LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Gov. Joe Lombardo may veto a bill passed during the recent special session of the Nevada Legislature, adding to his already record-setting veto streak.
The bill in question — Senate Bill 7 — was hastily introduced and passed after a Nevada Supreme Court ruling pertaining to health care for lung diseases faced by first responders.
WATCH | What we know about SB 7
But the measure was not included on Lombardo's Nov. 12 proclamation calling the Legislature into special session, and under the state constitution, lawmakers can only consider measures listed on that document.
Not only that, but lobbyists for local governments and insurance companies told lawmakers in short hearings on the bill that costs could be astronomical if the measure is passed.
Court ruling sparks confusion
Lawmakers have long recognized that certain heart and lung diseases experienced by first responders such as firefighters, arson investigators and police officers are connected to their duties.
The law says those kinds of illnesses are presumed to be caused by their jobs, and thus entitle those workers to certain benefits.
But a Nevada Supreme Court decision that came down on the first day of the special session created chaos over the issue, with firefighters and their advocates saying the court broke with decades of tradition, and others saying the court merely recognized the law as written.
The case concerned Henderson correctional officer John Holguin, who contracted COVID-19 in June 2021, requiring hospitalization. Holguin filed for workers compensation, citing the law that presumed his illness was related to his work.
But a hearing officer disagreed, saying that while Holguin did get COVID on the job, he didn't satisfy the requirements of a separate secton of the law, which requires people suffering from lung disease to prove it had been "caused by exposure to heat, smoke, fumes, tear gas or any other noxious gases..."
Holguin appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court, which upheld the finding.
The bill and the constitution
In response to the ruling, Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro introduced SB 7 just two days later, on Nov. 15. It was heard in committee and came up for a vote later that day.
Before the vote, however. state Sen. Ira Hansen, R-Washoe County, said the bill shouldn't have been considered during the special session.
"It's not in the [governor's special session] proclamation, and we have a constitutional restriction to prevent these kinds of special sessions from getting outside the parameters of the proclamation," Hansen said. "So it's not that I'm against the bill, it's we have to follow the constitution."
Under Art. 5, Sec. 9(2) of the constitution, "the Legislature shall not introduce, consider or pass any bills except those related to the business for which the Legislature has been specially convened and those necessary to provide for the expenses of the session."
But state Sen. Melanie Scheible, D-Clark County, said that some items in the governor's proclamation — including bills related to crime and wage and benefits for workers — could include the provisions of S B7.
"And by calling us into a special session to address wages and benefits, that absolutely includes the workers compensation of first responders, and so I see no reason, policywise, procedurewise, that we should not move forward swiftly to ensure that we continue to stand behind our first responders," she said.
The move swiftly they did: The Senate passed the bill 15-5, and sent it to the Assembly, which heard it in committee the same day and passed it two days later on a vote of 33-6.
The move pleased groups including the Professional Firefighters of Nevada, the Metro Police Managers and Supervisors Association and the Nevada Justice Association, made up of trial lawyers.
Lobbyist Danny Thompson, a former state lawmaker, told the story of passing an amendment to the heart-and-lung law during his service in the Assembly.
The intent of the law was to say lung-related illnesses were presumed to have been caused on the job, and that first responders should get benefits as a result, he said.
"I think it's important that you correct this problem that was created with this [court] decision," Thompson said at the Senate committee hearing for the bill.
Even worst, firefighters association lobbyist Ryan Beaman warned that if the bill wasn't passed, claims would be denied and first responders would suffer as a result.
But opponents — including the Urban Consortium, the Nevada Association of Counties, the Metro Police Department and Clark County — all said the bill could have tremendous costs.
They urged lawmakers to give the matter a fuller hearing and assess the total costs to taxpayers of passing SB 7, rather than rushing the bill through a special session that happened to coincide with the release of the court's decision.
Dalton Hooks, an attorney speaking for the Nevada Self-Insurers Association, said the state Supreme Court got the decision right and that it didn't change the law as much as correctly interpret it.
A lung disease has to relate back to work, and to be connected to exposure to heat, smoke or gases in order to qualify for benefits, he said. (Proponents of the bill countered by saying that proving a specific exposure led to a specific ailment was difficult if not impossible.)
The veto
Several sources tell Channel 13 that Lombardo is planning to veto the bill, although one said the governor — a career Metro Police officer who was later elected sheriff — is being heavily lobbied by both sides.
Lombardo's office had no comment about the bill or the potential veto when contacted by Channel 13 on Wednesday.
Lombardo has already set the record as the governor with the most vetoes in Nevada history, at 163. A Republican, he's presided over two legislative sessions controlled by Democrats.
Lombardo has said the veto record is not something to be proud of, and represents a failure of both sides to work together on legislation acceptable to both parties.
According to the Legislative Counsel Bureau's Research Division, there have only been three vetoes of special session bills in state history.
The most recent came in 2010, when then-Gov. Jim Gibbons rejected a bill pertaining to employee pay, furloughs and work schedule adjustments in the wake of the great recession.
Special session vetoes are rare, mostly because the governor sets the agenda, and lawmakers cannot deviate from it. But now, under a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2012, the Legislature can call itself into special session, and set its own agenda.
The Legislature used that procedure for the first time this year, calling itself into special session to consider everything on Lombardo's proclamation, as well as a bill to regulate corporate home ownership. That bill ultimately failed by one vote in the Assembly.
SB 7 passed on the same day the legislative proclamation was signed and delivered to the secretary of state.
