A Democratic win in the Nevada governor race could unlock dozens of twice-vetoed bills

Editor's note: Este artículo está traducido al español.

Twice, Nevada lawmakers passed a measure capping medicine cause prices astatine Medicare levels. Twice, Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed it.

The aforesaid destiny met a headdress connected rent increases for seniors, a prohibition connected radical nether 21 owning semiautomatic rifles and astatine slightest 8 different bills the Republican politician rejected successful 2023 and again successful 2025. They were among a state-record 87 vetoes that year.

Tuesday’s predetermination could interruption that cycle.

If Democrats support their legislative majorities, arsenic forecasters expect, and Attorney General Aaron Ford defeats Lombardo, Democrats would power the governor’s bureau and some legislative chambers for the archetypal clip since January 2023. Polls amusement a dormant vigor successful the governor’s race, with the RealClearPolling mean astatine 42% for each candidate.

Reviving bills that Lombardo vetoed would beryllium a earthy starting constituent for a Democratic docket erstwhile the Legislature convenes Feb. 1 successful Carson City. Ford has said helium would motion respective wrong his archetypal 30 days, including the drug-price cap, cosmopolitan escaped schoolhouse meals and limits connected firm homebuying.

Lombardo counters that his vetoes protected Nevadans from costly mandates, informing that a Democratic expanse would mean higher taxes.

Here are scenarios for the 2027 Legislature, careless of who wins the governor’s race:

The likeliest aboriginal bills

Several bills that returned successful 2025 were rewritten to reply Lombardo’s earlier objections. The changes did not change the outcome.

• Prescription cause prices: Assembly Bill 259 (2025) would person capped prices astatine the maximums Medicare sets nether the national Inflation Reduction Act. Lombardo called the 2023 mentation arbitrary. He said the 2025 measure would rise authorities costs, arguing Medicaid could suffer millions successful cause rebates and that it created ineligible uncertainty for providers.

• School meals: Lombardo vetoed Assembly Bill 319 (2023), which would person appropriated $43 cardinal to proceed universal escaped meal and luncheon successful Nevada nationalist schools. His bureau said astir 87% of schools already service escaped meals to each students. The 2025 follow-up, Assembly Bill 268, initially sought $86 cardinal implicit 2 years.

• Corporate homebuying: Senate Bill 395 (2023), sponsored by Sen. Dina Neal, D-North Las Vegas, would person capped firm investors astatine 1,000 homes a year. Lombardo vetoed it arsenic arbitrary. Neal’s 2025 version, Senate Bill 391, chopped the headdress to 100 but needed a two-thirds Senate ballot and fell 1 abbreviated aft Sen. Ira Hansen, R-Sparks, voted no. Hansen said Lombardo’s bureau had asked Republican senators to reason it. A akin measurement besides failed successful the November 2025 peculiar session.

• Senior rent cap: Ford says helium would not motion authorities establishing wide rent power but would motion a seniors’ cap. Lombardo vetoed a 10% mentation successful 2023. Assembly Bill 280 (2025) shrank it to a 5% limit connected yearly increases successful a astir one-year pilot, but Lombardo said caps could discourage rental concern and punctual landlords to rise rents early.

Other vetoed authorities that could return

• Healthcare: Senate Bill 217 (2025) would person codified a close to successful vitro fertilization and required astir insurers, including Medicaid, to screen it. Lombardo said helium backs IVF entree but the authorities can’t spend the Medicaid mandate. Also vetoed: nurse-to-patient ratios astatine hospitals successful Clark and Washoe counties (Senate Bill 182); a prohibition connected insurers relying solely connected artificial quality to contradict anterior authorizations (Senate Bill 128); and medical-debt postulation limits (Assembly Bill 204), which Lombardo rejected again arsenic an intrusion into backstage contracts.

• Labor: Assembly Bill 388 would person required employers with 50 oregon much workers to connection 12 weeks of paid household and aesculapian permission a year. Also vetoed: higher wage-garnishment protections (Senate Bill 142); waiting-time penalties for unpaid wages (Senate Bill 198); and teacher bargaining implicit people sizes (Assembly Bill 155).

