LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A wise observer of Carson City once opined that the legislative process was designed to kill bills, not to pass them.
And judging by the Vegas Chamber's post-legislative session breakfast on Wednesday at the California Hotel & Casino, success in Carson City this year was measured as much in bills that died as in ones that passed.
WATCH | Here are the killed bills discussed at the lobbyist breakfast
Chamber Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Paul Moradkhan said his team had tracked 879 bills, testified on 204 and helped negotiation more pro-business amendments to 24.
But he said that the Chamber had helped kill 41 bills and cheered the veto of another 26.
"And you look because of the work of the business community as a whole, we were able to stop those," Moradkhan told the crowd. "They were either killed, vetoed or mitigated. So I'm proud to say not a single bad bill got through the session. That's what we talked about is a huge win for the Nevada business community."
Among the bills Moradkhan said he helped kill was Assembly Bill 388, a measure by Assemblywoman Selena La Rue Hatch, D-Washoe County, that would have offered state and private-sector workers eight weeks of paid family leave. That bill was vetoed by Gov. Joe Lombardo, one of 87 bills he rejected during or after the 2025 session.
Another was Assembly Bill 414, by Assemblywoman Cinthia Moore, D-Clark County, that would have required safety standards for warehouse workers exposed to vehicle exhaust fumes. That bill was vetoed.
And Senate Bill 182 — by state Sen. Rochelle Nguyen, D-Clark County — would have required staffing plans at hospitals, including setting minimum nurse-patient ratios. That bill was also vetoed.
But it wasn't just killing bills that occupied the Chamber's team. Moradkhan said he was most pleased with Assembly Bill 444, which requires chambers of commerce to be notified of new regulations.
He also cheered a similar measure, Assembly Bill 125, which requires that all public agency meetings be posted on a state website and Senate Bill 373, which provides for business licenses in Clark County that are good across jurisdictional lines.
He said that the Chamber was already at work preparing for the 2027 session, when he said he expects to see some killed or vetoed bills return.
"We were able to kill some bills, stop some bills, but we know they're going to come back, so we're prepared to have that conversation," he said.
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