The Retail Association of Nevada is applauding Nevada’s legislative leaders for their swift, bipartisan action in passing emergency legislation, Assembly Bill 171, which helped stabilize Nevada’s egg market and deliver meaningful relief to consumers, lowering prices by more than 30 percent, according to a new report from the Nevada Department of Agriculture.

“Governor Lombardo, Speaker Yeager, Majority Leader Cannizzaro, and Minority Leaders Titus and Hafen didn’t just act — they delivered for Nevadans,” said Bryan Wachter, Senior Vice President of the Retail Association of Nevada. “In a matter of weeks, we went from $10 eggs and empty shelves to stabilized prices and stocked stores. This is what bold, effective leadership looks like when government truly works for the people.”

Assembly Bill 171, signed into law on Feb. 13, granted the State Quarantine Officer the authority to temporarily suspend Nevada’s cage-free egg mandate for up to 120 days in response to a USDA-declared animal disease emergency or federally declared disaster. At the height of the disruption, egg prices exceeded $10 per dozen, and grocery stores imposed strict purchase limits. Within two months of enactment, prices dropped more than 30 percent, offering significant relief to consumers.

“AB171 is a strategic tool for Nevada’s agricultural and retail sectors,” Wachter added. “It ensures that when crises arise, our state leaders have the flexibility to act quickly and keep essential goods like eggs on store shelves.”

Gov. Joe Lombardo, Speaker Steve Yeager, Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, Senate Minority Leader Robin Titus, and Assembly Minority Leader Gregory Hafen worked together to unanimously pass AB171 in the early days of the legislative session, demonstrating a shared commitment to protecting consumers and stabilizing essential food supply chains.

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Nevada lawmakers signaled they will continue funding K-12 teacher raises in the next two-year budget cycle, but charter school staff could be left out of future increases, sparking threats of a gubernatorial veto.

A panel of state Senate and Assembly legislators recommended about $250 million in spending to fund pay raises in the state’s school districts that were first approved in the Legislature last session but did not follow a recommendation from Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo to allocate $38 million to extend the raises to charter school staff, who were not included previously.

Legislative leadership left the door open for charter school teacher raises. Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas, said before the recommendation vote on Wednesday that the subject was not closed.

“While I recognize that today is not the day that we’ll be talking about charter school raises,” Cannizzaro said, “I do think that conversation should continue for the remainder of this session, so that we can come to a good resolution on that that makes sense.”

Five Republicans on the subcommittee that budgets education funding voted against the recommendation.

“Charter schools are public schools. These teachers are public teachers,” state Sen. Carrie Buck, R-Henderson, said before the panel voted. “They deserve raises, also.”

In a Thursday statement, Lombardo expressed his frustration toward the subcommittee’s exclusion of charter schoolteacher raises.

“I’ve been clear and consistent on this,” Lombardo said. “I will not sign an education budget that does not include equal pay for public charter school teachers and make teacher pay raises, including those for charter school teachers, permanent. Further, I will veto any education budget bill that falls short of addressing a serious need for accountability, transparency and real parental choice. All 63 legislators have been aware of my position for months, and it is my expectation that they will pass a bill that improves education for all Nevada children.”

Lower-than-anticipated revenues to the state as tourism weakens in an uncertain economy have put a damper on budget meetings in Carson City. May 2025 projections of the revenue for the State Education Fund show $161 million less than what was projected in January, forcing lawmakers to weigh which programs they want to expand and which may remain at status quo.

In the Wednesday meeting, legislators recommended transferring $126.9 million from the Education Stabilization Account — an education rainy-day fund — to the Pupil-Centered Funding Plan account for 2025 fiscal year to cover revenue lost from the impacts of decreased tourism.

On Thursday, the education budget subcommittee voted to recommend transferring $115.7 million from the Education Stabilization Account to the Pupil-Centered Funding Plan for the 2025-2027 biennium.

The committee also affirmed the governor’s recommended budget for per-pupil funding of $9,416 for fiscal year 2026, a $2 increase from the current fiscal year, and $9,486 for fiscal year 2027.

The Legislature has less than 30 days until the session adjourns. Lawmakers typically spend the last week of session voting on the state budget bills, including education funding. Nevada’s Constitution requires education to be funded first.

Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager, D-Clark County, on Thursday introduced a bill that would cap insulin prices at $35 per month for patients with private health insurance in Nevada.

WATCH | What a cap on insulin prices would mean for Nevadans

Yeager bill would cap insulin for everyone in Nevada

Yeager’s bill — Assembly Bill 555 — comes with less than a month to go in the 2025 legislative session, which is scheduled to adjourn on June 2.

The bill was referred to the Assembly’s Commerce & Labor Committee for hearings and a preliminary vote.

Legislative leaders have a small number of emergency bills they can use to introduce legislation late in the session, irrespective of deadlines for regular lawmaker and committee bills. AB 555 is one of Yeager’s emergency measures.

“With the passage of this legislation, we are placing a hard cap on the cost of insulin for private insurance, no more than $35 for a 30-day supply,” Yeager said at a morning news conference. “This is a promise we’re making to tens of thousands of Nevadans who live with diabetes and have struggled for far too long with outrageous, unpredictable prices.”

Yeager recounted stories from around the state, including parents skipping insulin doses so their children won’t miss theirs, or senior citizens splitting vials to stretch their supply for a whole month.

“This is not, and should not, be acceptable,” Yeager said. “And under Assembly Bill 555, it won’t be tolerated.”

According to the American Diabetes Association, 26 states and the District of Columbia already cap insulin prices. That includes Utah, Colorado and New Mexico.

Insulin price caps for people on Medicaid have been implemented at the national level, initially on a trial basis. President Joe Biden made them permanent when he signed the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, limiting costs to $35 per month.

But people on private insurance can pay varying rates, which prompted Yeager to introduce his bill. He said at his news conference that he looked forward to getting the bill through the Legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who is set to introduce his own health-care measure soon.

Barb Hartzel, whose daughter has Type 1 diabetes, spoke at the news conference as well, discussing how critical insulin is in her daughter’s care.

“Insulin is not optional for my daughter,” Hartzel said. “It is not a luxury. It is not negotiable.”

Despite that, she said families are cutting doses, delaying picking up refills or having to choose between groceries and their medicine. “What price tag would you put on your child’s life?” she asked.

Back in 2017, Nevada lawmakers approved a bill that requires pharmaceutical companies to list the wholesale cost of prescription drugs that treat diabetes. But that bill didn’t cap prices the way Yeager’s measure seeks to do.

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