑Basin chapter), Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition, Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, Regional Transportation Commissions of Washoe and Southern Nevada, labor councils and several business and community groups — urged the committee to advance the bill so a working group can aggregate current studies and recommend next steps.

LaRue Hatch outlined that the working group would be housed in the interim Growth and Infrastructure committee, meet monthly, serve without compensation, and produce a study report identifying current rail conditions, desired routes, possible funding sources (including federal grants), and recommended statutory or funding changes for the legislature. She said membership would include state and local officials, regional transit agencies, labor and business representatives, and other stakeholders; she indicated she was open to adding a rural representative and a trade association seat after stakeholder requests.

Supporters gave examples of likely corridors and potential economic and household benefits: connecting the airport, the Las Vegas Strip and downtown; linking the North Valleys with Reno and the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center; and using existing freight corridors where feasible. Witnesses cited potential household savings from reduced car ownership and national analyses of jobs supported per billion dollars invested in transit. Multiple transit agencies said they are already conducting feasibility work and welcomed the coordinated interim working group.

Opposition was limited at the hearing but included public commenters who raised questions about cost allocation and potential legal issues related to local authority and special legislation. Story County, appearing in neutral, noted it is a contributor to the existing RTC Washoe Tahoe‑Reno Industrial Center study and described the RTC study as a collaborative regional effort.

No committee vote on AB256 was recorded at this hearing; committee members asked questions about membership, rural representation, existing right‑of‑way use, and financing options to be examined by the working group.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","3/4/2025 - Assembly Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections","oneSentenceSummary","Assemblymember Selena LaRue Hatch introduced Assembly Bill 256 to create a regional rail transit advisory working group that would study feasibility, routes and funding and return interim recommendations to the Legislature.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature NV, Nevada","taxId",78440,"location","Nevada","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6651525,"Committee hears bill to let clerks update voter signatures during ballot curing, shifts certain notices to Secretary of State",2133,1063000,3196000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2499314-bb426105ff51f82497056d3c5b505de2&start=1063&end=3196","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2499314-bb426105ff51f82497056d3c5b505de2/thumbnail_1063000.jpg","/articles/6651525/Nevada/Committee-hears-bill-to-let-clerks-update-voter-signatures-during-ballot-curing-shifts-certain-notices-to-Secretary-of-State","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6651525-d2a4f0af4fb4bfef21d488c61a5bff71/orig.mp4?Expires=1770577625&Signature=EisDuT5TvZWErYFEREjRd81Yj23XGeeoWqIBCo9ICdacn0Bs8sOmDUkVhYFjTJCEp-h1kDRY6BTjk-XlzuShorP3YnWZ2OM70Tm17RSypTpafej7q39aoIvMwp9hfOiTduZ-RVyNgUjeiqhpdOkKa7vYXfG~7HmUyVWEdfLVgKT3~WrIG3g~XpUaHlSsDrkBCw8ck1llh4q2MY-iv1b9hKW0hVTNbqyj2GWCbfscyRVY2fJnyRCJpfSyHnKMcOIVOMNghjkChQuHuww7C58MW7~sANElyjGuV8wbGl626IS9DLdDFKyZ1mv7WQUK35xIziz~7HT1Yt~G-uIAjKlyxw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Assemblymember Hanadi Nadim on behalf of the sponsor presented Assembly Bill 261 on procedural changes to Nevada’s voter‑registration and ballot‑curing processes, telling the committee: “This bill seeks to implement a few procedural adjustments to the voter registration process to improve the efficiency of election administration.” AB261 would let county and city clerks replace a voter’s signature on file when the voter provides an updated signature as part of a ballot‑curing contact, and would shift the responsibility for mailing certain notices created by automatic voter registration (AVR) transactions from county clerks to the Nevada Secretary of State’s office. The bill’s effective date is 01/01/2026, though the language allows responsible parties to begin preparing on passage and approval.

