LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A bill that would have authorized more than $1.6 billion in transferable tax credits to build a film studio in Summerlin failed by a single vote in the Nevada Senate Wednesday evening.
The 10-8 vote, with three members absent, ended a long road for the most controversial, and most heavily lobbied, bill of the special session, now in its seventh day in Carson City.
The vote on Assembly Bill 5 was bipartisan, with both Republicans and Democrats in support and opposition to the bill. Eight Democrats and two Republicans voted in favor, with five Democrats and three Republicans opposed.
The Senate needed a simple majority — or 11 votes – to approve the measure.
Three Republican members were absent, but all three would likely have voted against the film tax plan.
The vote was the weary denouement for the film tax plan, which was first proposed in a different form in the 2023 session by state Sen. Roberta Lange, D-Clark County.
In 2025, a new version co-sponsored by Assemblywomen Sandra Jauregui and Daniele Monroe-Moreno, both D-Clark County, passed the Assembly with a bare majority, 22-20, and made it past a Senate committee before dying on the floor.
In the special session, the Assembly vote was again 22-20.
The idea was backed by the Howard Hughes Company, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros./Discovery, as well as many labor unions. It would have seen a film studio built on land in Summerlin, but tax credits would not have been available until the studio was built and features were actually being produced.
The bill was tweaked to provide benefits including money for pre-kindergarden programs in Clark County.
Proponents sold the idea by saying it would produce thousands of temporary construction jobs, as well as thousands more permanent jobs working in the studio, as well as billions in revenue. But opponents noted it would take money from the state budget, and pointed to studies that cast doubt on the economic benefits.
The film tax didn’t have an easy ride: A procedural objection almost killed it before it was heard in committee, and another objection was raised when two Assembly members voted remotely in favor of the legislation. And while the primary sponsors were both Democrats, some of the most vociferous objections were also raised by Democrats.
And some lawmakers complained about the aggressive lobbying tactics by proponents of the bill, tactics that ultimately backfired.
But members of the construction trades lobbied heavily in support of the bill, joined by the state’s largest teachers union, the Clark County Education Association. Other unions – including the rival Nevada State Education Association – and one for government workers, opposed the plan.
The Nevada Republican Party sent a statement of support for the measure, while progressive groups denounced it.
Following the vote, Shelbie Swartz, executive director of Battle Born Progress, said in a statement: “With the failure of AB5, the message is clear: Nevada is open for business, but not for corporate handouts. Film tax credit programs the world over have shown us a race to the bottom, pitting state and local governments against each other and eroding the tax bases that fund critical public services. It’s a shame that so much time and money was wasted on this shallow attempt to give away taxpayer dollars. Now, we look forward to seeing real solutions to do just that.”
