City tracks bills with unfunded mandates

Things that happen at the state level can have a big impact on local jurisdictions such as Boulder City, which is why city staff keeps track of bills coming before the state Legislature every other year when they are in session.

The city takes a stand on various bills and tracks their progress. The following is a list of all of the bills the city was tracking with a status of “High Priority.”

AB27

This is the city’s bill, as in it was introduced via the Assembly Committee of Government Affairs at the request of Boulder City. The bill would have carved out an exception to the current law, which disallows someone receiving a Nevada Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) from taking another associated job without losing their current benefits.

This became a local issue when the council briefly considered declaring a critical labor shortage when they were at the beginning of the search for a new city manager almost a year ago. Such a declaration would have allowed the city to hire someone already receiving a PERS pension. The exception was originally put in place to help rural schools hire teachers but, crucially, a city could declare a shortage without any evidence — kind of a “there is a shortage because we say there is” arrangement.

Had it passed, AB27 would have granted cities with a population under 25,000 a permanent exception. The bill went nowhere, never even getting a committee hearing. Per rules on what is known as joint standing, no further action on the bill is allowed in this session.

SB303

This bill would remove the limit on the city’s liability should someone be injured on city property that is being used for recreation. Per the staff report, “This bill would eliminate a limitation of city liability that has endured for decades.”

The bill is still in play and was approved by the Senate Committee on Judiciary and has been sent to the Assembly.

SB296

A transparency bill that would limit the ability for government entities to enter into non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) unless the info covered by the NDA is required to be confidential per state or federal law. The city’s position in opposing this bill was that this would limit their ability to negotiate with vendors.

The bill is dead for this session.

SB82

Another transparency measure that would have removed the ability for jurisdictions to go into a closed meeting for issues involving collective bargaining. The city opposed the bill saying it would, “Greatly impact union negotiations for Boulder City.”

The bill did get a vote in the Senate, however in an unusual turn, there were zero yea votes and zero nay votes and 21 members noted as “absent. The bill is dead for this session.

SB214

This bill would have loosened the “call before you dig” requirement from 12 inches to 18 inches. The city’s opposition was public safety related.

The bill never made it out of committee and is dead for this session.

SB53

A bill that would have required the Nevada Department of Transportation to create an electronic system for local governments to report road conditions. The city’s opposition was in the “unfunded mandates” category based on a fear that the existence of such a system would saddle the city with reporting requirements.

The bill did not make it out of committee and is dead for this session.

AB241

This bill would require cities and counties to allow multifamily housing on property zoned as commercial. In the city’s opposition they note that Boulder City already allows multifamily housing as a conditional use in some commercial zoning. (A conditional use still requires that the developer go to the planning commission and city council for approval). This bill contains an unfunded mandate.

The bill passed in the Assembly, 28 to 14 with Danielle Gallant, the Republican member who represents Boulder City and who became a resident of the city last year breaking party unity and voting with the majority to pass the bill. It is currently under consideration by the Senate.

AB228

The city opposed this bill which would have repealed the requirement for all-mail elections and gone back to the system that existed prior to 2020 when one had to request an absentee ballot in order to vote by mail. It also would have made clear what forms of identification can be used to cast a ballot. The city’s opposition was based on what was characterized as increased election costs.

The bill never got a hearing and is dead for this session.

AB213

Another unfunded mandate that would expand the prevailing wage requirement for government construction work to include people involved in fabrication of parts. The city’s opposition is based on a potential increase in costs.

The bill passed out of the Assembly on a 26-15 vote with Gallant voting nay. It is currently under consideration by the Senate.

AB124

This would have required that an elected official resign from their current office in order to run for another office unless there is less than 12 months remaining on their current term. Notably, it did not apply to the municipal judge. Even though the only city offices that are elected are council members, the city opposed this on the grounds of potentially increased election costs.

The bill never got a hearing and is dead for this session.

AB247

The city is neutral on this bill but monitoring it due to a potential increase in costs. It would mandate that public meetings are open to all including those with physical disabilities. The nut here is that the bill would require sign language translation and public access to a real time translation service. This would require the city to subscribe to software to provide that translation.

The bill has not gone to a vote but is still active and could be voted on during this session.