Nevada Assembly elects Yeager as speaker, adopts rules and passes funding bill on opening day

Steve Yeager was elected speaker of the Nevada State Assembly on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, as the chamber organized for the 80th legislative session in Carson City. The assembly also appointed a speaker pro tempore and a chief clerk, adopted joint and assembly standing rules and approved Senate Bill 1, the appropriation to fund the session’s operating costs.

The assembly voted unanimously, 42-0, to pass Senate Bill 1 after suspending the rules to consider it immediately. The measure, identified in the Senate message as introduced by Senators Nicole Cannizzaro and Dina Titus and filed by Sherry L. Rodriguez, assistant secretary of the Senate, was described on the floor as the appropriation that funds the legislative session. The chief clerk recorded 42 ayes and 0 nays on final passage.

Why it matters: organizational votes and rule adoptions determine how the 120‑day regular session will be run, who sets agendas in the Assembly and how the chamber handles press access, committee minutes and other procedural matters.

Assembly leadership and key appointments

Assemblymember Steve Yeager, first nominated and seconded on the floor and declared speaker after unanimous procedural votes to close nominations, opened his remarks by thanking colleagues and family and laying out expectations for the session. "Nevada is counting on us," Yeager said in his remarks to the chamber.

Assemblymember Monroe Moreno was elected speaker pro tempore after nominations and a voice vote. The assembly also declared Bonnie Borda Hefficker the permanent chief clerk after a nomination and a vote to close nominations; members noted her service as the temporary chief clerk earlier in the day.

Rules, press accreditation and procedural changes

The Assembly adopted Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 1 and related standing rules for the 80th session; the committee report on the floor summarized several changes. Assemblymember Houdegui, the sponsor of the resolution, said the joint standing rules were carried forward from the prior session with targeted changes, including replacing gendered titles with the neutral term "assembly member," removing an obsolete requirement that presiding officers announce an intention to sign enrolled bills in open session, adding a new rule clarifying the legislature's press accreditation process and authorizing leadership to require members to attend training on the legislative code of ethical standards.

Assembly rules specific to the lower chamber were adopted in parallel, with changes that include 1) allowing committee minutes to become final after 60 days without the chair's signature in specified circumstances, 2) clarifying that testimony offered in support of an amendment not approved by a bill sponsor counts as opposition, and 3) removing an obsolete rule that allowed a bill to be split into multiple bills.

The floor also accepted the legislature's press accreditation list for 02/03/2025 and assigned accredited press representatives space at the press table and access to broadcasting facilities; the motion to accept the accreditation list passed by voice vote.

Votes at a glance

- Senate Bill 1 (appropriation to the legislative fund for the cost of the 80th legislative session): Passed; final recorded vote 42 ayes, 0 nays. (Message from the Senate identified Senators Cannizzaro and Titus as sponsors; Assistant Secretary Sherry L. Rodriguez transmitted the message.)

- Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 1 (adopt joint standing rules, including press accreditation changes): Adopted (voice vote recorded as passed and transmitted to the Senate).

- Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 2 (additional travel reimbursement for members living 50+ miles from Carson City): Adopted.

- Assembly Resolution No. 1 (adopt Assembly standing rules for the session): Adopted.

- Assembly Resolution No. 2 (appointment of assembly attaches): Adopted.

- Assembly Resolution No. 3 (allowances for periodicals, stamps, stationery, communications): Adopted.

- Assembly Joint Resolution No. 5 (from the 80th second session, proposing a constitutional change on lotteries): Referred to the Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections.

- Assembly Joint Resolution No. 6 (national popular vote compact proposal): Referred to the Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections.

- Motion to set consideration of a list of vetoed bills from the prior session as a special order for Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, at 12:00 p.m.: Adopted.

What members said and how business proceeded

Nominations for speaker began on the floor, with an extended period of introductions and ceremonial remarks preceding organizational business. Assemblymember Hategui nominated Steve Yeager for speaker; the nomination was seconded by Assemblymember Hafen, and a motion to close nominations carried. Yeager was then declared speaker. Later, Monroe Moreno was declared speaker pro tempore after a voice vote that closed nominations.

On the appropriations measure, Assemblymember Houdegui moved to suspend the rules to advance Senate Bill 1 immediately through first and second readings, declare it an emergency measure and place it on third reading and final passage. A member on the floor described SB1 as "the bill that funds the legislative session." After the procedural motion, the chief clerk opened the roll for final passage and recorded a vote of 42 ayes, 0 nays.

Other organizational actions included appointing temporary committees to examine credentials and to notify the Senate and the governor that the Assembly was organized and ready for business, and appointing a committee to return thanks to the secretary of state and the chief justice who administered the oath.

Next steps

Leaders told members the chamber will read prefiled bills and refer them to committees at the next sitting. Committees named by leadership will begin appointment work and schedule hearings; members were reminded that committee rosters would be printed in the day's journal. The Assembly adjourned until Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, at 11:30 a.m.

Ending

The actions on Feb. 3 put the Assembly's leadership and procedural framework in place and provided the immediate funding needed to operate the 80th session. Committee work and bill referrals will determine the next substantive items for debate and public hearings.