Gov. Joe Lombardo has set a new record for the most vetoes issued in a single legislative session, with the first-term Republican rejecting 75 bills passed by the Democrat-controlled Legislature.
That includes 43 vetoes issued the final day for Lombardo to sign or veto any bills passed during the regular legislative session before they would automatically become law at midnight.
“This session, Democrats passed legislation that raised taxes, eroded constitutional rights, and expanded bureaucracy, among countless other examples of government overreach,” Lombardo said in a statement. “Nevadans elected me to protect and serve our state – which includes protecting Nevadans from harmful and dangerous legislation.
Lombardo’s Chief of Staff Ben Kieckhefer told The Nevada Independent that the number of vetoes reflect Lombardo’s willingness to “hold the line” against policies he believed would violate constitutional rights, get in the way of business or expand government into places it should not be.
Lombardo’s 75 vetoes far outpace previous single-session veto totals by dozens, and place him second all-time in total vetoes, only behind the state’s last Republican governor, Brian Sandoval, who vetoed 97 bills across eight years in office.
Three of the vetoed 75 bills were resurrected via amendments on other pieces of legislation. One took place during the regular legislative session and the other two bills were attached as amendments to the Oakland A’s stadium bill approved in a special legislative session.
This is a developing story, and will be updated in the coming days with additional details about bills Lombardo vetoed. The governor’s office has posted a list of vetoes here, while the Legislature maintains an online list of vetoes here — though neither were fully up to date as of Friday at 7:00 p.m.
Throughout the legislative session, Lombardo’s administration maintained that the governor would evaluate legislation as it arrives across his desk and would comment and respond to legislation in its final form.
Veto overrides are relatively rare. Outside of Gibbons, who had 25 vetoes overridden, no Nevada governor has ha d more than three vetoes overridden during their time in office. Neither of the state’s last two governors — Sandoval and Gov. Steve Sisolak — have had a veto overridden.
The 43 bills Lombardo vetoed after the session will not be transmitted back to the Legislature until the next regularly scheduled legislative session, set to begin in 2025. Only at that time will lawmakers have the opportunity to attempt to override any of those vetoes.
Here’s a brief look at all of the bills Lombardo has vetoed.
VETOED MEASURES
JUNE 16 VETOES
Tenant protections and an eviction diversion program — SB335, sponsored by Sen. James Ohrenschall (D-Las Vegas), would have protected tenants who had pending rental assistance applications from being evicted and also established a formal eviction diversion program within Nevada’s court system. The measure passed out of the Senate and Assembly on party-line votes, with Republicans in opposition.
Adjusting Nevada’s summary eviction process — Nevada’s unique rapid summary eviction process requires a tenant to make the first filing in an eviction case, not the landlord. AB340, sponsored by Assemblywoman Shondra Summers-Armstrong (D-Las Vegas), sought to amend Nevada’s summary process by requiring a landlord to make the first filing in a summary eviction case. The bill passed out of the Assembly and Senate along party-line votes, with Democrats in support.
Tenant protections — SB78, sponsored by Sen. Fabian Doñate (D-Las Vegas), replicated a tenants' rights bill from the 2021 session (SB218). It would have provided for a grace period of at least three days before a landlord could charge a tenant late fees, specified that a landlord could only charge an application fee to one prospective tenant at a time and prohibit increases in fees without advance notice. The measure passed out of the Senate on a 14-7 vote with one Republican, Sen. Scott Hammond (R-Las Vegas), joining Democrats in support. It passed out of the Assembly on a party-line 28-14 vote with Democrats in support.
Tenant fee transparency — AB218, sponsored by Assemblywoman Venicia Considine (D-Las Vegas), would have increased the transparency of rental fees and prohibited fees associated with paying rent through an online payment system. The measure passed out of the Assembly on a party-line 28-14 vote, with Republicans in opposition. It also passed out of the Senate on a party-line 13-7 vote, with Democrats in support.
