Nye County fire chief says AB 69 would be a 'public safety game changer'; county awaits governor's signature

Fire Chief Scott Lucas told the Nye County Board of Commissioners that AB 69 — legislation the county has tracked as a public‑safety funding source — passed both the Assembly and Senate and now awaits the governor’s signature.

Lucas described the bill as crucial to operations: "AB 69...it's just an absolute public safety game changer for every single community within Nye County," he said during the managers’ reports portion of the meeting. He also said one amendment removed a sunset provision; as presented to the board, the bill no longer contains a sunset date.

Why it matters: County fire and emergency services staff said the bill’s revenue would be directly relevant to staffing and budgeting for public‑safety functions. County managers told the board that knowing whether the governor signs the bill reduces uncertainty in the FY2026 budgeting process.

What was said

- "AB 69, it regards the public safety and usage tax, and it has now gone through the assembly, the house, and the senate all favorably. And now we are waiting for the governor's signature," Fire Chief Scott Lucas said. - When a commissioner asked whether the measure had a sunset, Lucas replied that one of the amendments removed the sunset and that the bill as passed does not include a sunset provision.

Next step

County staff said they are monitoring the bill for the governor’s action; commissioners and department heads said they will proceed with conservative budget assumptions until the signature is confirmed.

Quote

"We'd be dead without it," one commissioner said in response to discussion of the bill's importance to county budgeting (comment attributed in the transcript to a commissioner speaking during the managers' report).