May 7, 2021
Welcome to the end of week 14! There are now 25 days left with a lot of work left to be done. The next upcoming important date is the second committee passage on May 14.
The bills that were heard this past week were AB195, SB420, and SB50. AB195 is the English Language Learners rights bill. It enumerates the rights of families whose children are learning to speak English. It makes sure all their rights are in one place and sets them in stone. It also adds changes that makes sure we are tracking the success of those who are in the ELL program because everyone deserves to succeed.
SB420 is the Nevada public healthcare option bill. There was an amazing turnout at the hearing. It creates an affordable public option for healthcare. It makes it so everyone and anyone has access to healthcare. It is available to those who are undocumented as well. It is not based on your employer, so it will not go away from job losses or changing jobs which many Nevadans are experiencing right now. Nevada has a right rate of uninsured and underinsured people, so this bill will save lives.
SB50 creates best practices for no knock warrants. Currently, every department has their own policies for no-knock warrants. This bill will make it so there is one policy across all departments. This will ensure there are no more deaths that happen in the same manner that Breonna Taylor was murdered.
One bill that we want to make sure gets a hearing is SB218. This is the landlord tenants rights bill. It provides a three day grace period before late fees take into effect. It also makes sure the full rent amount is on the first page of the lease and outlaws predatory fees. It makes it so landlords must return the security deposit in a timely manner and cannot take a cleaning fee out of it.
A federal judge has recently overturned the CDC moratorium. What Nevadans need to know is it is still in place until the end of the month. Housing assistance is available through Clark County, through the Reno Housing Authority, or the rural housing authority. Right now all we need to do is not panic and remember that the moratorium is still in place. The federal Department of Justice has filed an appeal.
Remember to help us support these bills mentioned by going to this website. You can also join our Digital Activation Team or Rapid Response Team to help us out even more and stay up to date on what is happening with these bills, or join our Organizing Team to engage legislators. All the information is on our website along with all our Legislative priorities which are now available for you to look over here. Thank you for being a part of this journey through the Nevada Legislative Session with us, and stay tuned for more updates next week!