Board hears legislative update; takes positions on several bills including worker-comp proposals and Tahoe water-bottle restrictions

City government staff briefed the Carson City Board of Supervisors on a package of bills pending in the Nevada Legislature and the board took positions on several measures on April 9.

Cameron Gresh, city government-affairs liaison, summarized a set of bills the city is tracking. Highlights and board responses:

- AB 32: Staff reported the bill (city-origin) passed the Growth & Infrastructure Committee and was referred to the Assembly Ways and Means Committee for fiscal review; staff will present tomorrow to address the committee’s fiscal-note concerns. The board did not take a formal position at the meeting because staff anticipated resolution of the fiscal-note issue.

- AB 332 and AB 469 (workers’ compensation / self-insured employers): Both bills would remove the $36,000 statutory premium cap used by self-insured employers when calculating workers’ compensation premiums; staff, finance and risk-management officials warned the change could substantially increase premiums for public self-insured entities. Jill Valdez, risk-management coordinator, said the $36,000 cap stabilizes premium calculations and removing it could produce larger year-to-year swings and penalties. The board directed staff to engage with bill sponsors and stakeholders to clarify impacts and seek amendments but did not adopt a formal oppose position at the meeting.

- SB 324 (ban on sale of single-serve plastic water bottles near Lake Tahoe): The bill would prohibit sale or distribution of bottled water under 4 liters in jurisdictions that abut the Lake Tahoe watershed; an amendment discussed at the hearing would place enforcement responsibility with local health authorities. Board members expressed strong interest in narrowing the prohibition’s geographic scope to the actual Lake Tahoe watershed rather than applying a countywide ban across Carson City. The board voted to ask staff to testify that the bill needs an amendment to limit prohibitions strictly to the watershed (motion passed).

- SB 402 (building restoration improvement districts): The board voted to support SB 402, a tool allowing municipalities to create districts and pledge incremental property-tax revenue to restore historic buildings at least 50 years old. The motion to support passed 4–1.

- AB 444 (rulemaking and business-impact notices): Staff flagged concerns about expanded notice requirements and the bill’s reach; the city will follow the bill and work with sponsors to clarify which trade associations and business groups the city must notify to avoid overly broad obligations.

- AB 133 (treasurer’s tech fund): Carson City Treasurer Andrew Roeser briefed the board on an updated amendment creating a small treasurer-tech fund from a portion of unclaimed excess proceeds after a one-year claims period, with yearly reporting and guardrails. The board voted unanimously to support AB 133 as amended.

Board members and staff said they would continue to engage behind the scenes with bill sponsors on technical fixes for bills judged to have unintended local impacts, while formally supporting or opposing measures when a clear local interest was at stake.

Ending: Staff will continue negotiations with bill sponsors, prepare testimony to pursue the narrowly tailored SB 324 amendment and follow up with the legislature on AB 332 and AB 469 impacts; SB 402 and AB 133 will receive board support as recorded during the meeting.