Sen. Dina Neal outlines cleanup to Windsor Park Environmental Justice Act in SB 393 hearing

Sen. Dina Neal on Wednesday presented Senate Bill 393, a cleanup measure to the Windsor Park Environmental Justice Act first enacted in 2023, at a hearing of the Nevada Senate Committee on Revenue and Economic Development.

Neal told the committee SB 393 would clarify provisions of SB 450 (2023) related to which vacant lots are eligible for land swaps, how property taxes for relocated residents will be protected, and the scope and funding deadlines for rehabilitation grants and relocation. "We passed the Windsor Park Environmental Justice Act in 2023. SB 393 is the cleanup to that," Neal said.

The bill responds to a long-running dispute in North Las Vegas in a neighborhood known as Windsor Park, where residents and presenters described decades of disinvestment, subsidence and demolition that began after homes were built in the 1960s. Neil played a short documentary produced with UNLV and the Boyd School of Law to reorient the committee to the neighborhood's history.

Neal said SB 393 narrows eligibility for lot swaps so only lots owned by former residents who demolished their own homes would be eligible for exchange; lots acquired and owned by the City of North Las Vegas after demolition would be held for a commemorative park. Neal also said the bill clarifies that relocated residents should keep the property tax rate they were paying through a senior tax rebate mechanism already in law but not currently funded. "I don't want to put an 80 year old woman in a position where they cannot afford the property tax," Neal said.

Residents of Windsor Park and environmental-justice advocates testified in support. Jackie Spicer, coalition coordinator for the Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition, said the community has waited more than 25 years for remediation and urged passage. Resident Nancy Johnson and Tammy Carter Jensen described multi‑decade hardship and urged lawmakers to pass the cleanup to help families recover and protect generational wealth.

Neal said the bill also revises rehab grant language for 45 previously relocated homes (sometimes referred to as "baby Windsor") after she and staff reviewed records and found construction and maintenance problems. The bill extends certain deadlines to 2027 to allow additional time to close on roughly 18 acres identified for relocation; Neal said site plans estimate the area could accommodate roughly 94 homes.

No formal action was taken on SB 393 during the hearing. The committee then closed the hearing and moved on to other agenda items.

SB 393 is presented as technical and clarifying changes to the 2023 law rather than a new funding request. Neal asked committee members to review a conceptual amendment she provided and asked for questions from the committee before opening the bill to public testimony.

Residents and nonprofit advocates who testified asked the committee to support the cleanup and to preserve protections for elders and long-term residents. "We have waited for justice for more than 25 years while our houses continue to sink, crack and break at no fault of our own," said Jackie Spicer of the Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition.

The hearing record includes the conceptual amendment Neal referenced and minutes and studies she cited, including a HUD study from an earlier period that estimated relocation costs and a local park study referenced by Neal.

Provenance: The committee opened the SB 393 hearing at the start of Senator Neal's presentation and closed the hearing later in the meeting after public testimony.