Following the conclusion of this year's legislative session, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo signed 518 bills into law.

And on July 1, several of those laws went into effect.

Joining us to explore which of those laws are most likely to affect you are Tabitha Mueller, Capital Bureau Chief at The Nevada Independent; and McKenna Ross, Politics and Government Reporter at the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Ladies, welcome.

And Tabitha, I'd like to start with you.

Where are you at the moment?

No longer in Carson City, right?

(Tabitha Mueller) No longer in Carson City.

I'm actually based in Sparks, Nevada, now, so northern part of the state.

-Okay.

What law is currently in effect that you think Nevadans need to know about?

-So I think there's some of the high profile ones, right?

We're talking about the Nevada Health Authority establishment, an omnibus education bill, Governor Joe Lombardo's key housing proposal, as well as a couple of other legislation.

But there are two policies that I think haven't received a lot of attention, and one of those is a ban on artificial intelligence in school setting for mental health treatment; and it requires the Nevada Department of Education to develop a policy for using AI by school employees when providing therapy.

I think one may have some large effects that we'll kind of have to see as it, as it plays out.

The other one that I'm sort of paying attention to is the requirement for the State to reimburse care for disabled or chronically ill children.

So parents caring for ill or disabled children have really struggled sometimes choosing between how do I put food on the table and take care of my kid.

Now they'll be able to get reimbursed for some of that care.

-McKenna, same question for you.

What do you think Nevadans need to know of the laws that are right now in effect?

(McKenna Ross) Yeah, sure.

One that I think is really interesting is a ability for officers to confiscate firearms for people who are in mental health crisis holds.

Now, that's a temporary confiscation.

If a person is deemed to need a mental health crisis hold, the officers can take their firearms.

They have to immediately provide that person with a receipt and with information on how to get their their guns or other firearms back after their crisis ends, or after they're leaving treatment.

Now, there are some, you know, exceptions.

They don't have to give the firearms back; "they" being the officers don't have to give the firearms back if they set up a protection order or if that person isn't eligible to have a gun to begin with.

I thought that was a really interesting bill to become law because, you know, we didn't see a lot of success in gun control measures.

Several different policies were vetoed by Governor Lombardo, and so this one seems to be the kind of middle-of-the-road common sense that Carson City lawmakers could agree on.

-How difficult was it to get passed?

-Well, it did pass, and it was led by Senator Melanie Scheibel and the Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro.

So they were able to champion it and get it through to the governor.

-Bipartisan support?

-I believe so, yes.

-Okay, all right.

Let's go back to you, Tabitha, and I want to start with the healthcare aspect.

The Nevada Health Authority, what does this mean for Nevadans who use Medicaid, for example?

-So this is one of the biggest changes we've seen in Nevada to our healthcare system.

Essentially, what the creation of the Nevada Health Authority did is that it puts Medicaid, the Public Employees Benefits Program, the Nevada Health Link, which is our state insurance marketplace, all under the same roof.

And what officials say this is going to do is that it will basically consolidate the State's purchasing power with insurers, and they'll be able to leverage for better deals.

They'll be able to have an in-house system.

So if people are navigating, you know, am I on Medicaid, or do I need to get onto the public health insurance option plan that's set to roll out in 2026, or another insurance plan, it's kind of a one-stop shop for people to go to.

And it's what officials have said, is it'll streamline those services and access point.

-McKenna, I see you nodding your head.

What do you think about this bill in particular?

-Yeah.

I thought it was really interesting, because the governor proposed this first at his State of the State.

It was part of a larger effort to reform the state's healthcare system, and his policy bill, a separate bill from this suggestion or this plan to split the department, it didn't go through.

It ultimately failed on sine die, but the split still, still was approved, and it's still occurring.

And so I think it shows that the State really wants to find ways to streamline, as Tabitha said, and to look for ways to, you know, give themselves better power in negotiating with insurers or with drug companies and things like that.

-I would also add that recent reporting that we've done has shown that because of the one beautiful, One Big Beautiful Bill that's moving through, that moved through, that was approved under President Trump's administration, we're expecting to see about 100,000 Nevadans who will lose Medicaid once work requirements kick in, which could be as early as 20-- you know, which could be as early as 2027.

