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Bill to require courts to establish text reminder programs draws support and concern from Nevada judiciary
Summary
Assembly Bill 218 would require courts to establish text reminder programs for certain court notifications and operate on an opt‑out basis. Supporters said reminders reduce failures to appear by 20–40%; the Administrative Office of the Courts and judges urged rule‑based implementation and raised separation‑of‑powers and rollout concerns.
Assemblymember Cecilia Gonzales introduced Assembly Bill 218, asking the Assembly Judiciary Committee to require court administrators in Nevada courts to establish programs that send certain court communications by text message.
Gonzales said modernized communication "addresses a critical need to improve court appearance rates and compliance through modernized communication methods." She said missed court appearances can trigger fines, fee collection, warrants and even jail time and that improving reminders benefits victims, courts and the public.
The bill sponsor and outside presenters from the Fines and Fees Justice Center outlined an opt‑out model and cited evidence‑based results. Nevada state director Nick Shepak told the committee that several jurisdictions nationwide and in Colorado have implemented similar programs with significant reductions in failures to appear. Deputy director Leslie Turner said a review of six Nevada courts (Sparks, Henderson Justice, Henderson Municipal, Sparks Municipal, Reno Municipal and North Las Vegas Municipal) found roughly 4,200 failures to appear in the sample and that research suggests a 20–40% increase in appearance rates after text reminders. Shepak said Colorado saw a large improvement in one county after switching from opt‑in to opt‑out delivery.
Supporters who testified included public defender offices (Clark County and Washoe County), the ACLU of Nevada, the Nevada Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence, law‑enforcement managers and other community groups. Proponents stressed the programs save court time and reduce unnecessary warrants and incarceration.
The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) and judges of limited jurisdiction testified in opposition or raised reservations. Katherine Stocks, the state court administrator, said the AOC already deploys text reminders through its case management system and had sent more than 190,000 texts since 2022; the AOC proposed implementing program objectives via court rule rather than a statutory mandate and asked the Legislature to consider funding for an effective statewide rollout. Tom Clark, representing Nevada judges of limited jurisdiction, said judges and the AOC were stakeholders in implementation and that proponents had worked with them but that statutory language required additional refinement.
Committee members asked about consistency across courts, technical challenges (for example, carrier filtering of certain words), including victims or other courtroom participants in reminders, how updates to phone numbers would be handled, and whether email or other methods should be included. Presenters said text messaging is the most effective channel but encouraged courts to use multiple communication methods when available; they agreed to add parents/guardians for juvenile contacts on request.
No formal vote was recorded in the committee transcript. The bill sponsor said she would continue discussions with the AOC and stakeholders to refine language and address rollout and constitutional concerns raised by some judicial stakeholders.
