We Made it Through – Bills that Lived to See Another Day

Several deadlines govern the Nevada Legislative Session, with April 25 as the official day for First House Passage. Any bill that will continue through the session this year had to have passed out of one side of the building or the other – the Senate or the Assembly.

Of course, there are some exceptions, with Governor Lombardo’s SB405 being one. The bill, as introduced by the Committee on Legislative Operations on behalf of the Governor would require proof of identity for voting in person, require the DMV to issue a voter identification card at no charge, eliminate the requirement that a county clerk sends a mail ballot to each registered voter, voters could request a mail ballot if they so desire, and revised the deadline by which a mail ballot must be received.

In 2021 the law was changed to automatically mail a ballot to every voter. In the 2022 election, it was reported that half of Nevada voters chose not to mail in those ballots. This measure would save taxpayer dollars by only mailing to those voters who request a mail ballot.

Another bill, SB391 which would prohibit certain local governments from sounding sirens, bells, or alarms for certain purposes, was passed out of the Senate on April 25, with 17 yes and 4 no votes. Sponsored by Senator Dallas Harris, Assemblyman Howard Watts, and Assemblywoman Shea Backus, the bill now heads to the Assembly where it has been referred to the Committee on Government Affairs, on which local Assemblyman Greg Koenig sits.

SB391 is in answer to a similar bill passed last session aimed at silencing the siren in Minden which has been linked to a Douglas County “sundown ordinance” that was repealed in 1974 and required Native Americans to leave town by 6:30 p.m.

After the legislation was passed in 2021, Tribal leaders and the town of Minden announced an agreement to change the time of the daily siren from 6 p.m. to 5 p.m. Locals maintain the siren honors first responders.

That bill in 2021, AB88 also limited Nevada schools from using racially insensitive mascots.

The 2021 measure prohibits a county, city, or town in this state from sounding a siren, bell, or alarm that was previously sounded on certain days or times in association with an ordinance enacted by the county, city, or town which required persons of a particular race, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, or color to leave the county or a city, town, or township within the county by a certain time.

The 2023 bill revises these provisions by prohibiting a county, a city, and an unincorporated town from sounding a siren, bell, or alarm for a purpose other than (1) alerting persons to an emergency, (2) testing the siren, or bell or alarm at reasonable time intervals of not more than once every 6 months, or (3) celebrating or recognizing a legal holiday on the day of the legal holiday or the day on which the legal holiday is recognized by existing law.

It also authorizes the Nevada Attorney General to bring a civil action to collect a monetary penalty from a county, city, or unincorporated town for each violation. This bill also prohibits a county, city, or unincorporated town from taking adverse employment action against the employee for reporting such a violation to the attorney general.

The noon whistle at City Hall in Fallon was installed in the late 1800s to call the firemen for an emergency. Today it is used to alert the community to be on the watch for volunteer firemen who are traveling to the firehouse for emergencies with their flashers on personal vehicles. It became a tradition over the years to test the whistle at noon and became a community symbol of lunchtime.

If this bill is to pass the legislature, according to Mayor Ken Tedford, “It certainly would impact the Fallon community tradition of the noon whistle.” The fine, if the city were to blow the whistle outside the law would be $50,000 an occurrence. The whistle would still sound in the case of emergency calls to notify the local volunteer firemen and the community to watch for emergency traffic.

If you have strong feelings one way or the other about any legislation, please contact the legislative representatives for our area: Assemblyman Greg Koenig [email protected] and Senator Robin Titus, [email protected]. All contact regarding legislation is captured and used by legislators when deciding on their votes. 

The Chairwoman of Government Affairs, where the siren bill will next be considered is Selena Torres [email protected]