Nevada Girls State Senate approves a mix of education, safety and symbol measures; several revenue and schedule bills fail

CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Girls State Senate met June 20, 2025, and took final action on a wide agenda including education, juvenile justice, public-safety grants and several tax measures. Lawmakers approved bills to expand college-access coordinators, change high-school GPA weight limits, fund metal detectors at large public venues and eliminate cash bail for certain low-level misdemeanors; several revenue-raising and schedule-change proposals failed to win the required support.

Why it matters: The session included votes that affect classroom requirements and college access (Upward Bound coordinators, weighted GPA caps), public-safety funding (a gaming-tax–funded grant program for metal detectors) and pretrial practice (elimination of cash bail for petty misdemeanors). Several measures that would have raised or redirected revenues failed, and the Senate overrode the governor’s veto to keep a sex- and reproductive-health curriculum bill alive.

Key outcomes (selected):

Votes at a glance: - SB 1 — Establish official symbols/statements for the city of Caferetta (Senate bill). Passed, 11–0. - SB 2 — Official symbols/statements for Del Papa City (Senate bill). Passed, 11–0. - SB 3 — Official symbols/statements for Wagner City (Senate bill). Passed, 11–0. - AB 1 — Official symbols/statements for Buckley City (Assembly bill). Passed, 11–0. - AB 2 — Official symbols/statements for Matthews City (Assembly bill). Passed, 11–0. - AB 3 — Official symbols/statements for Winnemucca City (Assembly bill). Passed, 11–0. - SB 15 — Reallocate SHARE/health funds to add female-autonomy and reproductive-health curriculum (Senate bill). Passed initial floor vote (11–0); later vetoed by the governor and overridden by the Senate (override vote: 11–0). Outcome: enacted by override. - SB 14 — Allocate 2% of certain drug‑trafficking fines to teach diverse histories. Failed, 0–11. - SB 6 — Staggered school start times (middle 7:30 a.m., high 8:00 a.m., elementary 8:30 a.m.). Failed on roll call, 4–7. - SB 27 — Additional 0.7% tax on liquor to fund maternity-leave support. Revenue bill; failed (2–9) (did not reach required supermajority). - SB/AB 29/SB 29 and related — Upward Bound/TRIO coordinator requirement at public, magnet and charter high schools (Senate bill 29). Passed, 11–0. - AB 6 — Grant program to install metal detectors/electronic bag screening at large public venues funded by a portion of gaming tax revenue (Assembly bill 6). Passed on final roll call (final tally recorded as 9–2 after revote). - SB 36 — Eliminate cash bail for petty misdemeanors/first-offense nonviolent misdemeanors; allow recognizance, pretrial measures or electronic monitoring. Passed, 11–0. - SR 19 — Designate a state-recognized flavor of ice cream as a state symbol (Senate resolution). Passed, 11–0. - SB 13 — Prohibit party labels on ballots. Failed, 4–7. - AB 17 — Eliminate youth restorative program and reallocate funding to a rehabilitation-based reentry program for formerly incarcerated youth. Passed, 11–0. - SB 10 — Permit students to carry and self-administer certain over-the-counter medications at school with parental permission. Failed, 2–9. - SB 5 — Reallocate 0.4% of sales tax on alcohol to teenage rehabilitation facilities. Revenue bill; failed, 1–10. - SB 11 — Equilibrium entitlement (developer compensation when building displaces housing). Passed, 6–5. - SB 16 — Corporate water-usage caps and fines for excess use (various thresholds and monthly fines). Failed, 1–10. - AB 36 — Levy 0.5% tax on tobacco products to fund light-pollution shielding for localities. Revenue bill; passed (record shows 11–0 and met the stated threshold). - AB 8 — Five‑year renewal system for concealed-carry permits, with safety training and updated background checks. Passed, 7–4. - SB 40 — Reallocate part of the business tax for an awareness campaign about rhinitis medicamentosa (so‑called Afrin addiction). Failed, 2–9. - SB 28 — Prohibit capping weighted GPAs in Nevada public high schools. Passed, 9–2. - SB 34 — Make a mandatory financial‑literacy course a public‑high‑school graduation requirement. Failed, 0–11.

What lawmakers said and how the votes broke down: Senators debating the bills repeatedly raised questions about implementation costs, funding sources and whether state or local authorities have the capacity to carry out the proposals. For example, opponents of AB 6 (metal detectors) noted that many large venues already use security screening, while supporters emphasized that a statewide grant program using gaming-tax revenue would create a steady funding source and require annual reporting to the Legislature on outcomes and compliance. Senator Tang asked for specifics on the gaming-tax allocation; Senator Jacobson pointed to the bill’s cap that “a portion of Nevada’s annual gaming tax revenue not to exceed 3.6% shall be allocated to the public safety infrastructure fund.”

On SB 15 (reproductive-health curriculum), debate was again robust after the governor’s veto message criticized cost and scope. In floor remarks prior to the override vote, Senator King argued the bill “is purely to raise awareness of issues pertaining to female biological studies” and cited Nevada’s reported teen‑pregnancy and STI statistics that appeared in the bill’s preamble. The Senate voted to override the governor’s veto by the recorded margin required in the chamber.

Several revenue-related proposals failed, largely because they either required a supermajority or senators said the bills lacked clear implementation language. For example, SB 27 (liquor tax for maternity leave) was opposed because it did not set a time limit for paid leave and was labeled a revenue measure requiring a two-thirds threshold; the body voted 2–9 against it.

Process and next steps: The Senate’s final roll calls and messages were transmitted to the Assembly where applicable; the Senate also received and acted on messages from the Assembly throughout the day. Where the chamber declared a bill passed it was recorded on the public journal and — where applicable — sent on to the governor, to be enacted or vetoed under normal procedure. The session included a gubernatorial veto that the Senate subsequently overrode for SB 15.

Ending note: Several items passed with unanimous recorded support in the chamber’s shortened membership (commonly 11 voting senators present), while a subset of revenue and scheduling bills failed after substantive debate about cost, practicality and statewide implementation.