But things might shift depending on, you know, waivers, that type of deal.

But what's interesting is, when we talk to officials about this, they sort of pointed to the Health Authority as a way to find ways to innovate, help people get back onto insurance, to kind of address some of the drop-off that we're going to be expecting from that program.

-And people who are currently on Medicaid in Nevada, what do they need to do, if anything?

I mean, should-- is there messaging that's letting people know, these are the changes that are coming?

-So I think a lot of the changes we're not actually going to see in effect until a few years from now.

I think that's the key part of this bill that's really important to note, is we're not going to see an immediate drop-off.

Work requirements, things are slowly phased in over the next nine years.

When that happens, obviously the State, different agencies, are going to have to be on the front lines getting out that messaging.

We've already seen newspapers, publications, those types of deals saying, Hey, here's what you need to be aware of.

Now, as this kind of rolls out, we'll start to see people will need to renew their Medicaid.

They're going to have to re-enroll.

They'll have to say, I'm proving that I have-- and working, here are the requirements.

There are some exceptions for people, too.

-That can be a lot of work, a lot of red tape for people that they should be aware of could be coming down the pipeline.

-McKenna, what are bills that were passed this past session, signed into law, that have yet to go into effect that you think people need to be looking out for or aware of?

-Yeah.

One I thought was really interesting was some provisions that will require the State to come up with regulations for employers who are-- who have outdoor workers during times of wildfire smoke.

Now, this is to, of course, reduce the risk of exposure for those workers.

So the law is partially in effect in that the regulators are starting to develop those regulations to put forward to employers.

But the actual requirements say that doesn't have to start until January 1 of 2026.

But that'll be, that'll be really notable for folks who work outside.

That's everybody you can think of in the summertime with summertime jobs, or landscapers, door-to-door folks, salesmen, even people at the newspaper, like our photographers, they're outside a lot.

And so this-- these regulations will require employers to come up with, you know, settings that they have to bring those workers back inside at certain levels if it's unhealthy for certain groups or if the air quality is, you know, truly unhealthy for everyone and also will set up, you know, communication channels for these the employers to bring that information to their employees and in the training for those new employees.

-I will ask the same question, Tabitha, what are you looking ahead to?

What should Nevadans be aware of is coming down the pipeline?

-I think one of the biggest changes, and maybe I'm jumping ahead of myself here, is surrounding education.

There was an omnibus education accountability measure that was passed this session.

That was a joint bipartisan effort from Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro and Republican Governor Joe Lombardo.

And what's really-- this bill does a lot of things, right?

We're talking $21 million for services for pre-K, and we're also talking about transportation, other services to schools.

But the biggest change that I'm paying attention to is accountability for school districts.

So school districts that are low performing, underperforming, they're going to have to publish performance improvement plans.

They're going to be put on a system where they could be on probation.

So I think that-- and then there are steps and consequences for if they don't improve.

That's something I think is going to have a major effect on our education system.

-What are those consequences?

-So essentially, what this is, is that underperforming districts and schools that are determined that for two years they don't make progress, the State Superintendent can step in.

And essentially what the State Superintendent will do is they'll say, Hey, you have failed to demonstrate progress.

We can cut funding.

We can reallocate resources.

They can replace school leadership.

I mean, these are massive changes that could happen if these schools don't show improvement, especially with Nevada's ranking as one of the worst in the nation for our education system.

-Another aspect of that bill that I think puts more control into the hands of parents is the open enrollment process.

And there are changes to that.

What are they, and when do those go into effect?

-So the open enrollment process changes are going to happen in the next few years.

We're likely to see that.

I think it's in the, not this school year, but in 2027, I believe.

I'd have to triple check the language on it.

But essentially, what that open enrollment will do is it'll make it easier for students from low performing schools to attend a school outside of their zone area.

It also includes a $7 million appropriation to provide those students transportation.

And that was kind of a key negotiation point, because I think Democrats really were nervous about the budget this legislative session, especially with federal changes coming down.

We didn't have a good idea of where things were, so any allocation of money was taken very seriously, and sort of said, Okay, what do we actually need versus what is a "nice to have"?

-Okay.

McKenna, Reba's Law, what does it do, and what is the back story into how it came to be?

-Sure.

Well, we'll start with the name, Reba.

