Carson City — In a work session following a series of bill presentations on May 26, the Nevada Senate Finance Committee amended and advanced a set of bills ranging from victim compensation to teacher classroom-supply aid and program transfers.

Most measures were moved with committee amendments that reduced or reallocated general-fund appropriations or inserted conceptual amendments discussed during their hearings. Committee action was generally procedural: senators moved to "amend and do pass as amended" or "do pass," and the committee carried the motions for the bills listed below.

Key outcomes
- SB62: The measure expands the definition of "victim" for the fund for the compensation of victims of crime, authorizes payments not to exceed $1,000 per incident for damage to property used by the victim, and made several general-fund appropriations including $30,000 per fiscal year to the victims' compensation fund, $20,000 per fiscal year to the Office of the Attorney General to support the program, and an additional account appropriation for victims of human trafficking. Committee discussion noted a conceptual amendment to reduce one appropriation from $1,000,000 to $200,000; the committee moved to "amend and do pass as amended."

- SB90: The bill provides a $15,000,000 general-fund appropriation to the Nevada Department of Education to support teachers and specialized instructional support personnel for classroom supplies and school operation materials, with no more than $7,500,000 expended per fiscal year. The committee moved to "do pass."

- SB133: The bill makes a biennial appropriation of $800,000 to the Nevada Center for Civic Engagement for civics education programs; committee members discussed reducing the appropriation to $500,000 ($250,000 per fiscal year). The committee approved an amendment and moved the bill forward as amended.

- SB147: Establishes the Southern Nevada Regional Planning for Economic Resiliency pilot program, administered by the Regional Transportation Commission/Commission of Southern Nevada, with a drafted appropriation of $650,000 that the committee discussed reducing to $500,000; the committee moved the bill as amended.

- SB156: Revises provisions related to prevention of gun violence. The committee considered a conceptual amendment from the Office of the Attorney General that witnesses said would reduce fiscal impacts to that office; with the amendment, testimony indicated a $0 remaining fiscal impact to the attorney general's office. The committee moved the bill with the amendment.

- SB207: Transfers authority for the PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) program from the Aging and Disability Services Division to Nevada Medicaid. An amendment discussed would incorporate an administrative fee charged to PACE vendors to cover ongoing costs and reduced general-fund needs. The committee moved the bill as amended.

- SB280: Provides an appropriation to the UNLV School of Dental Medicine for cleft and craniofacial care. The bill's original appropriation of $2.9 million was discussed, and the committee approved a motion to reduce the amount to $1,314,000 and moved the bill as amended.

- SB435: Revises provisions relating to nicotine products. Committee discussion included conceptual amendments from the Attorney General's Office and the Department of Taxation; adopting the amendments and adding a general-fund appropriation for the Attorney General's Office to cover estimated costs over the biennium (approximately $550,000) was the committee's action, and the bill moved as amended.

- SB316: After rescinding a prior committee action, the committee adopted a newly negotiated amendment package to a complex prescription-drug/insurer bill. Senator Wynne summarized multiple changes: deleting specified sections at stakeholders' requests, clarifying precedence in a duty-of-care provision, removing co-pay accumulator sections at an insurer's request, deleting a word at the Nevada Retailers Association's request, and adding rebate pass-through language modeled in part on recent Arkansas law. The committee moved the amended bill to pass.

How the committee acted
For most measures the committee used motions to "amend and do pass as amended" or "do pass." Many bills were carried with reduced appropriation amounts suggested by fiscal staff and sponsors. Where conceptual amendments were presented (for SB156 and SB435, for example), witnesses said the changes materially reduced fiscal impacts for agencies such as the Attorney General's Office or the Department of Taxation.

What the committee did not do
The committee did not enact final law; these actions move bills forward in the legislative process. Several bills contain appropriation levels the committee trimmed and conceptual amendments that still require final drafting and floor action.

Next steps
Each amended bill will continue through the legislative process: final drafting of adopted conceptual amendments, possible floor amendments, and subsequent votes in the full Senate and the other legislative chamber as required.