LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Nevada Legislature for the first time called itself into a special session, using a procedure added to the state constitution by voters in 2012.
A total of 42 lawmakers signed a petition to call the special session, which incorporates all the items included on Gov. Joe Lombardo's Nov. 13 proclamation, as well as a bill to address corporate ownership of housing.
WATCH | What we know about the special session
Before 2012, only the governor could convene a special session, and was exclusively in charge of the agenda. But lawmakers proposed a constitutional amendment in the 2009 and 2011 sessions that voters blessed in 2012.
The procedure has never been used before this year.
"For the first time in Nevada history, the Legislature is acknowledging that we are a co-equal branch of government that can make our own decisions for the people who have elected us," said Nicole Cannizzaro, D-Clark County, the Senate's majority leader.
The new bill included in the Legislature's proclamation, known as Senate Bill 10, seeks to limit corporate purchases of "residential units" in Nevada to 1,000 per year. (The original version set a limit of 100, but was amended.) Corporations would have to register with the state.
A similar bill was proposed in this year's regular legislative session by state Sen. Dina Neal, D-Clark County, but failed to achieve a required two-thirds vote. During debate, state Sen. Ira Hansen, R-Washoe County, said he favored the measure, but voted against it at the request of Gov. Joe Lombardo.
On Wednesday, however, he maintained Lombardo had never asked him to vote no, and that the governor was concerned about homes being unaffordable, especially for younger people.
"He [Lombardo] is 100% concerned about these issues and wants to have a good policy coming out of our body that benefits the young people in Nevada," Hansen said.
But Neal, while saying she appreciated Hansen's support in getting the housing measure before the Legislature, didn't accept Hansen's change of story, saying lawmakers should not accept a "revisionist history in order to gain access to the pen in the [governor's] mansion."
Hansen was also criticized by fellow Sen. Lori Rogich, R-Clark County, who said it was "reprehensible" that her colleague had not shared the text of the measure with his Republican caucus.
Hansen defended himself, saying he was working on the language and didn't want false information circulating about it before the bill was introduced.
"My apologies to my colleague, but I can assure you my intentions are good," he said.
After a joint Assembly-Senate hearing on the bill, the Senate passed it by a vote of 18-0, with three senators absent. The bill now heads to the Assembly for a vote.
Crime bill poison pill
Another high-profile measure — Assembly Bill 4, an omnibus crime bill sought by Lombardo — was amended in the state Senate to include a provision that may ultimately doom it.
Cannizzaro sponsored an amendment that would prohibit school district or public school employees from giving law enforcement officers access to school grounds, unless they had a warrant, court order or subpoena.
The amendment also limited information that can be shared with law enforcement.
The move comes as activists have raised concern about federal immigration enforcement on school property, or targeting of parents of students for deportation.
There was no debate as the Senate adopted the amendment, which closely parallels Assembly Bill 217 that passed the 2025 session with bipartisan majorities in both houses.
But Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed that measure, saying it was overbroad, that it didn't account for emergency situations and that it placed school employees in precarious legal situations. Lombardo later cited his veto as proof that Nevada was not a "sanctuary state" after the U.S. Justice Department put Nevada on a list of jurisdictions that failed to cooperate with immigration authorities.
Nevada was later removed from the sanctuary list.
By attaching the school-enforcement language, lawmakers are forcing the governor to decide if he wants the other elements of the crime bill — including tougher DUI penalties, increased penalties for child porn, mental health evaluations for students who assault school employees and preventing automatic criminal record sealing for people who abuse or neglect children or elderly people.
Lawmakers themselves seem to recognize that a veto is possible. They have placed one of the most popular elements of the crime bill — the creation of a special corridor on the Las Vegas Strip where people convicted of crimes can be banned — into a separate measure, Senate Bill 9.
That way, the casino-backed provisions of the crime bill can be passed even if the governor vetoes Assembly Bill 4 because of the school-enforcement language.
Meanwhile, the most controversial bill of the session — Assembly Bill 5, which would authorize more than $1.6 billion in film tax credits over 15 years — is still awaiting action in the Senate. It was passed by a narrow 22-20 margin in the Assembly on Sunday.
