One month down. Three to go.

The Nevada Legislature is about 30 days through its 120-day session, and the start has been eventful, to say the least.

Legislators passed a bill that Gov. Joe Lombardo signed into law just two weeks into the session to address the rising costs of eggs.

In what could be a headlining topic of the 2025 Legislature, lawmakers heard a bill that would dramatically increase tax credits for film industries to lure a film studio and the jobs that come with it to Southern Nevada, creating a mini-Hollywood in Las Vegans’ backyard.

They’ve been dealing with a budget proposal that was first introduced with a $335 million deficit from the governor’s office, though they’ve made amendments and have since presented a balanced budget proposal.

Legislators have also put forward over 1,100 ideas for bills – including ones that would exempt the state from daylight saving time, change the state’s handling of public records and put in place protections for in vitro fertilization – all while potential federal budget cuts loom over their heads.

Busy beginnings

The 63-member body has introduced more bills than in previous sessions. By Feb. 21, the 19th day of the session, 502 bills had been introduced – an 18.4 percent increase from the previous session, according to data from the Legislative Counsel Bureau.

As of that day, there were still more than 659 bill draft requests submitted but not yet introduced. Most legislators’ bills must be introduced by March 17.

Additionally, 27 resolutions were put forward that urge Nevada or Congress to take certain actions, from protecting the area of Frenchman Mountain to entering into the National Popular Vote Compact.

Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager, D-Las Vegas, said he and Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro have done a better job telling legislators to turn their bill draft requests around earlier.

“The sooner your bill is drafted, the better chance you have of getting a hearing,” he said during a press availability Feb. 20.

Democratic legislators have also re-introduced unsuccessful bills from the last session, which has also been helpful in getting bill texts written, Yeager said.

“The first two weeks of session was extraordinarily busy and chaotic, unlike any session I’ve been a part of,” the Assembly speaker said. “I think it had a lot to do with the budget. We had a lot of extra meetings, either public-facing meetings or with our staff, to understand the budget.”

Others say the start of the session hasn’t caught them off guard. Richard McCann, president of McCann Consulting and a lobbyist since 2013, said he felt the pace of business is like early weeks in previous sessions — at least for lobbyists.

“I’m not going to argue with the statistics, but there’s still way too few lobbyists in the building to anticipate that it’s like a barn-burning thing going on,” he said. “There’s still a lot of … where is everybody?’ On a personal level, a lot of my bills aren’t out yet, so I don’t see it.”

Lombardo has also announced his legislative priorities, including permanent teacher pay raises and a $1 billion investment in new housing. His five bills are due March 24, and his office will hold a series of press conferences on the bills.

“Governor Lombardo looks forward to sharing and formally introducing his five key pieces of legislation, which include mandating accountability in education, lowering housing costs, expanding healthcare access, strengthening public safety, and modernizing economic development in Nevada,” spokesperson Elizabeth Ray said in an email.

So far he has signed two bills into law: Senate Bill 1, which funds the costs of the session, and Assembly Bill 171, which allows Nevada to temporarily drop a ban on cage-free egg sale requirements in the state, an effort that was fast-tracked through the Legislature to address rising egg prices.

Federal budget cuts

As part of the Trump administration’s campaign to curb federal spending, the House passed a Republican budget resolution that proposes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and a $2 trillion reduction in federal spending over a decade.

Nevada legislators have expressed concerns about what that would mean to the state’s budget. Some say they are particularly concerned about changes that could affect Medicaid coverage in the state, where about 800,000 Nevadans are enrolled.

Asked whether he felt federal budget conversations were looming over the session, Assemblymember Phillip “P.K.” O’Neill, R-Carson City, grabbed a magic 8 ball-like toy with President Donald Trump’s likeness on it with the label ‘President Predicto.’ It said: “Yes, but let’s see what happens.”

“I think a lot of it is posturing, and it’s politics at the end of the day. Who’s going to blink, what game of poker do you want to play?” O’Neill said, adding that so much can happen before the federal government’s March 14 funding deadline. His top concern was the impact on Nevada’s Medicaid program, he said.

Assembly Minority Leader Gregory Hafen II, R-Pahrump, said he is happy that the federal government is “finally coming to the play and following Nevada’s lead.”

Nevada has always had a lean budget and a rainy-day fund, Hafen said.

“I’m happy to see that they’re finally taking the steps to follow Nevada’s lead, be responsible with their money and hopefully be able to establish a balanced budget,” Hafen said during a Tuesday press call.

How the budget cuts affect Nevadans is a concern, Hafen said, and he is watching on a daily basis to see how the state should prepare.

“I feel pretty good. I had a really good conversation with fiscal staff this morning on where we’re at and what we might see, but I feel confident that it’ll be good,” he said.

Democratic lawmakers struck a different tone. Many have used the first month’s hearings to gauge how prepared the state is for reductions in federal support and to call on Congressional Republicans to vote against proposed cuts.

“We learn more every day that these cuts will devastate families, devastate their economic security, cause chaos for our health care providers, and cost our state budget billions of dollars,” Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas, said during a Wednesday press conference before a meeting where lawmakers grilled state health care officials over potential impacts to budget cuts.

During a budget hearing for the Governor’s Office of Federal Assistance, director A’Keia Sanders said the office is evaluating possible long-term effects of a lower federal budget and finding alternative funding sources for programs in which federal funding may no longer be available.

“Our goal is to create sustainable solutions that improve efficiency, increase funding opportunities and support long-term success for our agencies and communities,” she said.

McCann said the lack of clarity in federal support makes it difficult to plan policies.

“When there’s uncertainty in terms of where money’s going to be coming from, we can barely take what we got,” he said. “Asking for more becomes really a problem.”

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com and McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah and @mckenna_ross_ on X.