Nevada Senate clears wide range of appropriations and policy bills, approves $475,000 land purchase and $10 million fire suppression account

CARSON CITY — The Nevada Senate on May 22, 2025, adopted a concurrent resolution authorizing the Legislative Council Bureau to purchase a parcel adjacent to existing legislative property and passed a broad slate of appropriations and policy bills that the body ordered transmitted to the Assembly.

The resolution, Senate Concurrent Resolution 6, authorizes the Legislative Council Bureau director to negotiate and execute an agreement to buy the parcel and to expend up to $475,000 from the legislative fund for the purchase and associated expenses. "It's a parking lot," Senator Orenshall said while explaining the measure on the floor.

The Senate also approved a high-profile fiscal measure, Senate Bill 499, which creates an out-of-state fire suppression account and appropriates $10,000,000 to that account for costs the state incurs in responding to out-of-state fires and emergencies. "This bill appropriates $10,000,000 to the account," Senator Cruz Crawford said when introducing the measure; the Senate approved it unanimously.

Beyond those items, the chamber passed scores of agency appropriations and administrative bills, many by unanimous roll call. Highlights included appropriations for corrections facility repairs (SB 469; $981,740), funding for charter school loan program restoration (SB 470; $400,000 in FY26), technology and system upgrades for courts (SB 484 and SB 485; roughly $4.7 million each as described on the floor), and replacement equipment and software across multiple state agencies (several SB 47x and SB 49x bills).

Legislators also approved a series of Assembly joint resolutions sending messages to Congress, including measures urging extensions to Social Security fairness provisions (AJR 6), seeking limits on ICE activity in schools and places of worship (AJR 9), and urging enactment of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (AJR 11). Several of those resolutions passed with constitutional majorities.

One measure that generated extended debate was Assembly Joint Resolution 14, which condemns the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and denounces the use of presidential pardons and commutations to absolve rioters. Senator Hansen spoke at length in opposition, saying, "I stand in strong opposition to this," and framing the matter as politically fraught; other senators, including Cannizzaro and Orenshall, urged passage on rule-of-law grounds. The resolution passed, 14–7.

Votes at a glance

- Senate Concurrent Resolution 6 — Adopted (approved; ordered to Assembly). Tally: motion carried by voice vote on adoption; roll transmitted. - AJR 6 (Social Security Fairness Act request to Congress) — Passed (yes 17, no 4). Ordered to Assembly. - AJR 9 (limit ICE entries to schools/places of worship) — Passed (yes 14, no 7). Ordered to Assembly. - AJR 11 (Protecting the Right to Organize Act) — Passed (yes 13, no 8). Ordered to Assembly. - AJR 13 (maintain moratorium on explosive nuclear testing) — Passed unanimously (21–0). Ordered to Assembly. - AJR 14 (condemn Jan. 6, 2021 attack) — Passed (yes 14, no 7). Ordered to Assembly. - SB 469 (Dept. of Corrections equipment, repairs) — Passed (yes 21, no 0). Appropriation: $981,740. - SB 470 (charter school loan program restoration) — Passed (21–0). Appropriation: $400,000 in FY26. - SB 474 (Nevada Gaming Control Board tech replacement) — Passed (21–0). Appropriation: $953,523. - SB 476 (Peace Officer Standards and Training tech) — Passed (21–0). Appropriation: $179,793. - SB 478 (Supreme Court equipment, information system upgrades) — Passed (21–0). Approx. $2.6 million. - SB 479 (Office of Economic Development support for regional development authorities) — Passed (21–0). Appropriation: $375,000. - SB 484 & SB 485 (trial court case management system implementation) — Passed (both 21–0). Appropriations cited on the floor ~ $4.7 million each. - SB 488 (Secretary of State elections/equipment) — Passed (yes 13, no 8). - SB 489 (Dept. of Corrections furniture) — Passed (21–0). Appropriation: $23,860. - SB 490 (Dept. of Corrections equipment purchases for specific prisons) — Passed (21–0). Appropriation: $789,377. - SB 491 (Dept. of Public Safety training division equipment/maintenance) — Passed (21–0). Appropriations: $127,962 (General Fund) and $133,182 (Highway Fund). - SB 492 (Dept. of Agriculture software/equipment) — Passed (21–0). Appropriation: $302,734. - SB 493 (Nevada shared radio system upgrades, DOT) — Passed (21–0). - SB 497 (eliminate certain Medicaid rate-setting requirement for applied behavioral analysis) — Passed (21–0). - SB 499 (state financial administration and out-of-state fire suppression account) — Passed (21–0). Appropriation: $10,000,000 to new account. - AB 3 (alternative dispute resolution changes) — Passed (20–1). - AB 29 (motor vehicle fuel labeling and related regulations) — Passed (21–0). - AB 40 (reclamation, solid/hazardous waste management; 2/3 requirement) — Passed (20–1; required two-thirds). - AB 44 (prohibiting manipulation of essential good/service prices) — Passed after reconsideration (final tally 13–8). - AB 59 (wildlife feeding and baiting prohibitions) — Passed (21–0). - AB 73 (synthetic media disclosure requirements for election-related communications) — Passed (21–0). - AB 88 (juvenile justice revisions) — Passed (13–8). - AB 96 (master plan heat mitigation requirement for counties of 100,000+) — Passed (14–7). - AB 104 (water law changes, voluntary water rights retirement program) — Passed (21–0). - AB 128 (creates public records task force) — Passed (21–0). - AB 137 (storage lien advertising changes) — Passed (17–4). - AB 167 (use of corrective room restriction; referral placed on next day) — Moved to next legislative day (referral recorded). - AB 209 (immunity when seeking medical assistance for prostitution-related conduct) — Passed (14–7). - AB 211 (substandard multifamily rental property remedies) — Passed (20–1). - AB 215 (employment restrictions for minors) — Passed (18–3). - AB 227, AB 343, AB 520, AB 583, AB 591, AB 592 and other bills on the general file were moved to subsequent agendas or ordered to the general file for the next legislative day as recorded by the clerk.

Context and procedure

Most floor actions were brought by committee chairs or the senator who sponsored the measure; many appropriations bills were introduced as committee bills by the Senate Committee on Finance and approved largely on voice or roll-call votes. Several bills required and received specific effective dates noted on the floor (most commonly July 1, 2025, or October 1, 2025). Where debate occurred, senators noted stakeholder negotiations and technical amendments; committee amendments were adopted on the floor as noted in the chamber record. Measures that passed were ordered transmitted to the Assembly for further action.

During debate on AJR 14, which condemns the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Senator Hansen delivered a lengthy floor statement opposing the resolution as politically motivated; other senators defended the resolution as upholding the rule of law. The transcript records votes and roll call results where taken.

The Senate recessed midafternoon and announced follow-up committee and revenue meetings. Several bills remaining on the general file were placed on the final agenda for the legislative day or moved for referral to subsequent days.