Nevada Senate Finance advances a package of appropriations and program bills, including cloud seeding and university planning

The Nevada Senate Finance Committee advanced a package of bills in a work session, moving forward appropriations and program changes that touch higher education, K–12 educator funding, housing, agriculture and clean energy.

The committee, chaired by Senator Marilyn Dondero Loop, held voice and recorded votes on measures that included general fund appropriations and program-structure changes. Several bills were amended in committee to change funding levels or start dates, and one previously adopted amendment was rescinded and replaced with a different funding approach.

The measures matter because they authorize statewide spending or change how state education and housing programs operate. Among the largest dollar items were a $12.4 million appropriations package for UNR and UNLV planning and design for building projects and a $10 million appropriation to the Housing Division to launch a mortgage-interest-rate reduction pilot.

Senate Bill 6 advanced with committee approval to appropriate $600,000 each year of the upcoming biennium to the Desert Research Institute (DRI) within the Nevada System of Higher Education to support the cloud-seeding program. Cathy Crockett, committee staff, summarized the bill and its hearing record, and Senator Winn moved the motion to do pass; Senator Scheibel seconded. The committee approved the motion on a voice vote.

On Senate Bill 81, fiscal staff described a conceptual amendment to consolidate three educator-support programs into a single “Teach Nevada Recruitment, Preparation and Retention” block-grant account and recommended delaying implementation until the 2027–29 biennium to allow the Department of Education time to reconcile existing obligations. James Malone, Legislative Counsel Bureau fiscal staff, explained that combining the accounts is complicated by existing reimbursement structures and holdbacks tied to participants. The committee voted to adopt the amendment and do pass as amended on a voice vote.

Senate Bill 104 was amended to reduce the proposed general fund appropriation for nonprofit school garden grants to $200,000 per year and to withhold funding for an additional Department of Education position; Senator Winn moved the amendment and the committee approved it.

Senate Bill 119, which establishes the Nevada GROW program at the College of Southern Nevada and originally appropriated $1.9 million, was amended by the committee to a reduced general fund appropriation of $1.2 million and advanced on a voice vote.

Senate Bill 132, making an appropriation to the Nevada Clean Energy Fund, was discussed with options to reduce the general fund appropriation from $5 million to $500,000. The committee adopted the reduction and approved the bill; three senators — Titus, Stone and Buck — were recorded as voting nay on the motion to amend and do pass as amended, while the motion passed overall.

Senate Bill 193, establishing a pilot program to reduce mortgage interest rates for eligible borrowers and appropriating $10 million to the Housing Division, was amended to change the effective date to July 1, 2025, to accelerate implementation; the motion to amend and do pass as amended passed on a voice vote with the same three senators (Titus, Stone and Buck) recorded as nays on that vote.

Senate Bill 233 (Home Feeds Nevada) requires a council on food security within the Department of Health and Human Services to study financial stability of an agricultural food purchase program and appropriates $800,000 to the nutritious food purchase account to be used by the State Department of Agriculture. The committee approved the bill on a voice vote.

Senate Bill 403, relating to education and requiring two Department of Education positions and operating costs to implement provisions in the bill, carried a fiscal note estimating roughly $223,000 in FY 2026 and $280,000 in FY 2027 for salaries, benefits and operating costs for the two positions. The committee moved to amend and do pass as amended on a voice vote.

Senate Bill 427 would provide $6.2 million for planning and design at UNR’s life sciences building and $6.2 million for planning and design for a UNLV business school project, for a total of $12.4 million. Wayne Thorley of LCB fiscal explained an amendment changing the UNR appropriation from construction to planning and design and described a funding option using unobligated interest in the bond interest and redemption fund (estimated at roughly $29.6 million as of April 30) to cover $12.4 million of the bill’s cost. The committee adopted the amendments and advanced the bill on a voice vote.

Senate Bill 207 had been the subject of a committee action at a prior meeting that would have funded part of the bill through an administrative fee on selected PACE vendors. At the work session, the committee first voted to rescind that prior action and then adopted a motion to amend and do pass the bill funded instead by general fund appropriations for Nevada Medicaid and to include one-time contract costs for the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services. The committee approved both motions on voice votes.

Votes at a glance: SB 6 (do pass — voice vote); SB 81 (amend & do pass as amended — voice vote); SB 104 (amend & do pass as amended — voice vote); SB 119 (amend & do pass as amended — voice vote); SB 132 (amend & do pass as amended — recorded: Titus/Stone/Buck — nay; motion passed); SB 193 (amend & do pass as amended — recorded: Titus/Stone/Buck — nay; motion passed); SB 233 (do pass — voice vote); SB 403 (amend & do pass as amended — voice vote); SB 427 (amend & do pass as amended — voice vote); SB 207 (rescinded prior action; then amend & do pass as amended to fund via general fund — voice votes).

Committee Chair Dondero Loop recessed the meeting at the end of the session.

Ending: The committee advanced multiple budget and policy measures to the next legislative steps; several items were amended to alter funding levels, effective dates or funding sources, and one prior committee action (SB 207) was rescinded and replaced with a general-fund funding approach.