Senate Finance advances multiple bills, including multi‑million dollar higher‑education and scholarship appropriations

The Nevada Senate Finance Committee on May 2025 (work session date on the record) amended and advanced a series of bills covering emergency management, elections, higher education, public health, corrections and other areas. Key measures approved included a $10,700,000 general fund appropriation for the Nevada Promise scholarship account (Senate Bill 486) and a $10,000,000 appropriation in each year of the 2025–27 biennium to expand undergraduate and graduate nursing programs in the Nevada System of Higher Education (Senate Bill 498).

The work session was procedural and largely uncontroversial; most bills were moved, seconded and carried by voice vote after staff summarized testimony, amendments and fiscal impacts. Several members recorded dissenting votes on multiple measures.

Why it matters: The committee’s actions advance budget and policy language that will affect state appropriations and program implementation. Appropriations advanced here will go to subsequent steps in the legislative budget process; some bills included technical or conceptual amendments to align with budget closings or to remove appropriations.

What the committee acted on (major items and outcomes)

- Senate Bill 39 (emergency management): Staff summarized the bill as a budget‑implementation measure. The committee voted to “do pass.” Motion carried.

- Senate Bill 74 (elections): The bill included an amendment to remove section 1.528 and a fiscal effect to the statutory contingency fund. The committee voted to amend and do pass as amended. Recorded nays: Senators Titus, Stone and Buck. Motion carried.

- Senate Bill 160 (Nevada Equal Rights Commission): No amendments; fiscal allocation noted as a cost allocation redistributed to other budgets. The committee voted to do pass. Recorded nays: Senators Titus, Stone and Buckner. Motion carried.

- Senate Bill 173 (environment): The bill included two conceptual amendments and a $75,000 general fund appropriation. The committee voted to amend and do pass as amended. Recorded nays: Senators Titus, Stone and Buck. Motion carried.

- Senate Bill 192 (public health): Committee considered conceptual amendments removing a section in the first reprint and adjusting other sections; remaining fiscal note noted to PEB. The committee voted to amend and do pass as amended. Recorded nays: Senators Titus, Stone and Buck. Motion carried.

- Senate Bill 317 (industrial insurance): Staff reported fee‑fund impacts but no general fund effect; committee voted to amend and do pass as amended. Recorded nay: Senator Titus. Motion carried.

- Senate Bill 323 (offender phone calls): The bill would allow offenders at the Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center one free 15‑minute phone call per day. Staff reported a Department of Corrections fiscal impact of approximately $250,000 per year to the general fund; the committee voted to amend and do pass as amended with the general fund added. Motion carried.

- Senate Bill 376: Reported no state agency fiscal impact; committee voted to do pass. Recorded nay: Senator Titus. Motion carried.

- Senate Bill 391 (real property): Section 6 included a general fund appropriation to the Secretary of State of roughly $550,000 across the biennium; the committee voted to remove section 6 (motion: amend and do pass with section 6 removed). Recorded nays: Senators Titus, Stone and Buck. Motion carried.

- Senate Bill 472 (one‑shot NSHE appropriation for caseload adjustments): Staff recommended a technical reduction of roughly $12,000 to align with budget closings; the committee voted to amend and do pass as amended. Motion carried.

- Senate Bill 473 (one‑shot Department of Education equipment): Original general fund total about $258,000; staff recommended reducing to about $225,000 and reducing related authorizations to match budget closings; the committee voted to amend and do pass as amended. Motion carried.

- Senate Bill 486 (Nevada Promise and pensions for silicosis/asbestos): Section 1 appropriated $10,700,000 to the Nevada Promise scholarship account; section 2 appropriated $1,000 to the pensions account for silicosis/asbestos related diseases. The bill was moved and carried (do pass). Motion carried.

- Senate Bill 498 (NSHE nursing programs): The bill appropriates $10,000,000 in each year of the 2025–27 biennium from the general fund to the Nevada System of Higher Education to expand nursing programs. The committee voted to do pass. Motion carried.

- Senate Bill 389/389x (prescription drug rebate budget account / resubmission): The committee rescinded a prior action to amend and do pass, then received a small technical amendment that does not change the fiscal impact; the committee then moved to amend and do pass as amended with the new technical amendment. Motion carried.

Public comment: No callers or in‑room public comments were offered at the meeting’s public comment period; chair adjourned the work session.

Votes and dissent: Across multiple motions the committee registered the same dissenting senators several times: Senators Titus, Stone and (variously) Buck/Buckner recorded nays on several measures. Where the transcript recorded named nays, those are noted above.

Next steps: Bills advanced by the committee will proceed through the legislative process; several contained technical adjustments to align appropriations with budget closings or to remove appropriations from a bill and will require staff to prepare floor statements or amended reprints.