AB 344 Nevada Assembly · 2025 Regular Session

Revises provisions relating to the judiciary. (BDR 38-155)

AB 344 updates Nevada law by replacing the term "master" with "judicial officer" for court-appointed officials handling family law, juvenile justice, and traffic cases. This change affects judges, courts, and existing court-appointed staff who currently hold the title "master," ensuring all duties, privileges, and protections remain unchanged. The bill also adds procedural requirements for transferring child welfare cases between Nevada courts (requiring joint hearings and child welfare assessments) and adjusts attorney compensation rates for child welfare cases to match felony representation standards. These changes are primarily terminological and procedural, with no substantive shifts to case handling or legal rights.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

May 2025

Assembly Passage

May 2025

Senate Passage

May 2025

Signed into Law

Jun 2025

Introduced Mar 3, 2025 Signed Jun 5, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Reprint 1 → As Enrolled · 4 edits · Jun 5, 2025

MODERATE

This bill updates the official title for court-appointed neutral parties from 'master' to 'judicial officer' to modernize terminology. It also introduces new rules for transferring child welfare cases within the state and expands legal representation rights for parents and children involved in abuse or neglect proceedings.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of legal representation by requiring attorneys for parents in protective custody hearings regardless of abuse allegations, and it adds a new intra-state transfer procedure for child welfare cases that did not previously exist.

DEFINITION

Replaced the term 'master' with 'judicial officer' throughout the text to refer to appointed court officials, while ensuring they retain all existing duties and protections.

REQUIREMENT

Established a new procedure for transferring child welfare proceedings to a different court within the same state, requiring a joint hearing and a finding that the transfer serves the child's best interests.

Mandated that attorneys representing parents or children in child welfare cases receive compensation rates comparable to those paid for representing defendants in misdemeanor or felony criminal cases, depending on the specific proceeding.

ELIGIBILITY

Required courts to appoint attorneys for parents taken into protective custody during hearings, even if the parent is not accused of abusing the child.

Floor votes · Senate May 30, 2025 · Assembly May 26, 2025

How they voted

20–0

Passed

Total votes 20

May 30, 2025

D Democratic12

12 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican8

8 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jun 5, 2025

Signed into law

Approved by the Governor.

executive

May 31, 2025

Lower · Passed

In Assembly. To enrollment.

lower

May 30, 2025

Lower · Passed

Read third time. Passed. Title approved. (Yeas: 21, Nays: None.) To Assembly.

lower

May 29, 2025

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass. Placed on Second Reading File. Read second time.

lower

May 26, 2025

Assembly · Passed

Assembly Vote: pass (39-0-1)

assembly

May 26, 2025

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass, as amended. Placed on General File. Read third time. Passed, as amended. Title approved. (Yeas: 41, Nays: None, Excused: 1.) To Senate. In Senate. Read first time. Referred to Committee on Judiciary. To committee.

lower

Apr 23, 2025

Lower · Passed

From printer. To engrossment. Engrossed. First reprint. To committee.

lower

Apr 21, 2025

Lower · Passed

From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. Placed on Second Reading File. Read second time. Amended. (Amend. No. 226.) Taken from General File. Rereferred to Committee on Ways and Means. Exemption effective. To printer.

lower

Mar 4, 2025

Lower · Passed

From printer. To committee.

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors