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2022 Nevada legislative session
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| 2022 Nevada legislative session |
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| General information |
| Session start: No regular legislative session. Session end: N/A |
| Leadership |
| Senate President Lisa Cano (D) House Speaker |
| Elections |
| Next Election: November 8, 2022 Last Election: November 3, 2020 |
| Previous legislative sessions |
| 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 |
| Other 2022 legislative sessions |
Nevada held no regular legislative session in 2022.
Leadership in 2022
Nevada State Senate
- Senate president: Lisa Cano (D)
- Majority leader: Nicole Cannizzaro (D)
- Minority leader: James Settelmeyer (R)
Nevada State Assembly
- Speaker of the House: Jason Frierson (D)
- Majority leader: Teresa Benitez-Thompson (D)
- Minority leader: Robin Titus (R)
Partisan control in 2022
- See also: State government trifectas
Nevada was one of 14 Democrat state government trifectas at the start of 2022. 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 House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.
Nevada was also one of 26 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 as of January 2022.
Nevada State Senate
| Party | As of January 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 11 | |
| Republican Party | 9 | |
| Vacancies | 1 | |
| Total | 21 | |
Nevada State Assembly
| Party | As of January 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 26 | |
| Republican Party | 16 | |
| Total | 42 | |
Standing legislative committees
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 2022, there were 20 standing committees in Nevada's state government, including zero joint legislative committees, 10 state Senate committees, and 10 state House committees.
Joint legislative committees
There are no joint committees of the Nevada State Legislature.
Senate committees
- Finance Committee
- Revenue and Economic Development Committee
- Senate Commerce and Labor Committee
- Senate Education Committee
- Senate Government Affairs Committee
- Senate Growth and Infrastructure Committee
- Senate Health and Human Services Committee
- Senate Judiciary Committee
- Senate Legislative Operations and Elections Committee
- Senate Natural Resources Committee
House committees
- Commerce and Labor Committee
- Education Committee
- Government Affairs Committee
- Growth and Infrastructure Committee
- Health and Human Services Committee
- Judiciary Committee
- Legislative Operations and Elections Committee
- Natural Resources Committee
- Revenue Committee
- Ways and Means Committee
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:
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
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
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 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 |
Historical Senate control
Between 1992 and 2020, 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 2020. 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: 1992-2020
| Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 | '20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 12 |
| Republicans | 11 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 9 |
Between 1992 and 2020, majority control of the state Senate changed three times. During that period, the Democratic and Republican parties both claimed relatively narrow majorities, the largest being from 1994 to 1996 when Republicans had a five-seat advantage. From 1992 to 2020, 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 an 11-10 majority. Republicans held the majority until the 2016 elections, when Democrats retook control of the chamber with their own 11-10 majority. Democrats held a 12-9 majority following the 2020 elections.
Historical House control
Between 1992 and 2020, 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 2020. 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: 1992-2020
| Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 | '20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 29 | 21* | 25 | 28 | 27 | 23 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 26 | 27 | 15 | 27 | 29 | 26 |
| Republicans | 13 | 21 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 19 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 27 | 15 | 13 | 16 |
Between 1992 and 2020, majority control of the state Assembly changed four times. As a result of the 1992 elections, Democrats held a 29-13 majority. Democrats lost eight seats in the 1994 elections, which resulted in a tie chamber at 21-21. A power-sharing agreement was reached 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. After the 2020 elections, Democrats had a 26-16 majority.
See also
| Elections | Nevada State Government | State Legislatures | State Politics |
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External links
Footnotes