Supporters said the bill would reduce the number of ballots flagged for signature curing and ease workload pressures on county clerks. Emily Persaud Zamora of Silver State Voices told the committee that 693,596 Nevadans voted by mail in 2024 and urged the change as a practical reform; several other community groups and civil‑rights organizations, including Campion Legal Center, ACLU of Nevada, Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, All Voting Is Local Action Nevada, Battle Born Progress, and the Culinary Union, also testified in favor. Advocates pointed to the 2024 general election figures the sponsor cited: more than 32,000 mail ballots were flagged for inadequate signatures, about 23,644 of those were cured, and more than 9,000 were not cured and therefore not counted.

Mark Wlaschin, a representative of the Secretary of State’s office, told the committee that the office supports shifting mailing responsibility but does not yet have comprehensive cost data across all 17 counties: “This process was implemented starting January 1, so we don't have very clear data exactly across all 17 counties.” Wlaschin also clarified that the bill would not give the Secretary of State authority to register voters; that authority would remain with county election officials and the notices mailed by the Secretary of State would still be returned to county clerks.

Opponents raised concerns about centralizing functions in the state office and about privacy and process duplication. Testimony in opposition included calls to preserve the local role of county clerks in voter‑registration maintenance and skepticism that the change would solve underlying roll maintenance issues. Individual commenters also raised concerns about exposing signatures on mailed materials and asserted legal or fiscal questions about centralization. One opponent cited NRS 293.5768 in the course of discussing recent changes that expanded automatic voter registration.

Washoe County staff testified as neutral on the policy while providing a county‑level cost estimate: Cadence Matejevich said Washoe County estimates the change would save $96,631 per fiscal year based on its current registration processing averages. Several community groups and election‑access advocates urged the committee to advance AB261 as a targeted efficiency measure that could reduce future curing needs and help election officials process ballots more quickly.

No formal committee vote on AB261 was recorded at this hearing; the committee opened and closed the public hearing and took testimony from supporters, opponents, and neutral parties.","Assemblymember Hanadi Nadim presented Assembly Bill 261 to the Assembly Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections, proposing that county and city clerks be allowed to replace outdated voter signatures with signatures collected during the ballot‑curing process and that the Secretary of State be required to mail certain notices generated by automatic voter registration transactions.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6651515,"Committee introduces BDR 24‑3‑64 on language access in elections after voice vote",82,7222000,7304000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2499314-bb426105ff51f82497056d3c5b505de2&start=7222&end=7304","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2499314-bb426105ff51f82497056d3c5b505de2/thumbnail_7222000.jpg","/articles/6651515/Nevada/Committee-introduces-BDR-24364-on-language-access-in-elections-after-voice-vote","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6651515-5a74d8064903461b7861938a05de8669/orig.mp4?Expires=1770577625&Signature=RLWNY-DHkmF46JgbRR1cvJXLQM~q5~M4YHTJlMIW9~yzhYYM3-hX1t28dCCIpWiCqT4NwkvEjTLrjDNQWZYD1O7EMWzeqfZ5eypa1fCDaXpPKBTTdvZYuWCN56ZD55ED7HRPlJz4KS2UUEjTCu0bV7qX2t8JQ7yVPosZU0T0Ba2-oAaXMMsGoj8D8K~nSXao5HgHURN95qiaELwwsytDq~fjUlQODxEDmuI-TPcicsRDrPCtoCl~494jz0vOrMK390GRl7Y1y4vekaKXnsxc-Lr~GtvTkmgQblWNpgtyG4QbisQiLXJlRh3PhkuSjq23uXnobaA0ssUcEtGEoiaclQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The committee voted to introduce BDR 24‑3‑64, a committee bill draft request described as making various changes related to language access in elections. Assembly Member Miller moved to introduce the BDR; Vice Chair Gonzales seconded the motion. The chair called the voice vote: “All those in favor say aye.” The chair then called for nays and none were recorded; the chair announced the motion carried. Committee staff reminded members that a motion to introduce a BDR does not imply a future commitment to support a resulting bill; the action only permits the draft to enter the bill drafting process.","The Assembly Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections voted to introduce a committee BDR (24‑3‑64) that would make various changes related to language access in elections; introduction does not bind future committee positions.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Bill seeks interim working group to plan regional rail in Nevada; wide support from transit, environmental and labor groups

Committee hears bill to let clerks update voter signatures during ballot curing, shifts certain notices to Secretary of State

Committee introduces BDR 24‑3‑64 on language access in elections after voice vote