Nevada lawmakers convened for a special session on Thursday, November 13, 2025, following Governor Joe Lombardo’s official proclamation calling the Legislature into session. Because the Nevada Constitution limits special sessions to the subjects outlined by the governor, the proclamation established the full parameters of what lawmakers were authorized to debate and consider.
Read Governor Lombardo’s Official Proclamation Here
The special session focused on a multibillion-dollar expansion of film tax credits, the revival of Lombardo’s public-safety and criminal-justice proposals that had stalled in the 2023 and 2025 regular sessions, and a broad slate of policy priorities. In total, the call authorized seven returning bills, five new subject areas, and 14 appropriations. Lombardo positioned the agenda as one that “implements critical public safety measures, expands healthcare access, and supports good-paying jobs,” anchoring the Legislature’s work in the areas of economic development, behavioral health, health-care access, and criminal justice reform.
The proclamation also permitted legislation related to school-zone safety, cybersecurity, labor standards, enhanced protections for public-facing employees and first responders, and the creation of a new Silver State General Assistance Program designed to expand Nevada’s social-services infrastructure. Together, these items framed a session focused on workforce stability, public-sector protection, health-care capacity, and statewide economic growth.
Lawmakers subsequently expanded the scope of the session to include a housing-affordability bill. In a historic first, the measure qualified for inclusion via a legislatively sponsored petition, meeting the required two-thirds threshold across both chambers. The corporate-housing bill would have revived elements of prior proposals to restrict the number of single-family homes large corporate buyers may purchase and to require reporting on bulk acquisitions. The bill’s addition followed the growing concern that institutional investors are accelerating Nevada’s housing inflation, outpacing individual buyers, and reducing access to homeownership. However, this hail-mary addition failed to make it out of the second house and therefore failed to become law.
Read through the Nevada Independent’s Special Session Issue Tracker for Chronical Updates of the Major Agenda Updates and Bill Topic Progress.
Bill Summary of By Topic of the Special Session
For Business
SB8 updates Nevada wage-and-hour law by incorporating key federal Portal-to-Portal Act and Fair Labor Standards Act exclusions—such as certain waiting time, preparatory/postliminary activities, training, and travel—into state law through October 31, 2029. The bill clarifies when employers must pay for donning and doffing uniforms or protective gear, and it aligns overtime calculations with federal regulations governing how the “regular rate” is computed. SB8 applies retroactively to pending wage cases and includes the standard effective-date and fiscal-note provisions. Signed by Governor Lombardo 11/20/2025
For Safety
AB4 is a broad public-safety omnibus bill that increases penalties for assaults on public-facing workers, modernizes stalking laws to cover digital conduct, expands child-sexual-abuse-material offenses, and creates a new felony for retail theft involving property damage. It broadens domestic-violence definitions, updates juvenile-justice, DUI, pretrial-release, sealing, and wrongful-conviction rules, and authorizes new alternative-correctional programs. The bill also mandates real-time custody lists, designates Clark County “corridors,” limits school-to-law-enforcement information sharing, and includes opioid-response and peer-support updates. In addition, AB4 adds targeted immigration-related protections by prohibiting immigration-enforcement officers from entering public school campuses without a warrant (with limited exceptions) and requiring legislative approval for any expansion of immigration-related detention capacity—late-added provisions meant to balance the bill’s public-safety framework with civil-liberty concerns for immigrant students and families. Signed by Governor Lombardo 11/20/2025
SB9 requires Clark County to establish public-safety corridors in high-tourism areas and lets justice courts create dedicated misdemeanor-adjudication programs, including exclusion orders of up to one year. It mandates detailed monthly and annual reporting and expands enhanced assault/battery penalties to cover hospitality employees. This bill died during the legislative process.