Finance reporting for inaugural committees — SB60, a bill from the secretary of state’s office that passed out of both houses along party lines, was gutted and replaced on the final day of the legislative session to instead require state constitutional officers’ “inaugural committees” report financial contributions and expenditures, similar to what is required for political committees. The overhauled bill arrived in response to reporting from The Nevada Independent finding that Lombardo created a nonprofit organization called “Nevada Inaugural Committee” to run events and fundraise for his inaugural balls rather than register a political action committee (PAC) — a departure from how previous governors registered their inaugural committees as PACs.
Expanding ballot languages — AB246, sponsored by Assemblywoman Selena Torres (D-Las Vegas), would have expanded access to election materials by requiring counties to provide ballots in non-English languages if there are at least 5,000 qualified voters from a minority group of limited-English proficiency in that county. Under the new thresholds — lower than those in federal law — the bill would have required Clark County to provide ballots in Chinese in future elections. It passed on largely party-line votes, with Democrats and two Republican senators in support.
PERS bill — AB498, a Democrat-backed bill, would have trimmed state employees' share of retirement contributions and increased employers' share. The veto triggers a provision of the state worker pay bill AB522 that now means state workers will get an additional 7 percent raises in fiscal year 2025.
Funding universal free school lunch — AB319, sponsored by Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui (D-Las Vegas), would have extended a COVID-era decision by lawmakers to fund universal free school lunches statewide at K-12 schools. Originally funded in 2022 by federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars, the bill would have used a mix of remaining federal money and $43 million in new state dollars to continue the program through the next two years. Republicans opposed the measure in a party-line vote in the Assembly, but three Republicans joined Democrats to pass the bill in the Senate.
Collective bargaining for higher ed employees — AB224, sponsored by Assemblywoman Sarah Peters (D-Reno) and backed by the Nevada Faculty Alliance, would have effectively placed professional employees at the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) under a 2019 law allowing state workers to collectively bargain. Those higher education workers are the only state workers currently excluded from the law under separate bargaining language maintained by the Board of Regents, which governs higher education. The measure — which marks the third attempt by faculty to secure bargaining rights under state law — saw some Republican support in the Assembly, but none in the Senate.
State-funded health care bill for undocumented pregnant women — SB419 would have provided state-funded health care coverage to pregnant people who don’t qualify for Medicaid because of their immigration status. Bill sponsor Sen. Fabian Doñate (D-Las Vegas) initially proposed to expand Medicaid coverage to all undocumented people in Nevada, potentially adding tens of thousands of people to the state’s Medicaid rolls, but SB419 was scaled back through the legislative process.
Banning some “forever chemicals” — SB76, a bill sponsored by Sen. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas), would have banned the sale of certain products containing PFAS or “forever chemicals,” including carpets, food packages and cosmetics. Those chemicals do not break down in the environment, and have been potentially linked to certain cancers and developmental issues in children. It passed with bipartisan support out of the Assembly and Senate.
JUNE 5 VETOES
Medical aid in dying
Lombardo became the first governor nationwide to veto a medical-aid-in-dying legalization bill (SB239) that passed out of the Legislature. The bill would have allowed patients with a terminal illness to self-administer life-ending medication under certain circumstances, following the example of other states including California, Oregon, and Washington.
To qualify for medical-aid-in-dying under the bill, patients would have needed a prognosis of no more than six months by two physicians. Under existing law, patients with such illnesses may only refuse resuscitation and life-saving treatment.
In his veto message, Lombardo said he was “not comfortable supporting this bill” in light of “recent progress in science and medicine and the fact that only a small number of states and jurisdictions allow for similar end-of-life protocols.”
The bill passed in the Assembly on a 23-19 vote and the Senate on an 11-10 vote. This was the farthest that such a bill has made it in the Nevada Legislature, having been proposed in several previous sessions.
Capping prescription drug prices
AB250, sponsored by Assemblywoman Venicia Considine (D-Las Vegas), would have capped costs for prescription drugs at the maximum fair prices negotiated by Medicare under provisions created through the federal Inflation Reduction Act.
The bill faced opposition from drug producers, including the pharmaceutical trade group PhRMA, which criticized the proposal for tying the state to federal decisions on drug negotiations.
Lombardo in his veto message said the bill “would set arbitrary price caps in Nevada based on federal decisions with no review or consideration from state stakeholders.” He argued that “caps could restrict patients’ access to medicines and result in less innovative treatments for patients.”