Bill would remove federal agencies as voting members of Nevada State Board on Geographic Names
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Summary
Assembly Bill 354 would change membership of the Nevada State Board on Geographic Names by removing federal agencies as voting members, keeping them in advisory roles and adding a representative from the Division of Museums and History.
The Senate Committee on Natural Resources heard Assembly Bill 354 on April 29. The bill, sponsored by Assemblywoman Venise Karas, would change the voting membership of the Nevada State Board on Geographic Names (NSBGN) by removing certain federal agencies as voting members and adding a representative from the Division of Museums and History.
Assemblywoman Venise Karas, sponsor of AB 354, said the change "removes all the federal agencies from having voting status on the Nevada board." She told the committee that the federal agencies asked in writing to be removed as voting members and that the change brings Nevada in line with other states. "Federal agencies will continue to participate in an advisory capacity and have expressed their commitment to doing so," Karas said.
Karas summarized the bill's specifics: it reduces the board's voting members from 12 back to the original nine, removes representatives from the Nevada Historical Society, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service as voting members, and adds "one representative from the Division of Museums and History of the Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs." The bill also includes a transition clause that allows current representatives from the National Park Service and the Nevada Historical Society who are serving on July 1, 2025, to remain until successors are designated.
Committee members asked why the Nevada Historical Society representative (a nonfederal member) was treated the same way; Karas answered that the change reflects an affiliation shift to the Division of Museums and History and that federal agencies requested nonvoting status in writing. Karas offered to provide the letters to the committee if members wished.
There was no public testimony in support, opposition or neutral on the record in Carson City or by phone. The committee waived closing comments and closed the hearing on AB 354.
The bill as presented would alter the formal composition of the NSBGN and take effect July 1, 2025, according to the sponsor's summary in the committee hearing.
