Senators consider AB 585 to reduce and time bill‑draft requests; legislative counsel says change could save overtime costs

Assembly Bill 585 would cut the number of bill draft requests (BDRs) available to legislators, leadership and certain constitutional officers and would require lawmakers to provide draftable details earlier in the pre‑session process, legislative counsel and leaders told the Senate Finance Committee on June 1.

Asher Killian, legislative counsel, described mechanics: the bill would reduce the first pre‑session allotment from 4 to 3 BDRs in the Assembly and from 8 to 6 in the Senate, make the second pre‑session tranche contingent on earlier draftable details, and lower leadership and constitutional‑officer BDR allotments. "Those are the two important things that section 1 of the bill does," Killian said, adding it reduces the overall number of BDRs by about 25% in the first allotment.

Speaker Steve Yeager said the bill's key purpose was to motivate earlier submission of drafting details and reduce last‑minute drafting rushes that force overtime work. "I think the real impact of this bill is motivating all of us to get our details in sooner," Yeager told the committee. Killian presented a fiscal estimate that shifting drafting earlier and reducing some BDRs could save roughly $350,000 in overtime costs in the upcoming biennium; he said an average BDR cost in overtime was about $1,200 this session versus $1,400 in prior sessions.

Opponents and callers raised concerns that the proposal would diminish the minority party's ability to file bills and would not limit committee bills controlled by the majority. Janine Hanson, state president of Nevada Families for Freedom, testified in opposition while saying her group supported the concept of fewer bills: "The concern is that the this bill lowers the minority party's opportunity for bills more than the majority party." Joshua Skaggs, legislative affairs director for the Nevada Republican Party, asked the committee to reject the measure unless it reduced BDRs in a manner he described as fair.

Committee members asked about practical details: the bill retains the governor's total BDR count but moves the five "legislative agenda" BDRs earlier so the governor can prioritize them among other requests and allow drafting before session. Senators also discussed non‑statutory pools of BDRs assigned by leadership under joint standing rule 14.4; Speaker Yeager said those could be addressed separately.

The hearing produced no recorded committee vote. Supporters framed the bill as an operational fix to reduce last‑minute drafting and improve public vetting of large omnibus bills; critics said it risked consolidating agenda control and disadvantaging minority members.