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Assembly bill 123 would add Secretary of State role in investigations of threats against candidates; sponsor to amend imminency language
Summary
AB123, introduced by Assemblymember Hanadi Nadeem, would create a process for reports of threats and intimidation against candidates; the sponsor and ACLU of Nevada said an imminency standard will be added and the Secretary of State indicated that change should remove the fiscal note.
Assemblymember Hanadi Nadeem presented Assembly Bill 123 to the Ways and Means Committee, saying the bill is intended to address threats and intimidation directed at candidates for public office. "I have had firsthand experience with receiving death threats in connection to a political campaign," Nadeem said, urging measures to reduce violence and intimidation during campaigns.
Atar Hasibullah of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada described the bill’s structure and said the sponsors have negotiated changes with the Secretary of State’s office to add an imminency requirement to limit investigations to imminent threats. Hasibullah said the amendment would make some terms less prescriptive and that the Secretary of State indicated the fiscal note could be removed as a result.
Secretary of State staff testified that with the imminency requirement the office believes the fiscal impact would be “virtually nothing,” saying the change would reduce caseload by requiring an imminency element to reports. Testimony from callers included strong support from voting-rights and civil liberties groups; callers in opposition argued the proposal duplicates existing criminal statutes (NRS 200.571) and would improperly involve the Secretary of State in criminal investigations.
Opponents’ testimony: Multiple callers argued that Nevada already has criminal statutes that address harassment and threats and that law enforcement, including the Attorney General’s Office, is the appropriate investigator. One caller cited NRS 200.571 and urged that candidates work with the Attorney General’s criminal investigation rather than creating a parallel reporting role for the Secretary of State.
Sponsor response and next steps: The sponsor and ACLU said a written amendment with an imminency requirement would be filed the same day and that the Secretary of State’s office expects the fiscal note to be removed. The committee closed the hearing without taking a vote; the sponsor waived closing comments.
Provenance: Topic begins at s=2377.83 (sponsor introduction) and closes at s=3164.515 when the sponsor closed the hearing.
