Failed crime bill highlights messy, last-minute legislative process

Democratic state Sen. Melanie Scheible took the lead on negotiating with Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo’s office on his crime bill. (Photo: Jeniffer Solis/Nevada Current)

In the end, Gov. Joe Lombardo’s wide-ranging crime bill to stiffen penalties for DUI offenses, retail theft, and crimes on the Las Vegas Strip died because the Nevada State Legislature simply ran out of time.

In the final hours of the session, the state Senate and Assembly passed slightly different versions of Senate Bill 457 with overwhelming bipartisan support, but the Senate was forced to adjourn before it could take a second vote to approve the last-minute amendments added by the Assembly.

Its death underscores the risk of rushing complex public policy through the legislative process at the last minute.

The bill was first introduced in early April, but it was only in the final five days of the session that the policy was publicly debated, amended, amended again, and voted on. As it raced toward the finish line, there were myriad unanswered questions around the fiscal cost of implementing the bill, as well as the interpretation of last-minute amendments.

At one point, hours before the Legislature’s midnight deadline, ACLU of Nevada Executive Director Athar Haseebullah told lawmakers the bill, and the process for passing it, was plagued with red flags.

“It is a joke that this body, this committee is forced to hear this at 5 p.m. on sine die,” Haseebullah said, referring to the term used to mark the end of a legislative session. “We are now here being told this is what needs to be passed because, what? Democrats need to seem tough on crime. This is not tough on crime. It’s stupid and reckless. It’s totally unacceptable. You should not have been put in this position. It’s an embarrassment.”

Hours later, Haseebullah and other opponents of AB457 would find an unexpected ally in state Sen. Ira Hansen and the rest of the Senate Republicans. The caucus, angry about an unrelated resolution, began a series of parliamentary motions to slow down voting. The crime bill was incidentally one of the victims.

While opponents of the crime bill were relieved at the end result, the process has left a bad taste.

Haseebullah noted the bill was changing frequently in its final hours that the lawmakers “couldn’t possibly have fully read within a 2-hour window” before voting on it.

“The fact that the bill didn’t receive a vote after this much backdoor dealing is probably karmic,” he said in a statement. “I almost feel bad for the Governor at this point because he went from purporting to address theft issues to having his bill turned into a nefarious attempt to bolster the power of the resorts and to allow warrantless wiretapping of Nevadans. You almost can’t make this up.”

‘Nobody gets what they want’

Lombardo’s bill “Safe Streets and Neighborhoods Act” was introduced April 7, the 64th day of the 120-day session.

Since its first hearing May 28, the bill received persistent criticism from groups not involved with drafting the bill language. Public defenders, the ACLU and criminal reform advocates argued that the bill lacked any input from opponents.

John Piro with the Clark County Public Defender’s office added the bill also lacked any data to support proponents’ claims that it was needed to address safety issues. 

Washoe County District Attorneys took the lead on the bill presentation, which also received proposed amendments by the Nevada Resorts Association.

The versions of the bill lawmakers voted on Monday sought harsher penalties for people who destroy property while committing theft, stronger punishment for children who assault teachers, and enhanced penalties for people who assault hospitality workers. The Assembly version also would have enabled Clark County to re-establish a court specific to prosecuting crimes within the Las Vegas Strip resort corridor.

The Senate passed the bill 20-1 at 2:12 p.m. Monday Democratic state Sen. James Ohrenschall cast the lone dissenting vote. 

The Assembly voted 36-6 to pass an amended version of the bill at 11:15 p.m. Democratic Assemblymembers Venicia Considine, Tanya Flannagan, Jovan Jackson, Selena La Rue Hatch, Cinthia Zermeño Moore, and Erica Roth opposed.

What made it to – but not over –  the finish line was markedly different from what Lombardo originally proposed. 

While campaigning for governor, Lombardo, then Clark County sheriff, pledged to roll back modest criminal justice reforms passed in 2019 that lowered penalties for non-violent theft and drug crimes and increased access to diversion programs.

SB 457’s initial version proposed reducing the felony threshold for theft from $1,200 to $750 and changing the state’s bail process by excluding holidays from the 48-hour mandatory hearing provisions. 

These provisions were stripped from the bill.

What remained in the bill through several revisions was harsher punishments for people charged with repeated felony DUIs, stalking and possession of child pornography.

It also 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.

During the Senate vote, Democratic state Sen. Melanie Scheible encouraged lawmakers to vote for the legislation, saying it focused on “smash and grab crimes” and improved DUI statutes.

“SB 457 is a comprehensive public safety bill that ensures we have safety for people who work in our schools, shop at our businesses and people who drive on our roads,” Scheible said. “SB 457 has been a collaborative effort between stakeholders, primarily between myself and the governor’s office.”

After the bill passed the Senate, it was heard by the Assembly Judiciary Committee at 4 p.m. Monday. At that meeting, the Nevada Resort Association emerged to pitch its own proposed amendments. The Nevada Independent around that time reported that the amendment was being pushed by the NRA and the Culinary Union.

The provisions of the bill added behind the scenes by the NRA requires Clark County to adopt ordinance that “designates the geographic boundaries of one or more corridors in which the commission of crime poses a significant risk to public safety and the economic welfare of this State due to the high concentration of tourists at the resort association’s request.”

The bill would prohibit anyone who violates the ordinance from entering the resort corridor for at least a year. 

Nevada Resort Association lobbyist Matt Griffin said the group first submitted the amendment to the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Scheible, several weeks ago. 

Haseebullah told lawmakers that if it was submitted three weeks ago and the ACLU and public defenders only learned about it Monday, that in itself is a red flag. 

“It is totally unprofessional beyond measure,” he said during the hearing. “I don’t know if that lies at the governor’s steps or at Chair Scheible’s steps.”

In a statement to the Current, a spokesperson for the Nevada Senate Democratic Caucus wrote that Scheible did incorporate concerns for a variety of people, adding, “just like with any piece of legislation, nobody gets everything they want.”

Lombardo didn’t respond to requests for comment on the bill.