AB6 strengthens school-zone safety by allowing doubled penalties for certain traffic violations, requiring local governments to define active enforcement periods and standardize signage, and clarifying rules for speed, passing, and U-turns near schools. This bill was amended to include language regarding protocol for new student-privacy protections by prohibiting schools from including or releasing certain pupil contact information. Signed by Governor Lombardo 12/1/2025
Appropriations
SB4 is a state financial administration measure providing supplemental appropriations for the 2025–2027 biennium, funding corrections technology, behavioral health, public health, SNAP administration, indigent defense, education planning, and Public Option outreach. It also finances major higher-education construction projects, increases staffing for the Boards & Commissions Standards Office, raises the salary cap for the State Chief Information Officer, and expands the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education to include the education deans from UNR, UNLV, and NSU. Signed by Governor Lombardo 12/1/2025
Key Appropriations
Capital Projects
For Healthcare
SB7 expands Nevada’s workers’ compensation protections by creating a conclusive presumption that lung diseases in firefighters, police officers, and arson investigators are occupational—even if not caused by smoke, heat, or toxic exposure. It applies retroactively to existing claims and strengthens benefits and penalties rules for disputed cases. Signed by Governor Lombardo 12/1/2025
SB5 creates the Statewide Health Care Access and Recruitment Program, establishing a dedicated fund for provider-recruitment incentives, training pipelines, and targeted grants. It requires biennial statewide workforce-needs assessments to guide funding, shortage-area support, and future licensing-priority decisions. Signed by Governor Lombardo 12/1/2025
For Economic Development
AB5 creates the Nevada Studio Infrastructure Jobs and Workforce Training Act, authorizing a large-scale film-studio development in Summerlin and offering new film-infrastructure transferable tax credits for productions made on-site. It requires the Governor’s Office of Economic Development to enter a development agreement with the project’s lead participant, sets strict capital-investment and production-spending benchmarks with penalties for noncompliance, and mandates workforce-training contributions—including new vocational training centers and diversity hiring goals. The bill also increases and modernizes Nevada’s existing non-infrastructure film tax credits, establishes a production-studio entertainment district that dedicates certain taxes to pre-K programs, and creates a new statewide workforce-training account funded by a portion of issued credits. This bill did not pass and did not move forward.
SB10 limits the number of residential units that corporate entities can purchase each year in Nevada, and require those entities to register and report bulk-real-estate purchases. This bill failed to move forward.
| Bill | Title | Brief Summary |
| AB 1 Chapter 4 | Revises provisions relating to governmental administration. (BDR 19-22) | Bolsters state cybersecurity initiatives in the wake of the cyberattack that shuttered state services |
| AB 2 Chapter 2 | Revises provisions relating to alcoholic beverages. (BDR 32-24) | Exempts large gaming companies from certain electronic payment requirements in transactions between retailers and alcohol wholesalers |
| AB 3 Chapter 3 | Revises provisions relating to public office. (BDR 24-21) | Allows public officers to keep their personal information confidential after several lawmakers received threats in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination |
| AB 4 Chapter 9 | Revises provisions relating to public safety. (BDR 15-31) | Governor’s Crime Bill |
| AB 5 No Further Action Taken | Enacts the Nevada Studio Infrastructure Jobs and Workforce Training Act. (BDR S-13) | Expanding Film Tax Credit Program |
| AB 6 Chapter 10 | Revises provisions governing traffic laws. (BDR 43-23) School Zone Safety Bill | Creates double penalties in School Zones and allows for local governments and school districts to decide signage, times, and scope of school zones |
| ACR 4 Enrolled | Directs the Joint Interim Standing Committee on the Judiciary to conduct a study relating to road safety. (BDR R-29) | |
| ACR 5 No Further Action Taken | Directs the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Government Affairs to conduct an interim study on the activities of federal officials engaging in the investigation or enforcement of immigration laws in this State. (BDR R-19) | |
| SJR1 Enrolled | Proposes to amend the Nevada Constitution to enact various requirements relating to the distribution and submission of mail ballots. (BDR C-7) | |
| SB 1 Chapter 5 | Revises provisions governing the short-term lease of a passenger car. (BDR 43-26) | Changes current law by allowing (not requiring) rental car companies to ask of proof of insurance before leasing a vehicle |
