AB585 - Revises provisions relating to bill draft requests. (BDR 17-1137)

- 83rd Session (2025) Assembly Bill No. 585–Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections CHAPTER.......... AN ACT relating to legislative affairs; revising provisions relating to requests for the drafting of legislative measures; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. Legislative Counsel’s Digest: Existing law establishes the number and timing of requests for the drafting of legislative measures for Legislators and for other requesters. (NRS 218D.150-218D.220) Existing law authorizes incumbent members of the Assembly to request, before a regular session, the drafting of up to 9 legislative measures and incumbent Senators to request the drafting of up to 18 legislative measures, with portions of these requests due to the Legislative Counsel by August 1 preceding session and December 10 preceding session. (NRS 218D.150) Section 1 of this bill: (1) reduces the total number of authorized pre-session requests from 9 to 6 for members of the Assembly and from 18 to 12 for Senators; (2) divides this number of pre-session requests equally between the two deadline periods; (3) establishes a deadline for submission of information sufficient in detail to allow for the complete drafting of or a withdrawal of each request for each deadline period; and (4) reduces the number of requests available in subsequent pre-session deadline periods if a Legislator does not submit information sufficient in detail to allow for the complete drafting of or withdraw a request from the previous deadline period. In addition to the requests for the drafting of legislative measures available to Legislators generally, existing law authorizes the Speaker and Minority Leader of the Assembly and the Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the Senate to request the drafting of certain additional legislative measures before a regular session. (NRS 218D.155) Section 2 of this bill reduces the number of requests authorized for the Speaker of the Assembly and Majority Leader of the Senate from 15 to 10 and for the Minority Leaders of the Assembly and Senate from 10 to 5. Existing law authorizes the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Controller and Attorney General to request the drafting of certain numbers of legislative measures before a regular session on or before certain dates and establishes deadlines by which such legislative measures must be prefiled or deemed withdrawn. (NRS 218D.175) Section 3 of this bill revises the deadline for the submission of the request for the drafting of not more than 5 legislative measures by the Governor to propose the Governor’s legislative agenda from the 19th day of a regular session to: (1) August 1, if no gubernatorial election will occur before the regular session; or (2) after the first Monday in January and on or before the first day of the regular session, if a gubernatorial election will occur before the regular session. While existing law does not establish a prefiling deadline for legislative measures that propose the Governor’s legislative agenda, Joint Standing Rule No. 14.2 of the Senate and Assembly requires all bills to be introduced not later than the 50th calendar day of a regular session. Additionally, the Nevada Constitution requires the Governor to submit the proposed executive budget to the Legislature not later than 14 calendar days before the commencement of each regular session. (Nev. Const. Art. 4, § 2) Section 3 establishes deadlines for the legislative measures that propose the Governor’s legislative agenda that require: (1) prefiling such measures on or before the 10th calendar day preceding the regular session if no gubernatorial election will occur before the regular session; or (2) introducing – 2 – - 83rd Session (2025) such measures on or before the 15th day of the regular session if a gubernatorial election will occur before the regular session. Finally, section 3 reduces the number of requests for the drafting of legislative measures before a regular session by: (1) the Lieutenant Governor from 3 to 2; (2) the Secretary of State from 8 to 6; (3) the State Treasurer from 5 to 4; (4) the State Controller from 5 to 4; and (5) the Attorney General from 20 to 16. EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. NRS 218D.150 is hereby amended to read as follows: 218D.150 1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, each: (a) Incumbent member of the Assembly may request the drafting of: (1) Not more than [4] 3 legislative measures submitted to the Legislative Counsel on or before 5 p.m. on August 1 preceding a regular session; (2) [Not more than 5 legislative measures] If information which is sufficient in detail to allow for the complete drafting of or a request to withdraw one or more requests made pursuant to subparagraph (1) was submitted on or before December 10 preceding a regular session, a number of legislative measures equal to the number for which sufficient detail for drafting or a request to withdraw was submitted pursuant to subparagraph (1), which must be submitted to the Legislative Counsel after August 1 but on or before 5 p.m. on December 10 preceding a regular session; and (3) Not more than 1 legislative measure submitted to the Legislative Counsel after December 10 preceding a regular session [has convened] but on or before 5 p.m. on the eighth day of the regular session . [at 5 p.m.] (b) Incumbent member of the Senate may request the drafting of: (1) Not more than [8] 6 legislative measures submitted to the Legislative Counsel on or before 5 p.m. on August 1 preceding a regular session; (2) [Not more than 10 legislative measures] If information which is sufficient in detail to allow for the complete drafting of or a request to withdraw one or more requests made pursuant to subparagraph (1) was submitted on or before December 10 – 3 – - 83rd Session (2025) preceding a regular session, a number of legislative measures equal to the number for which sufficient detail for drafting or a request to withdraw was submitted pursuant to subparagraph (1), which must be submitted to the Legislative Counsel after August 1 but on or before 5 p.m. on December 10 preceding a regular session; and (3) Not more than 2 legislative measures submitted to the Legislative Counsel after December 10 preceding a regular session [has convened] but on or before 5 p.m. on the eighth day of the regular session . [at 5 p.m.] (c) Newly elected member of the Assembly may request the drafting of: (1) Not more than [5] 3 legislative measures submitted to the Legislative Counsel on or before December 10 preceding a regular session; and (2) Not more than 1 legislative measure submitted to the Legislative Counsel after December 10 preceding a regular session [has convened] but on or before 5 p.m. on the eighth day of the regular session . [at 5 p.m.] (d) Newly elected member of the Senate may request the drafting of: (1) Not more than [10] 6 legislative measures submitted to the Legislative Counsel on or before December 10 preceding a regular session; and (2) Not more than 2 legislative measures submitted to the Legislative Counsel after December 10 preceding a regular session [has convened] but on or before 5 p.m. on the eighth day of the regular session . [at 5 p.m.] 2. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, on or before the first day of a regular session, each: (a) Incumbent member of the Assembly must: (1) Prefile at least 4 of the legislative measures that he or she requested pursuant to subparagraphs (1) and (2) of paragraph (a) of subsection 1; or (2) Inform the Legislative Counsel of which 4 legislative measures that he or she requested pursuant to subparagraphs (1) and (2) of paragraph (a) of subsection 1 that he or she withdraws.  If an incumbent member of the Assembly does not request the maximum number of legislative measures authorized by subparagraphs (1) and (2) of paragraph (a) of subsection 1, the number of legislative measures that he or she must prefile or withdraw pursuant to this paragraph is reduced by that number of unused requests. – 4 – - 83rd Session (2025) (b) Incumbent member of the Senate must: (1) Prefile at least 8 of the legislative measures that he or she requested pursuant to subparagraphs (1) and (2) of paragraph (b) of subsection 1; or (2) Inform the Legislative Counsel of which 8 legislative measures that he or she requested pursuant to subparagraphs (1) and (2) of paragraph (b) of subsection 1 that he or she withdraws.  If an incumbent member of the Senate does not request the maximum number of legislative measures authorized by subparagraphs (1) and (2) of paragraph (b) of subsection 1, the number of legislative measures that he or she must prefile or withdraw pursuant to this paragraph is reduced by that number of unused requests. (c) Newly elected member of the Assembly must: (1) Prefile at least 2 of the legislative measures that he or she requested pursuant to subparagraph (1) of paragraph (c) of subsection 1; or (2) Inform the Legislative Counsel of which 2 legislative measures that he or she requested pursuant to subparagraph (1) of paragraph (c) of subsection 1 that he or she withdraws.  If a newly elected member of the Assembly does not request the maximum number of legislative measures authorized by subparagraph (1) of paragraph (c) of subsection 1, the number of legislative measures that he or she must prefile or withdraw pursuant to this paragraph is reduced by that number of unused requests. (d) Newly elected member of the Senate must: (1) Prefile at least 4 of the legislative measures that he or she requested pursuant to subparagraph (1) of paragraph (d) of subsection 1; or (2) Inform the Legislative Counsel of which 4 legislative measures that he or she requested pursuant to subparagraph (1) of paragraph (d) of subsection 1 that he or she withdraws.  If a newly elected member of the Senate does not request the maximum number of legislative measures authorized by subparagraph (1) of paragraph (d) of subsection 1, the number of legislative measures that he or she must prefile or withdraw pursuant to this paragraph is reduced by that number of unused requests. 3. A Legislator may not request the drafting of a legislative measure pursuant to subsection 1 on or after the date on which the Legislator becomes a nonreturning Legislator. For the purposes of – 5 – - 83rd Session (2025) this subsection, “nonreturning Legislator” means a Legislator who, in the year that the Legislator’s term of office expires: (a) Has not filed a declaration of candidacy within the time allowed for filing for election as a member of the Senate or the Assembly; (b) Has failed to win nomination as a candidate for the Senate or the Assembly at the primary election; or (c) Has withdrawn as a candidate for the Senate or the Assembly. 4. A Legislator may not request the drafting of a legislative measure pursuant to paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection 1 on or after the date on which the Legislator files a declaration of candidacy for election to the House in which he or she is not currently a member. If the Legislator is elected to the other House, any request that he or she submitted pursuant to paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection 1 before filing his or her declaration of candidacy for election counts against the applicable limitation set forth in paragraph (c) or (d) of subsection 1 for the House in which the Legislator is a newly elected member. 5. In addition to the number of requests authorized pursuant to subsection 1: (a) The chair of each standing committee of the immediately preceding regular session, or a person designated in the place of the chair by the Speaker of the Assembly or the Majority Leader of the Senate, may request before the date of the general election preceding a regular session the drafting of not more than 1 legislative measure for introduction by the committee in a subject within the jurisdiction of the committee for every 18 legislative measures that were referred to the respective standing committee during the immediately preceding regular session. (b) A person designated after the general election as a chair of a standing committee for the next regular session, or a person designated in the place of a chair by the person designated as the Speaker of the Assembly or the Majority Leader of the Senate for the next regular session, may request on or before December 10 preceding that regular session the drafting of the remaining number of the legislative measures allowed for the respective standing committee that were not requested by the previous chair or designee. 6. Each request made pursuant to this section must be on a form prescribed by the Legislative Counsel. Sec. 2. NRS 218D.155 is hereby amended to read as follows: 218D.155 1. In addition to the number of requests authorized pursuant to NRS 218D.150: – 6 – - 83rd Session (2025) (a) The Speaker of the Assembly and the Majority Leader of the Senate may each request before the date of the general election preceding a regular session, without limitation, the drafting of not more than [15] 10 legislative measures for that regular session. (b) The Minority Leader of the Assembly and the Minority Leader of the Senate may each request before the date of the general election preceding a regular session, without limitation, the drafting of not more than [10] 5 legislative measures for that regular session. (c) A person designated after the general election as the Speaker of the Assembly, the Majority Leader of the Senate, the Minority Leader of the Assembly or the Minority Leader of the Senate for the next regular session may request before the first day of that regular session the drafting of the remaining number of the legislative measures allowed for the respective officer that were not requested by the previous officer. 2. The Legislative Counsel, the General Counsel, the Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk of the Assembly may request before or during a regular session, without limitation, the drafting of as many legislative measures as are necessary or convenient for the proper exercise of their duties. Sec. 3. NRS 218D.175 is hereby amended to read as follows: 218D.175 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, for a regular session, the Governor or the Gove [Text truncated for display. Full text available on LegiScan.]