Assembly committee backs bill to cut pre‑session bill‑draft requests and tighten deadlines

CARSON CITY — The Assembly Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections on Thursday advanced Assembly Bill 585, a measure that reduces the number of pre‑session bill draft requests lawmakers and certain leaders may submit and that requires more detail be provided with those requests so Legislative Counsel Bureau staff can do drafting before session.

Sponsor Steve Yeager, R‑Assembly District 9, opened the hearing by saying the bill “seeks to reduce the existing BDR allocations for legislators, constitutional officers, and the majority and minority leaders of both houses” and to “ensure that our staff has adequate time to draft bills and keep us on track during session.”

Committee counsel Asher Killian, legislative counsel for the Legislative Counsel Bureau (LCB), told the committee that shifting more drafting to the pre‑session period markedly reduces the operational strain on the legal division. “Drafting during session is the most difficult and inefficient kind of drafting for us to do,” Killian said, noting that more complete BDR details before session would allow LCB attorneys to draft more work outside the busiest days of session.

Why it matters: The bill’s sponsor and LCB staff said earlier drafting reduces overnight overtime and helps committees consider complex measures earlier in session. Yeager and Killian said the changes would give members more realistic time to vet policy and reduce last‑minute workload on drafters.

Key provisions and numbers: AB585 would cut the number of pre‑session BDRs for assembly members from 9 to 6 and for senators from 18 to 12, dividing allocations evenly across the two existing prefile deadlines (August 1 and December 1). Leadership allocations would be reduced (for example, speaker/majority leader pre‑session allotments from 15 to 10; minority leaders from 10 to 5). The bill requires that BDRs submitted before December 1 be accompanied by “sufficient detail” to allow complete drafting; if a member submits fewer details, their December allotment is proportionally reduced. It also changes deadlines for the governor’s 5 agenda BDRs depending on whether a gubernatorial election precedes the session and requires prefiling or introduction deadlines for those bills.

Public testimony: Dozens of citizens and organizational representatives testified in support. Joshua Skaggs, legislative affairs director for the Nevada Republican Party, said the bill would “enhance efficiency in the legislative process” and urged support. Other supporters included representatives of Nevada Families for Freedom, the Independent American Party, local GOP volunteers and citizen lobbyists, who told the committee that reducing duplicate or marginal measures would allow more thorough debate on higher‑priority bills.

Opposition and concerns: During the committee’s work session some members voiced constitutional and process concerns before the recorded vote. Assemblymember Hibbets said he supported the intent but opposed the bill because it reduced BDRs for elected officials while leaving unelected rule‑based allocations in place. Assemblymember Cole said he supported deadlines for details and prefiling but worried the bill “further reduce[s] the ability for the minority party to actually partake in the lawmaking process.” Those three members—Hibbets, Cole and Edgeworth—were recorded as voting no on the do‑pass motion.

Committee action: The committee waived the 24‑hour rule and moved AB585 to a do‑pass recommendation. Vice Chair Gonzales moved the do‑pass motion, seconded by Assemblymember Hadeghi; the motion carried with named nays from Assemblymembers Hibbets, Cole and Edgeworth.

Context and background: Committee and LCB staff said the LCB drafted large volumes before the most recent session and that increased pre‑session drafting reduced the need for overnight drafting during session. Killian estimated the judiciary typically receives between 1,200 and 1,500 BDRs in a cycle and roughly 1,000–1,200 bills are introduced in session, with about 60–70% of those enacted. Yeager said the bill would reduce aggregate BDRs from constitutional officers and leadership by at least 18 and, depending on membership turnover, could reduce 86 to 270 BDRs overall from legislators and constitutional officers in a future cycle.

What happens next: The committee’s do‑pass recommendation moves AB585 toward floor consideration. The bill text includes multiple detail and timing changes that staff said they will rely on to schedule drafting work earlier and reduce session‑time drafting demands.