Committee advances five natural-resources bills unanimously

The Assembly Committee on Natural Resources voted unanimously to amend and do pass five measures during a March 26 work session: Assembly Bill 59, AB 104, AB 136, AB 165 and AB 251.

Those votes occurred during the committee’s work session portion of the meeting and were taken by voice vote; committee members present signified approval and the chair declared each motion passed unanimously “with the members present.”

AB 59: Expanded enforcement authority and incidental feeding language Assembly Bill 59, sponsored by the committee on behalf of the Department of Wildlife, would expand certain game warden enforcement authorities, revise provisions related to the intentional feeding of certain wildlife, expand the definition of “trophy big game mammal,” and eliminate State Board of Agriculture permits related to alternative livestock. An amendment adopted during the work session added language treating any bird feeder within 100 feet of a private residence as incidental or unintentional feeding for purposes of the bill. The committee moved to amend and do pass the bill; the motion passed unanimously.

AB 104: Water programs, retirement account and regulatory tweaks Assembly Bill 104 would statutorily establish the Nevada Conservation and Recreation Program and the Nevada Voluntary Water Rights Retirement Program and create an account for retiring water rights administered by the Director of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). Three amendments were adopted: one removed an advisory committee and a regulation-adoption mandate for the water-rights retirement program, a second clarified that water rights eligible for retirement must be vested or certificated rights (to ensure the program addresses “wet” water rather than unproven paper rights), and a third related to excessive-use charges by Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) member agencies. The committee moved to amend and do pass AB 104; the motion passed unanimously.

AB 136: Notice-posting rules narrowed Assembly Bill 136 (sponsored by Assemblymember Considine) would require posting notices in certain animal-related commercial establishments. The three adopted amendments removed animal shelters from the posting requirement, revised the required notice text and size, clarified which commercial establishments are subject to the requirement, and adjusted the required posting location. A committee question clarified the sponsor did not intend for agritourism activities (catalog auctions, horse shows, 4-H events, rodeos) to be captured by the posting mandate. The committee moved to amend and do pass AB 136; the motion passed unanimously.

AB 165: Outdoor Education Council AB 165 (sponsored by the committee on behalf of the Outdoor Education Advisory Working Group) would establish an Outdoor Education Council, set the council’s duties and require the Division of Outdoor Recreation to provide certain administrative support. An adopted amendment added legislative representation to the council and removed a strict requirement that the Division must provide administrative support; instead the Division would provide that support “to the extent possible.” A committee member noted concerns about creating another board or commission given session efforts to limit new advisory bodies; the sponsor indicated similar questions were raised during prior presentation. The committee moved to amend and do pass AB 165; the motion passed unanimously.

AB 251: Mobile processing, official establishments and fiscal linkage Assembly Bill 251 (sponsored by Assemblymember Koenig) revises definitions related to mobile processing units and official establishments for animal processing. An amendment provided a new definition for “official establishment,” revised the definition for “custom processing establishment,” required specific items in quarantine regulations and revised the effective date. Committee staff explained the bill’s fiscal note is tied to a budget transfer: Decision Unit E905 would transfer 12 positions and associated operating costs from Environmental Health Services budget account 3194 to the Department of Agriculture’s Dairy Fund account 4470; if that transfer is funded in the Health and Human Services budget, the Department of Agriculture indicated it would remove the fiscal note. The committee moved to amend and do pass AB 251; the motion passed unanimously with the members present.

Votes at a glance - AB 59 — Motion to amend and do pass; mover: Assemblymember Kerr; second: recorded as in the hearing record; outcome: approved unanimously by members present. - AB 104 — Motion to amend and do pass; mover: Vice Chair Lourie Hatch; second: Assemblymember Watts; outcome: approved unanimously by members present. - AB 136 — Motion to amend and do pass; mover: Assemblymember Watts; second: Assemblymember Karas; outcome: approved unanimously by members present. - AB 165 — Motion to amend and do pass; mover: Vice Chair LaRue Hatch; second: Assemblymember Watts; outcome: approved unanimously by members present. - AB 251 — Motion to amend and do pass; mover: Assemblymember Considine; second: Assemblymember Watts; outcome: approved unanimously by members present.

Meeting context and next steps Committee staff noted prior hearing dates for many measures (for example, AB 59 heard Feb. 26; AB 104 heard Feb. 24; AB 136 heard March 5; AB 165 heard March 3; AB 251 heard March 12). Several committee members asked clarifying questions about scope and fiscal impacts; where fiscal changes are conditioned on budget transfers, departments said the fiscal note would be removed if the related decision unit is funded. Bills that passed will proceed to the Assembly floor for further consideration per regular legislative process. The committee recessed after the work session and moved to bill hearings later in the afternoon.

Ending: The committee recorded unanimous “aye” voice votes for each motion and closed the work-session votes as passed with members present.