Senate Democrats passed bills on economy, education, health care, jobs, public safety, housing, and more
Carson City, NV: At the start of the 83rd Legislative Session, Senate Democrats pledged to work on the issues faced by Nevada’s working families. Working with Democrats in the Assembly, Senate Democrats championed legislation to lower prices and increase access when it comes to housing and health care, make education more accountable, improve community and public safety, and ensure that Nevada is a place where everyone who works hard and plays by the rules can get ahead.
“This legislative session, Senate Democrats worked hard for Nevada’s working families,” said Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro. “Despite uncertain national economic trends and chaos at the federal level, we protected our state’s $12.9 billion public education budget while passing legislation to make public education more accountable. We took on out-of-state corporations buying up homes and pricing out Nevada families. We worked to make the health care system better for Nevadans by expanding coverages and bringing more medical providers to our state. And we passed sensible public safety legislation to make our communities safer. We look forward to returning in 2027 to continue to work for
the people of Nevada.”
2025 Key Legislation Passed in the Nevada Senate
Improving Schools for all Nevada Students
Senate Democrats went to work in passing legislation that improves outcomes, reduces class sizes, and ensures that we are working towards placing a qualified teacher in every classroom. This session, we maintained record funding levels, overhauled accountability at the district level, provided more instructional time for educators, and ensured that all educators, including Charter school educators, got a raise.
- SB 277 – Addresses the school social worker, psychologist, and counselor shortage by mainstreaming licensing that supports internship hours
- SB 460 – Expanding accountability and oversight measures for public and publicly funded schools, improving new teacher training pipelines, expanding public school open enrollment, expanding pre-K facilities funding and raising income eligibility for free pre-K seats
- SB 500 – Secured $12.9 billion in funding for K-12 education, maintaining the largest education budget in state history
- AB398 – Raises for charter school teachers and increase compensation for hard-to-fill positions
Lowering Everyday Costs
The chaos coming out of Washington D.C. is causing unnecessary economic strains on Nevada families. That’s why Senate Democrats focused on bringing down costs for working Nevadans. From housing to health care, Senate Democrats championed legislation that puts people, not corporations in the driver’s seat. Senate Democrats also recognize the power that comes from joining a union and stood firmly with our brothers and sisters in Labor to ensure that the families they represent are able to earn a good wage and work with dignity.
- SB 142 – Raises the weekly wage that is protected from debt collection to allow for people to continue to pay basic living expenses
- SB 301 – Creates bargaining units for peace officers
- SB 443 – Requires prevailing wage to be paid on construction projects where significant public dollars are invested
- Launched a legislative investigation into corporate trade practices driving up up the cost of housing in Nevada
- AB121 – Prohibits corporate landlords from charging junk fees from
- AB283 – Reforms the eviction process requiring landlords to follow a fair and transparent procedure
- AB280 – Caps rent increases on seniors and the disabled
Increasing Access and Reducing the Cost of Health Care
Senate Democrats believe that every Nevadan should be able to access health care they afford. This session, we focused our efforts on just that, increasing access while lowering costs. From ensuring babies who are born in the NICU are enrolled in Medicaid, to increasing the number of Graduate Medical Education spots available in the state, Senate Democrats fought to ensure that all Nevadans are able to make and afford health care decisions that are best for them.
- SB 138 – Enacts Beau and Bennett’s Bill to automatically enroll NICU babies in Medicaid and prevent new parents from being hit with massive unforeseen medical bills
- SB 165 – Authorizes new Wellness Practitioners to address the chronic shortage of mental health providers
- SB 182 – Requires nurse staffing ratios in Nevada hospitals to improve safety of hospital operations and quality of care for patients
- SB 207 – Keeps seniors in their homes by providing all inclusive care under the PACE program
- SB 217 – Protects IVF and infertility care in state law and expanding coverage options for families who need that care to have children
- SB 246 – Allows women to more easily access an OBGYN without referral
- SB 262 – Addresses chronic provider shortages by funding more graduate medical education opportunities for medical residents
- SB 389 – Requires Medicaid to use a single PBM and returns hundreds of millions of dollars of pharmaceutical rebates to the state
- AB259 – Caps the cost of prescription drugs
- AB555 – Caps the cost of Insulin at $35 for all Nevadans on private insurance
Keeping our Communities Safe
Every Nevadan should feel safe in their community. This session, Senate Democrats passed legislation that prevented a 25% reduction in Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s force, prohibited those convicted of hate crimes from possessing a firearm, and went after those who use AI to generate or possess child porn.
- SB 89 – Prevents people convicted of hate crimes from possessing a firearm for a period after their conviction
- SB 156 – Addresses gun violence by requiring the Attorney General to appoint a Special Counsel for Gun Violence Prevention
- SB 263 – Outlawing the possession or creation of AI generated child porography
- SB 347 – Allows a gun owner experiencing a mental health crisis to turn their firearm into an authorized seller while they receive treatment
- SB 451 – Prevented a 25% reduction in force at the Las Vegas Metro Police Department by extending funding that pays for 800 officers
- AB245 – Raises the age of assault weapons purchases from 18 to 21
Restoring Trust in our Elections and Government
Faith in government is a foundation to a flourishing Democracy. That’s why Senate Democrats fought for more transparency when it comes to elected officials’ finances, increased penalties for those who attempt to overthrow an election, and expanded opportunities for all eligible Nevadans to vote.
- SB 102 – Penalizes people who submit fake slates of presidential electors to Congress after a presidential election
- SB 414 – Requires candidates and elected officials to disclose their stock and ownership interests in companies and requires inaugural committees to publicly report their donors
- SB 421– Expands access to voting in tribal communities
- SB 422 – Extends DMV hours during election season to make it easier to register to vote and obtain an ID
- SB 428 – Requires elected officials to live within district and to resign if they move outside of their district