Nevada Legislature Passes Healthcare, Housing, Education Reform Bills

Nevada lawmakers have recently passed several significant healthcare bills aimed at increasing patient protections, combating fraud, and improving healthcare provider conditions, including stricter licensing for hospice providers and genetic counselors, stronger Medicaid fraud investigation powers, and mandated nurse-to-patient ratios. At the same time, Governor Joe Lombardo's major housing proposal, the Nevada Housing Access and Attainability Act (AB 540), was approved, allocating $133 million for attainable housing and introducing new affordable housing tiers, although some of his other key bills, such as the Health Access Act and a crime bill, failed to progress. In education, a major reform bill combining initiatives from Democratic Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro and Governor Lombardo passed the Assembly, focusing on expanding pre-kindergarten, improving charter school accountability, and establishing a Public Education Oversight Board to support underperforming schools, with punitive measures to take effect around 2029. The reform bill also includes provisions to make appointed school trustees voting members and allows the state to intervene in persistently underperforming schools, amid concerns about the capacity and funding of the Nevada Department of Education to manage these changes. The education legislation reflects a bipartisan compromise aimed at addressing Nevada's historically low education rankings. Governor Lombardo is expected to sign these bills, marking significant legislative activity in healthcare, housing, and education sectors.