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Committee hears AB304 to authorize small pilot on electromagnetic brain‑pulse therapy; DHHS fiscal note changed but agency follow‑up pending
Summary
Assemblymember Venise Carras told the Ways and Means Committee that Assembly Bill 304 would authorize a pilot to study electromagnetic brain‑pulse (EMBP) treatment for neuropsychiatric disorders and that an amendment reduced the department fiscal estimate to $98,000 for data work, pending DHHS written confirmation.
Assemblymember Venise Carras (Assembly District 10) presented Assembly Bill 304, which would authorize a pilot program to study electromagnetic brain‑pulse (EMBP) treatment as a nonpharmaceutical, noninvasive therapy for certain neuropsychiatric disorders. Carras described EMBP as using devices to image electrical brain activity, identify areas with altered function and stimulate neurons with the goal of restoring function in conditions such as major depressive disorder, anxiety, substance use disorders and behavioral addictions.
Carras told the committee she offered an amendment that, she said, removes a Department of Health and Human Services fiscal note previously reported as more than $15,000,000 and replaces it with a much smaller fiscal estimate of $98,000 for data collection, analysis and quarterly reporting to the Legislative Counsel Bureau. Carras said she had obtained letters from multiple counties reporting no fiscal impact; she asked the committee to request a formal updated fiscal note from DHHS, because the bill file did not yet contain a DHHS document reflecting the new estimate.
A single witness, Dev Bararia of the Nevada Opioid Treatment Association, testified in support, saying the pilot could produce useful data for treatment‑resistant substance use disorders. No witnesses testified in opposition at the hearing; no neutral witnesses or DHHS staff were present to explain the department’s change in fiscal assessment.
Committee members asked for a written, updated DHHS fiscal note to be added to the record. Assembly leadership asked staff to seek the department’s written confirmation of the revised estimate. The committee closed the hearing that night with testimony recorded and no vote taken.
Why it matters: the bill would authorize a pilot to evaluate a medical device‑based treatment for psychiatric and substance‑use conditions and would require data collection and reporting; fiscal clarity from DHHS was a primary committee concern.
What’s next: the committee requested an updated, written fiscal note from the Department of Health and Human Services and will consider the bill with the revised documentation.
