In a response to rising traffic fatalities throughout Nevada, state lawmakers are proposing to increase traffic penalties and authorize harsher enforcement. But laws already exist to punish reckless driving, and legislative efforts being considered this session won’t address the underlying conditions that make roads hazardous, argue critics of the proposals. Nick Shepack, the Nevada state Director of the Fines and Fees Justice Center, urged lawmakers to consider ways to make roadway infrastructure better to increase safety and reduce speeds.
Bills in Brief —
RENO — Researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno have unveiled 200 sorghum varieties that could be a game-changer in the food, brewery, dairy feed and biofuel industry. Preliminary research underscores their exceptional drought tolerance, with some varieties also exhibiting record levels of protein and digestible starch. The breeding program for the sorghum varieties was established in 2017 at the University’s Experiment Station, a unit of the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources, to develop water-efficient crops suited for the semi-arid Western U.S.
CARSON CITY — Optimism among the nation’s small business owners dipped slightly in the latest monthly Small Business Optimism Index from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), but it was still above its 51-year average and for a third consecutive month. “That it came in above its 51-year average for the third month in a row is huge,” said Tray Abney, state director for NFIB in Nevada. “For 34 consecutive months prior, it always registered below the 51-year average. What it means is that the optimism we are seeing coming from Main Street entrepreneurs might become the permanent feature we need to finally have a robust economy extended over time and not an occasional occurrence. Something Congress could help by not letting the 20% Small Business Deduction lapse at the end of the year and the Nevada Legislature could support by resisting any proposals to tax and regulate more.”
RENO — Registration is now open for the College of Education & Human Development’s Nevada Math and Technology Camp. The camp will host 50 Nevada middle schoolers July 13-18, 2025, on the University of Nevada, Reno campus. This residential camp for middle schoolers aims to enhance mathematics skills and build awareness of mathematics-based careers.
The State of Nevada Judicial Branch is proud to announce that the state-wide legal self-help website selfhelp.nvcourts.gov now includes features aimed at providing free resources to empower individuals who are navigating the legal system.
CARSON CITY, Nev. – This March, staff from the Nevada Division of Water Resources will be measuring the depth to groundwater in irrigation and stock water wells throughout various regions in the state.
SPARKS — The Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA) State Quarantine Officer Director J.J. Goicoechea, DVM, has temporarily suspended Nevada’s cage-free egg law. Eggs for retail sale can be sourced from any egg producer meeting food-safety guidelines, regardless of whether the eggs originated from hens in a cage-free housing system. This order was issued to address the strain on egg supplies and high egg prices in Nevada.
CARSON CITY, Nev. – Lane reductions will begin March 3 on Interstate 80 east of Battle Mountain in Eureka County as the Nevada Department of Transportation makes routine bridge surface repairs.
The Nevada Division of Outdoor Recreation has announced the launch of its newly designed website — ndor.nv.gov The new site offers an intuitive and user-friendly platform designed to promote outdoor education and recreation opportunities, conservation efforts, and economic benefits tied to Nevada’s diverse outdoor spaces.
Every two years, Nevadans have 120 days to weigh in on state policies and laws as policymakers convene in Carson City for the state’s legislative session.
A Nevada district court has ruled that sections of a 2023 bill that essentially forced the Elko County Commission to earmark a portion of property tax proceeds for schools in exchange for funding to build a new Owyhee school are unconstitutional because they single out the county. Elko County Manager Amanda Osborne said in a Wednesday statement that the Feb. 7 ruling in Carson City District Court only strikes the sections of AB519 mandating Elko County levy a tax for school facilities, and otherwise doesn’t touch the Nevada Legislature’s $64.5 million appropriation for the construction of a new Owyhee school to replace the run-down original campus on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation near the Idaho-Nevada border.
President Donald Trump’s Unleashing American Energy executive order — designed to “unleash America’s affordable and reliable energy and natural resources” — has put the brakes on financial disbursements under the former administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs and Inflation Reduction acts, a move that affects dozens of initiatives across Nevada. A list compiled by the Nevada Conservation League and shared with The Nevada Independent shows an expansive number of nonprofit organizations, state and local agencies, agricultural producers, small businesses and others across Nevada that rely on federal funding for projects ranging from programs that provide low-income households with firewood to those that enhance street safety.
The 2024 election may be over, but the legal battle about how long Nevada can count mail ballots — a proxy battle over the future of mail-in voting — remains ongoing. On Thursday, the Democratic National Committee asked a federal appeals court to deny an appeal filed in a nearly yearlong legal case brought by state and national Republicans seeking to end Nevada’s practice of accepting mail ballots as many as four days after an election, as long as they were postmarked by Election Day.
WINNEMUCCA — The Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Spring Valley Gold Mine project in Pershing County. It is located approximately 20 miles northeast of Lovelock and 70 miles southwest of Winnemucca.