Las Vegas Now2009 Nevada Legislature Draws to a Close

2009 Nevada Legislature Draws to a Close

The 2009 Nevada Legislature adjourned late Monday, with weary Nevada lawmakers cobbling together last-minute compromises, overriding Gov. Jim Gibbons' record number of vetoes and shipping him dozens of Senate and Assembly approved bills.

Legislators wrapped up work on a high-profile package of renewable energy bills, voting for SB395, which encourages "green" development and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

In one unusal incident, a senator was accused of slapping another lawmaker's hand and running after her when she went from a leadership office into the Assembly chambers. Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, said that Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks, became upset just before midnight that she would not endorse a bill on charter schools.

Also among the last-day actions was final approval of AB140, part of an effort to help ease Nevada's highest-in-the-nation foreclosure rate. AB140 requires notice to renters that a property is in foreclosure, and requires notice to the state if a licensed health facility faces foreclosure.

Lawmakers also took final votes on SB269, which provides for immediate license suspensions of medical professionals convicted of felonies. The measure is a response to a hepatitis C outbreak in Las Vegas caused by shoddy injection practices.

The legislators' total of successful veto overrides rose to a record 25. The first-term Republican governor vetoed a record 41 bills.

The completed override votes included one enacting SB283, providing various legal rights for domestic partners, and another enacting AB562, the $6.8 billion appropriations act which funds state government operations for the next two fiscal years.

Legislators also overrode Gibbons' veto of AB304, which requires spending of millions of dollars in redevelopment funds to reopen F Street in Las Vegas.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)