Panel hears bill to require compliance with civil-rights laws as condition of state funding

Senate Bill 162, introduced by Sen. Shelley Cruz Crawford, would require entities that accept state appropriations to agree to comply with civil-rights and employment laws applicable to them under state and federal law.

"The bill before you today ensures that Nevada tax dollars are used in a manner consistent with Nevada values as well as state and federal law," Madeline Krieger, an intern with the majority leader's office, told the Senate Committee on Government Affairs during a Feb. 1 presentation. Sen. Cruz Crawford said the measure is intended to "codify" existing federal protections at the state level and to make clear that organizations receiving state money must not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, gender, age and other protected characteristics.

Supporters said the bill would protect Nevadans by making compliance with laws such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 an express condition for receiving state funds. "ACLU of Nevada supports this bill," Tia Smith, a policy attorney with the ACLU of Nevada, told the committee. Steven Cohen, legislative liaison for the Nevada Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities, said the bill is important to ensure organizations that receive state funds uphold protections for people with disabilities.

At the hearing, sponsors and legal staff described a conceptual amendment, offered by Sen. Rogich and acknowledged by committee counsel, that would make the requirement apply only to state appropriations rather than to all public funds. "My intention was if they receive any state funding, they would have to comply," Cruz Crawford said when explaining how the amendment would operate. Committee legal counsel Heidi Clarkson said the proposed amendment would condition only acceptance of state appropriations on an entity agreeing to comply with any civil-rights or employment laws that are already applicable to the entity under federal law.

Committee members asked whether the bill merely restates existing law or expands obligations. Cruz Crawford and counsel stated that the bill conditions receipt of state funds on compliance with laws that already apply under federal law; the conceptual amendment narrows the condition to state funds. Senators discussed practical issues when projects include both federal and state funding and how agencies typically allocate tasks to distinguish the portion paid with federal dollars from the portion paid with state dollars.

No committee vote was taken during the hearing. After testimony from the bill sponsor, civil-rights and local-government representatives, and callers in support, Chair Flores closed the hearing on SB 162 and moved on to the next agenda item.

Details of the introduced measure as presented to the committee include an amendment to chapter 353 of the Nevada Revised Statutes and a definition of "civil rights or employment laws" that lists federal statutes and specified protected classes; sponsors said a conceptual amendment would clarify the bill applies only to state appropriations.

The hearing record includes support statements from the City of North Las Vegas and disability-rights advocates; no neutral or opposition witnesses appeared in person or by phone during the committee's proceeding.

Requests for drafting clarification from committee counsel and sponsor remarks during questioning are part of the hearing record and suggest potential technical edits before the bill moves forward.