Sen. James Ohrenschall

Maddy summarySB 178 allocates $5 million from Nevada's State General Fund to Mondays Dark, Inc. to build a facility in Las Vegas providing educational, mental health, and community services. The funding is contingent on Mondays Dark securing matching funds from private or public sources, and the Interim Finance Committee must verify this before releasing any money. The bill requires Mondays Dark to submit detailed spending reports by December 2026 and September 2027, and any unused funds must revert to the state by September 2027. This bill directly affects Mondays Dark, Inc. and the community it serves through the new facility.

Maddy summarySB 95 gives Nevada National Guard service members the right to demand a formal military trial (court-martial) instead of accepting administrative punishment for minor offenses. The bill requires commanding officers to provide written notice of this right and allow at least 48 hours for service members to decide before punishment is imposed. It amends Nevada law to ensure administrative punishment cannot be applied if a service member has demanded a court-martial. The law takes effect on July 1, 2025, directly affecting Nevada National Guard members facing nonjudicial proceedings.

Maddy summarySB 354 prohibits health insurance plans (including Medicaid and government employee plans) from requiring step therapy - where patients must try cheaper drugs first - before covering medications that prevent or treat HIV or hepatitis C. It applies directly to insurers offering health coverage and affects patients needing these specific treatments. The bill removes an existing exception allowing step therapy for these drugs, mandating direct coverage for HIV prevention/treatment medications and related lab tests without prior authorization. This changes how insurers must cover these essential medications, ensuring faster access without unnecessary barriers.

Maddy summaryAB 378 creates a pilot program allowing patients diagnosed with mental health conditions to access psychedelic therapy (using psilocybin, psilocin, DMT, ibogaine, or mescaline) under medical supervision in approved clinics. The Division of Public and Behavioral Health administers the program, requiring clinics to operate under strict medical oversight and participant approval. The bill includes confidentiality protections for patient data, liability immunity for program participants, and mandates annual reporting to the legislature. It also establishes an advisory committee and requires compliance with federal controlled substance regulations during the pilot phase.

Maddy summarySB 174 requires Nevada school districts and charter schools to create policies ensuring students with disabilities (who have individualized education programs or 504 plans) receive medically necessary treatments from private instructional personnel in schools, including parent notification and collaboration protocols. It updates special education standards for students with visual or hearing impairments by mandating Braille instruction, assistive technology, and prohibiting interference with mobility devices like canes. The bill also expands background check requirements to include private instructional personnel as "volunteers" and requires school districts to submit annual reports to the Department of Education, making policies publicly available online.

Maddy summaryAB 306 requires county clerks in Nevada to establish designated mail ballot drop box locations during a specific period before general elections. It directly affects voters in counties with populations over 100,000: Clark County (700,000+ people) must provide 10 locations open 7+ hours daily, Washoe County (100,000-700,000) must provide 5 locations, and smaller counties may set their own locations and hours. The bill ensures ballots dropped in these designated boxes during the specified period count as valid votes for the general election. It modifies existing election procedures to standardize mail ballot drop-off access in larger counties while allowing flexibility for smaller jurisdictions.

Maddy summaryThis bill provides $12 million to Clark County and $3 million to the City of Reno for rental assistance programs targeting elderly individuals, people with disabilities, and families or individuals facing unanticipated emergencies. Funds must be spent during fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027, with strict deadlines requiring recipients to submit detailed spending reports to the legislature by December 2026 and September 2027. Any unused funds must be returned to the State General Fund by September 2026 (for 2025-2026 funds) or September 2027 (for 2026-2027 funds). The bill includes audit requirements to ensure transparency in how the funds are used.

Maddy summarySB 229 lowers the grade point average requirement for Nevada students to earn a high school diploma with a "State Seal of Financial Literacy" from 3.25 to 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. It expands the age range for required financial literacy instruction from grades 3-12 to include kindergarten through grade 12. The bill also revises how students demonstrate proficiency, allowing options like scoring 85% on a state assessment or completing approved career-technical exams instead of the previous ACT certificate requirement. These changes directly affect all Nevada public school students in grades K-12 and require school districts and charter schools to implement updated curriculum and professional development.

Maddy summarySB 403 revises education policies in Nevada, directly affecting public school districts, charter schools, and students in grades 1-8. It mandates career guidance and counseling for all students in grades 6-8 (previously optional for grades 7-12), requires the Department of Education to create career exploration materials for grades 1-5, and establishes a Subcommittee on Metrics to develop school performance standards. The bill also allows schools participating in competency-based learning pilot programs to use alternative schedules and enrollment counting methods for state funding. It includes $137,820 for a Commission staff position and $50,000 for Commission travel expenses over two fiscal years.

Maddy summarySB 282 creates a Grocery Initiative within Nevada's Department of Health and Human Services to provide grants and technical assistance to grocery stores in designated food deserts. The initiative aims to expand access to healthy foods in areas meeting specific criteria, such as high poverty rates and limited grocery store proximity (defined as rural tracts with 33% of residents >10 miles from a store or urban tracts with similar metrics). It appropriates $10 million for the program and requires the Council on Food Security to research food insecurity in these areas and submit a legislative report. The bill directly affects grocery stores in qualifying census tracts, not general residents.