Assembly committee hears bill to expand accessibility for deaf and hard-of-hearing Nevadans

Assemblymember Tracy Brown May introduced Assembly Bill 247 on behalf of the Assembly Committee on Government Affairs, saying the measure "makes important changes to improve the accessibility of our public meetings and ensure that people with disabilities have the appropriate accommodations to participate." The bill would require public officers and employees to make reasonable efforts to provide accommodations and would add provisions for live captioning and American Sign Language (ASL) access at public meetings.

Why it matters: Supporters told the committee that the bill would remove practical barriers that limit civic and educational participation for deaf and hard-of-hearing Nevadans. Eric Wilcox, chair of the Nevada Commission for Persons Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing, told the panel that "the provisioning of American Sign Language interpreters and live captioning in public buildings and meetings allows deaf and hard of hearing individuals the increased opportunity to participate in society by providing access to auditory information for those individuals." Witnesses also said captioning benefits English learners, children developing literacy skills and older adults with hearing loss.

The bill and key provisions: During the hearing, the sponsor and proponents described three central elements of AB247: - Access at meetings: The bill would require that when a public meeting is held under Nevada’s open meeting law, public bodies make reasonable efforts to provide a qualified ASL interpreter and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) captioning "in person or through electronic means" when requested by an attendee. The sponsor clarified the intention is accommodation upon request rather than having an interpreter at every single meeting. - Public buildings: Section 2 would require public buildings designed on or after July 1 (year not specified in the testimony) that are owned by a public body and used for open meetings to include equipment and software necessary to provide CART and related communications access. - Education: Section 3 would permit American Sign Language to be offered as a foreign/world language with academic standards set by the State Board of Education. Section 4 directs the Nevada Department of Education to conduct an interim study in 2025–26 to evaluate the need for a school for pupils who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Amendment and implementation detail: Committee members received a sponsor amendment that clarifies several points, including that a "qualified interpreter" is defined consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act and that electronic access may satisfy the requirement where appropriate. Amy Heine Sutherland of the Nevada Association of Counties said the amendment aligns the bill with ADA language and explicitly permits electronic solutions — a provision counties said is important for rural areas with limited local interpreter availability. The sponsor said the amendment also clarifies that requests for interpreters would be made in advance when possible.

Public testimony: Dozens of witnesses offered support during the hearing. Supporters included education and disability-advocacy groups, students who had taken ASL courses and members of Nevada’s deaf community. Alexander Marks of the Nevada State Education Association said AB247 is "a critical step towards ensuring transparency, accessibility, and equity in Nevada's public institutions." Shelly Freed, a retired principal for the California School for the Deaf in Riverside, urged adoption, recounting examples of students denied services and supporting the interim study on a school for the deaf. Several witnesses described practical problems they have faced when captioning is not turned on in public waiting rooms and entertainment venues; Shelly Freed asked, "Why do I have to do that kind of behavior? Why do I have to use up my time for equality when it is not provided here?" Several speakers asked the Legislature to broaden the definition of public accommodation to ensure captioning is available in places such as hotels, restaurants and transportation hubs.

Record and next steps: No committee vote or formal action on AB247 was recorded during the hearing. Committee members asked technical questions about rural access, fiscal impact and the distinction between an accommodation-on-request approach versus a universal-on approach. The committee closed the hearing on AB247 and proceeded to the next agenda item, AB285.

Ending: The hearing generated broad support from disability advocates, education groups and the deaf community while county representatives pressed for explicit flexibility for electronic access to avoid unfunded local mandates. The bill will continue through the committee process without a recorded vote during this session's hearing.