Senate committee backs SB304 to restructure Nevada vehicular-homicide law; prosecutors, victims push for tougher penalties

Senator Jeff Stone, sponsor of Senate Bill 304, presented the measure April 9 to the Senate Committee on Growth and Infrastructure, saying the bill "aims to revise the elements required for a person to commit the crime of vehicular homicide in Nevada."

The bill would remove language that a person must have been previously convicted of at least three DUI offenses before being charged with vehicular homicide and instead focus on conduct that proximately causes death while driving under the influence. John Jones, Chief Deputy District Attorney (Nevada District Attorneys Association), described an amendment to rework two existing DUI statutes so one would cover DUI causing substantial bodily harm and the other would be the DUI death statute. Jones said the amendment would strike the phrase "the death of" from NRS 484C.430 so that statute would be limited to substantial bodily harm, while NRS 484C.440 would be the statute for DUI death and carry higher penalties.

The Clark County prosecutors argued the current statutory structure prevents charging certain egregious DUI deaths at a severity comparable to second‑degree murder. "At this point we have to recognize that this is a choice that is being made, a willful choice, tantamount to firing a gun into a crowd when you get into a vehicle and choose to drive while impaired," said Eric Baumann, Chief of the Vehicular Crimes Unit, Clark County District Attorney's Office. Prosecutors described litigation limiting prosecutors' ability to charge DUI deaths as murder; John Jones cited the Nevada Supreme Court decision in the Lavelle matter in explaining the impetus for the statutory change.

Victims and victim‑advocacy groups provided emotional testimony in support. Denise Parish, who lost her husband in a DUI crash, said: "We need this bill passed so that there are others so others aren't sentenced to life like I am." Other survivors, including family members of two law enforcement officers killed in the same crash, urged the committee to adopt stronger penalties for drivers who kill while impaired.

Opponents including John Pura of the Clark County Public Defender's Office said Nevada already has among the harshest DUI penalties nationally and warned penalties alone may not reduce impaired driving. "We actually already have some of the harshest penalties in the nation for DUI," Pura said, and he urged the committee to consider additional prevention tools such as dram shop or host‑liability laws, stronger server training and sobriety checkpoints.

Committee members thanked victims and stakeholders; sponsor Stone said he was available to work with public defenders and others on amendments. In the committee work session later the same day, members moved to amend and do pass SB304. The committee recorded the motion as carrying unanimously.

Why it matters: Senate Bill 304 would change who can be charged with vehicular homicide and would separate DUI substantial bodily harm from DUI death in Nevada statute. Prosecutors say the change is needed to allow sentencing closer to second‑degree murder in the most serious DUI fatalities; public defenders and some others urged a broader approach that includes prevention and treatment.

What happens next: The committee advanced the bill to the Senate floor with the committee amendment; sponsors and stakeholders said they are open to further amendment during floor debate.