Reba is, or I should say was, an English bulldog that a couple taped into a like plastic tote bin and left behind a building.

And Reba was found.

This was about last summer.

Reba was found, and they, you know, tried to extend her life.

Unfortunately, she did pass away.

And so the outcry from that event made people ask for harsher penalties for animal cruelty.

That was just so inhumane that the public outcry was very strong for it.

So Assemblywoman Melissa Hardy, Republican from Henderson, she proposed this bill that would strengthen animal penalties-- or animal cruelty penalties.

And so it's a pretty interesting story.

At the legislature, it actually failed its first deadline.

So there are a couple different deadlines through the session to move things along, and it failed that first deadline.

But the outcry from advocates in the Las Vegas area was really strong, and so the Democratic leadership in the legislature ultimately decided to revive it, bring it back.

By Monday, it was exempt from deadlines and the conversations could continue.

And so the bill ultimately moved through the Assembly and the Senate with largely bipartisan support.

And they, like I said, they increased animal cruelty penalties, and they also added some detail on what to do if you find an animal in a hot car.

I guess it could apply to a cold car also.

But of course, here in Southern Nevada, we see that that question of, you know, what to do if you see an animal that's locked in a car and you're worried about how hot it gets in a car.

So this sets up the process.

-What is that process?

-So first, the, you know, the citizen should call authorities, let them know, I see an animal in a car.

You got to check to see there's no other way to get that animal out.

Okay, it's a locked car, you call authorities and you can let them know that you're gonna do what might be, you know, deemed reasonably necessary to take the animal out of the car.

And it shields the citizen from criminal or civil liability, so I guess you could say, if you were to break a window.

And as long as you're staying with the animal and staying near the car, waiting for those authorities to come and deal with the situation and finish it out, then you can be, you know, you can do that without fear of prosecution or something like that.

-Tabitha, with your years of experience covering Nevada politics, what did you make of this story and how this bill got passed?

What do you take away from that?

-I think you take away the fact that it matters when you call and you talk to your representatives, right?

I mean, that bill was dead.

You know, it's kind of, Those deadline days are coming, and you're like, Oh, that's dead; we're moving forward.

But it also shows that anything can survive, right, and that there's always changes that come down at the last minute.

And leadership said, Okay, this is clearly an issue the public cares about.

This is something that folks are advocating for.

Let's do our best to bring it back, back to the people.

-And McKenna, how would you describe the level of public outcry?

-Oh, they're a very passionate group of people who, who wanted it to be discussed.

And I think it just goes to show that folks want to see their lawmakers pay attention to the issues that they care about.

And of course, you know, taking care of our pets and our animals is a priority for a lot of folks.

-What was the argument against passing this?

-I don't think there was an argument against so much as they wanted to really get into the nuance.

Some of the senators-- or at least one senator, I should say, that did end up voting against the bill said that he believed that the penalties were too harsh, that they were on par with, you know, some physical assaults or assaults against women.

And so he was like, you know, I think that what we have on the books is enough.

-Which was what?

I think it was four years maximum.

-That sounds about right.

-And now it's up to six years.

-Up to six, correct.

-Okay.

Yes, I mean, I do remember some people talking about, there are people convicted of child abuse who don't end up serving that much time.

So who are we prioritizing here?

-Right.

-People love animals.

I know I do.

What are you working on now?

-Well, now I'm looking at the upcoming Attorney General's race.

The Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro announced her intention to run for attorney general just yesterday, on Tuesday, and so the-- so the story is really interesting because it puts two Democrats in the primary.

That's her and our state treasurer, Zach Conine, have thrown their hat into the ring for the race that is, you know, next November.

Well, their primary is a little sooner than that, in June, but you know, for that, that general election race next November.

So we're already looking ahead.

-Two high-profile Democrats in Nevada.

Tabitha, last question for you.

What do you make of that race?

-I think-- I think it's really interesting, because we don't often see that high profile of a race in the primary for attorney general.

Usually it's pretty set on who the Democratic contender is, who the Republican contender is.

I think that that race, in particular, is going to be one to watch as we head into the election.

-All right.

Tabitha Mueller of The Nevada Independent, McKenna Ross, Las Vegas Review-Journal, thank you for joining us.