• Tenants: Bills that would person overhauled Nevada’s summary eviction process (Assembly Bill 283), allowed tenants to withhold rent if landlords neglect to marque needed repairs (Assembly Bill 223) and automatically sealed eviction cases (Assembly Bill 201).

• Elections: Assembly Bill 306, from Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager, would person required region clerks successful definite counties to support message ballot driblet boxes disposable betwixt the extremity of aboriginal voting and Election Day. Lombardo vetoed it successful May 2025 for lacking oversight. Assembly Bill 597 would person fto nonpartisan voters, the state’s largest bloc, opt successful to ballot successful a large party’s primary, but statesmanlike primaries.

Senate Bill 102 would person made it a crime to taxable a mendacious slate of statesmanlike electors. Democrats passed it successful effect to six Nevada Republicans who signed a fake certificate successful 2020 awarding the state’s electoral votes to Donald Trump, portion of a coordinated effort successful respective plaything states to overturn Joe Biden’s victory. Sen. Skip Daly, D-Sparks, lowered the situation word to 1-4 years from 4-10 years and dropped a prohibition connected nationalist employment. Lombardo vetoed it again, this clip calling it overbroad and a First Amendment risk.

• Guns: For the 2nd consecutive session, Lombardo vetoed a prohibition connected radical nether 21 owning semiautomatic rifles and shotguns (Assembly Bill 245), calling it “strikingly similar” to the 2023 measure and saying it apt wouldn’t past U.S. Supreme Court precedent. Bills banning guns wrong 100 feet of predetermination sites (Assembly Bill 105) and barring radical convicted of hatred crimes from possessing guns (Senate Bill 89) were besides vetoed twice.

• Immigration and societal issues: Limits connected national Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents astatine schools (Assembly Bill 217), a prohibition connected publication bans (Assembly Bill 416), opt-out enactment acquisition (Assembly Bill 205) and a shield instrumentality for gender-affirming attraction providers (Senate Bill 171) were vetoed successful some sessions. Sen. James Ohrenschall, D-Las Vegas, rewrote his shield instrumentality to reflector the reproductive-care shield Lombardo signed successful 2023. It was vetoed anyway.

Making the legislative sausage

A vetoed measure does not automatically go instrumentality nether a caller governor. Each would person to beryllium reintroduced, heard and passed again during the 120-day league that begins Feb. 1.

Nevada’s Constitution requires two-thirds of each enclosure to o.k. authorities that raises revenue. Democrats clasp 13 of 21 Senate seats and 27 of 42 Assembly seats, 1 abbreviated of two-thirds successful each.

Even a two-thirds bulk doesn’t warrant Democrats would hold connected each bill. Assemblymember Tracy Brown-May, D-Las Vegas, and Sen. Roberta Lange, D-Las Vegas, voted against paid household leave. Five Senate Democrats opposed the elector ID compromise. Neal joined Republicans against unfastened primaries.

Money could beryllium different constraint. Lombardo cited outgo successful respective vetoes, including IVF, schoolhouse meals and state-employee benefits. Federal Medicaid changes and a weaker gross representation could compression a Ford budget, too.

Opposition from extracurricular the Legislature would besides remain. Hospitals fought caregiver ratios, concern groups fought paid permission and landlords fought tenant bills. The under-21 weapon prohibition and the drug-price headdress besides transportation litigation risk.

Deliberate checks

Lombardo presents his vetoes arsenic a deliberate check. In a June 13, 2025, statement, helium said helium doesn’t bask utilizing the veto, but that his occupation is to halt authorities that goes excessively far, grows the authorities oregon hurts families and businesses.

He has pledged nary caller taxes and calls himself a cheque connected the Democratic Legislature. His run besides points to $2 cardinal successful caller backing during his term, $183 cardinal for lodging and a bipartisan lodging instrumentality present backing caller homes.

Two exceptions amusement that akin measures helium vetoed successful 2023 became instrumentality successful 2025.

Lombardo signed Assembly Bill 530 successful 2025, which lets the Clark County Commission proceed indexing substance taxes to ostentation with a two-thirds vote. He vetoed a astir identical measure successful 2023.

He besides signed Assembly Bill 96, an municipality vigor mitigation measurement akin to 1 helium vetoed successful 2023. It requires counties and cities with populations implicit 100,000 to see a vigor mitigation program successful the conservation constituent of their maestro plans.