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2019 Nevada legislative session

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Nevada State Legislature

Seal of Nevada.png
General information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   3 terms (12 years)
Session start:   February 4, 2019
Session end:   June 3, 2019
Website:   Official Legislature Page
Leadership
Senate President:   Kate Marshall (D)
House Speaker:  Jason Frierson (D)
Majority Leader:   Senate: Kelvin Atkinson (D)
Assembly: Teresa Benitez-Thompson (D)
Minority Leader:   Senate: James Settelmeyer (R)
Assembly: Jim Wheeler (R)
Structure
Members:  21 (Senate), 42 (Assembly)
Length of term:   4 years (Senate), 2 years (House)
Authority:   Art 4, Nevada Constitution
Salary:   $146.29/day + per diem
Elections
Last election:  November 6, 2018
Senate
Assembly
Next election:  November 3, 2020
Senate
Assembly
Redistricting:  Nevada Legislature has control

Nevada convened its legislative session on February 4, 2019, and legislators remained in session until June 3, 2019. Democrats had a majority this legislative session, just as they did in 2018. Following the 2018 election, Democrats had a 13-8 majority in the Senate and a 29-13 majority in the Assembly. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Democratic state government trifecta.

At the beginning of the 2019 legislative session:
  • Democrats held a majority in the Nevada state Senate and state Assembly.
  • Nevada was one of 14 Democratic state government trifectas.
  • Nevada's governor was Democrat Steve Sisolak.

    • Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2020 state Senate and state Assembly elections.
    Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2018 state Senate and state Assembly elections.

    Partisan control in 2019

    See also: State government trifectas

    Nevada was one of 14 Democratic state government trifectas at the start of 2019 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state Assembly. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    Nevada was also one of 28 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Nevada State Legislature in the 2019 legislative session.

    Nevada State Senate

    Party As of January 2019
         Democratic Party 13
         Republican Party 8
    Total 21
    Between 1992 and 2018, partisan control of the Nevada State Senate shifted from a Republican majority to a Democratic majority. Since the 2016 elections, Democrats have controlled the chamber. The table below shows the partisan history of the Nevada State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Nevada State Senate election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 10 8 9 9 9 9 9 10 12 11 11 10 11 13
    Republicans 11 13 12 12 12 12 12 11 9 10 10 11 10 8

    Between 1992 and 2018, majority control of the state Senate changed four times. During that period, the Democratic and Republican parties both claimed relatively small majorities, the largest being from 1994 to 1996 when Republicans had a five-seat advantage. From 1992 to 2018, neither Democrats or Republicans held more than the 14 seats required to override a gubernatorial veto.

    Republicans controlled the Senate from 1992 until the 2008 elections. In the 2008 elections, Democrats picked up two seats and held a 12-9 majority. That Democratic majority held until the 2014 elections, when Republicans gained one seat. Republicans held that majority until the 2016 elections, when Democrats retook control of the chamber. In the 2016 elections, Democrats went from having a 10-11 minority to an 11-10 majority.

    Nevada State Assembly

    Party As of January 2019
         Democratic Party 29
         Republican Party 13
    Total 42

    Between 1992 and 2018, the Nevada State Assembly was controlled by the Democratic Party with the exception of two years when the chamber was tied and two years when the Republican Party controlled the chamber. Since the 2016 elections, Democrats have controlled the chamber. The table below shows the partisan history of the Nevada State Assembly following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Nevada State Assembly election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 29 21* 25 28 27 23 26 27 28 26 27 15 27 29
    Republicans 13 21 17 14 15 19 16 15 14 16 15 27 15 13
    *Chamber controlled by power-sharing agreement

    Between 1992 and 2018, majority control of the state Assembly changed five times. As a result of the 1992 elections, Democrats held a 29-13 majority. Democrats lost eight seats in the 1994 elections which tied the chamber at 21-21. A power-sharing agreement was agreed between Democrats and Republicans where each party picked a co-speaker and a co-chair of each committee and alternated leadership every other day during the legislative session.[1]

    In the 1996 elections, Democrats gained four seats to take control of the chamber. That Democratic majority held until the 2014 elections, when Republicans gained 12 seats. Republicans held that majority until the 2016 elections, when Democrats retook control of the chamber. In the 2016 elections, Democrats went from having a 15-27 minority to a 27-15 majority. Between 1992 and 2018, Democrats usually controlled between 15 and 29 seats, while Republicans controlled between 13 and 27 seats. Between 1992 and 2018, Democrats held the 28 seats required to override a gubernatorial veto for eight years.

    Leadership in 2019

    Nevada State Senate

    Nevada State Assembly

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2019 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2019. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Nevada state government


    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2019 legislative session, there were 21 standing committees in Nevada's state government, including 11 state Senate committees and 10 state Assembly committees.

    Senate committees


    House committees


    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

    The methods by which the Nevada Constitution can be amended:

    See also: Article 16 and Article 19 of the Nevada Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Nevada

    The Nevada Constitution can be amended via three different paths: a constitutional convention, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment or an initiated constitutional amendment.

    Initiative

    See also: Initiated constitutional amendment

    An initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. Eighteen (18) states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments.

    In Nevada, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 10% of the total number of votes cast in the preceding general election. A simple majority vote in two consecutive elections is required for voter approval.

    Legislature

    See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

    A simple majority vote is required during two successive legislative sessions for the Nevada State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 22 votes in the Nevada State Assembly and 11 votes in the Nevada State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

    Convention

    See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

    According to Section 2 of Article 16 of the Nevada Constitution, a two-thirds vote of the Nevada State Legislature is required to refer a constitutional convention question to the ballot. A simple majority vote of the electorate is required to call a convention.



    Historical context: Between 1996 and 2018, the following occurred:

    • Ballots featured 79 ballot measures.
    • An average of seven measures appeared on even-year statewide ballots in Nevada.
    • An average of two citizen-initiated measures appeared on even-year statewide ballots in Nevada.
    • Voters approved 59 percent (47 of 79) and rejected 41 percent (32 of 79) of the ballot measures.
    • Voters approved 72 percent (21 of 29) and rejected 28 percent (8 of 29) of the citizen-initiated measures.
    Ballot measures in Nevada, 1996-2018
    Type Total number Approved Percent approved Defeated Percent defeated Average Median Minimum Maximum
    All measures 79 47 59.5% 32 40.5% 6.6 5.0 1 17
    Initiatives 29 21 72.4% 8 27.6% 2.4 2.0 0 6
    Legislative amendments 31 15 48.4% 16 51.6% 2.6 2.0 0 7
    Legislative statutes 15 8 53.3% 7 46.7% 1.3 1.0 0 5


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Nevada.

    Nevada Party Control: 1992-2025
    Five years of Democratic trifectas  •  Two years of Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
    Governor D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D R R R
    Senate D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D D D R R D D D D D D D D D
    House D D D S S D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R D D D D D D D D D

    See also

    Elections Nevada State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    Nevada State Flag-Close Up.jpg
    State Houses-Tile image.png
    State Courts-Tile image.png


    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Google Books, "Nevada Politics & Government: Conservatism in an Open Society," accessed October 17, 2017(Page 81)
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