| SB 3 Chapter 1 | Revises provisions relating to public assistance. (BDR 38-20) | SNAP Type Program – State Run “Silver State General Assistance Program” |
| SB 4 Chapter 11 | Revises provisions relating to state financial and governmental administration. (BDR S-11) | Appropriations Bill |
| SB 5 Chapter 12 | Makes revisions relating to health care. (BDR 40-32) | New grant program to assist with health care provider shortages; additional provisions |
| SB 6 Chapter 7 | Revises the Windsor Park Environmental Justice Act. (BDR S-12) | |
| SB 7 Chapter 13 | Revises provisions relating to occupational diseases. (BDR 53-36) | Clarifies that a firefighter, arson investigator and police officer's lung disease does not have to be caused by heat, smoke, fumes, tear gas or other noxious gases for it to be considered a work-related injury (worker’s compensation) |
| SB 8 Chapter 8 | Revises provisions relating to employment. (BDR 53-35) | Clarifying that employers don’t have to pay workers for activities that are “preliminary” or “postliminary” to their principal work duties; Amendment sunsets this in 2029, but includes pending litigation |
| SB 9 No Further Action Taken | Establishes provisions relating to public safety. (BDR 1-17) | Requires Clark County to create public-safety “corridors” in high-tourism areas and allows special misdemeanor-adjudication programs with exclusion orders and detailed reporting requirements |
| SB 10 No Further Action Taken | Revises provisions relating to real property. (BDR 10-38) | Limits the number of residential units that corporate entities can purchase each year in Nevada, and require those entities to register and report bulk-real-estate purchases |
Additional Articles of Interest
Lombardo signs major criminal justice bill, long top priority, with immigration adds
Nevada governor signs bill affirming lung disease risks for firefighters, law enforcement
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The 2025 Nevada Legislative Session brought several key victories despite a divided government and a cautious fiscal climate shaped by uncertainty at the federal level. Lawmakers secured important wins, including pay raises for public and charter school teachers, expanded funding for attainable housing, new renter protections and funding for eviction diversion programs. Outdoor access and education also saw progress through legislation supporting infrastructure and transit-to-trails initiatives. The Legislature worked to balance business-friendly practices with enhanced worker protections, advancing targeted reforms that support both economic growth and workforce stability. Though many ambitious policy proposals faced vetoes, the session concluded with the successful passage of all five budget bills—demonstrating fiscal responsibility and bipartisan cooperation. By holding the line on spending and making strategic investments in high-priority areas, Nevada positioned itself to navigate future federal funding shifts with greater resilience.
Notable Dates
| Economic Forum | May 1, 2025 |
| Day 120 (Sine Die) | June 2, 2025 |
| Last Day for Vetoes | 15 days after Receiving the Bills |
| Effective Dates (traditionally) | Upon Passage and Approval July 1, 2025 October 1, 2025 January 1, 2026 (and beyond) |
| Blackout End Date (Campaign Contributions) | July 3, 2025 |
| Primary Filing Deadline | Judicial Candidates: January 5 - 16, 2026 Non-Judicial Candidates: March 2 - 13, 2026 |
| Primary Election | June 9, 2026 |
What is the Economic Forum?
The Nevada Economic Forum is a nonpartisan body that issues the official revenue forecast used to build the state’s budget. At its May 1, 2025 meeting, the forum projected slower general fund growth due to federal policy uncertainty, a cooling tourism sector, and broader economic trends. This cautious outlook led lawmakers to adopt a fiscally conservative 2025–27 budget focused on restraint, limited new spending, and core services.
So What Now?
After 120 days of policy debate, the 2025 Nevada Legislative Session wrapped up with a record-breaking 87 vetoes from Governor Lombardo. To explore what ultimately became law, you can review the full list of passed bills and resolutions, read the Governor’s official veto messages, and dive into The Nevada Independent’s coverage of Lombardo’s second session—including which policy promises were kept. Unless otherwise specified, most new laws in Nevada take effect on October 1 of the year they’re passed, though some take effect immediately or on July 1 if tied to the state’s fiscal calendar. This session even saw some effective dates delayed until the next biennium and even further, but the work starts now to lay the foundation for success. Moreover, many of the ideas that stalled or died this year have a way of resurfacing when the Legislature reconvenes so now begins our interim work.
2025 Governor Lombardo Veto Messages
Bills Filed with the Secretary of State (2025)
Nevada Independent: Lombardo Promise Tracker
Below is a breakdown of our comprehensive report of the 2025 Legislative Session prepared by TCS.
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