By Jeniffer Solis and Michael Lyle, Nevada Current
This piece was originally published in the Nevada Current
(Photo: Dana Gentry/Nevada Current)
During the special legislative session, which starts this week, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo is asking lawmakers to do what they didn’t do during the regular session earlier this year: pass a crime bill he backed.
Lombardo brought the “Safe Streets and Neighborhoods Act,” which sought to enact multiple measures to toughen penalties and broaden the scope of crime infractions on the books, during the recent legislative session.
Despite receiving backing from Democratic lawmakers, the ranging bill barely missed a midnight deadline the first time around as the regular legislative session was winding down in June.
That iteration of the bill targeted “smash and grab crimes,” called for stricter DUI penalties, and aimed to heighten law enforcement in the Las Vegas Strip resort corridor.
Using a special session to pass laws on tougher crimes is not only aggressive but a “waste of money,” said Athar Haseebullah, the executive director of the ACLU of Nevada.
“We don’t believe that a special session should be called to add on new crimes when it often seems the only thing the state can do is pass tough criminal law,” he said.
Lombardo, who ran for governor in 2022 while he was serving as Clark County sheriff, introduced his crime bill, Senate Bill 457, in April, but it didn’t receive a hearing until the last four days of the session.
New language included a sweeping amendment that had significant changes from the original bill, including provisions that would more harshly prosecute crimes within the Las Vegas Strip resort corridor – a measure requested by the Nevada Resort Association. The bill would have also included language to re-establish a controversial specialty court to prosecute crimes within the Las Vegas Strip resort corridor.
In the final hours of the session, the state Senate and Assembly passed slightly different versions of SB 457 with overwhelming bipartisan support. The Senate was forced to adjourn before it could take a second vote to approve the last-minute amendments added by the Assembly.
Similar provisions are likely to make a reappearance during the special session set to start Thursday, say advocates who opposed the bill earlier this year.
The Nevada Retail Association recently held a press conference urging Lombardo and state lawmakers to include harsher penalties for retail crime that were included in the final version of the bill that failed in June.
“Retail crime is an employee safety issue, it’s an economic development issue, it’s a tax revenue issue,” said Bryan Wachter, president of the Nevada Retail Association. “There was a provision that added additional penalties for destruction of property during the commission of these crimes. And we strongly urge the governor and policymakers to make sure that during the special session that that’s included on the agenda.”
The final version of the crime bill lawmakers attempted to pass earlier this year included harsher punishments for people charged with repeated felony DUIs, stalking and possession of child pornography.
It also called for stricter punishment for youth who commit repeated crimes against teachers or social service workers, while also limiting eligibility for diversion programs for those convicted of felony abuse, neglect or exploitation of children or the elderly.
The bill was criticized for its hefty price tag. If passed, the Nevada Department of Corrections estimated it would increase costs by $3.6 million in the current biennium, by just under $7.2 million for the next biennium, and by $42.2 million in future biennium, according to a fiscal note.
Advocates also say the crime bill risked turning back the clock on modest reforms passed by lawmakers with bipartisan support in 2019.
Opponents of the bill also questioned the need for more crime laws amid a reduction in overall crime.
On his campaign reelection website, Lombardo has highlighted a 10% drop in violent crime – including a 9% fewer murders, 26% less robberies, and 15% less burglaries – since he took office.
Lombardo’s efforts to be “tough on crime” is less about public safety but “influenced by the interests of Nevada’s powerful resort and gaming industries,” said Shelbie Swartz, executive director of Battle Born Progress.
“The tough-on-crime approach has been repeatedly discredited for its ineffectiveness and failure to produce meaningful outcomes,” she said.
