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With plenty of wrap up articles available online, here’s a brief overview of how my legislative agenda fared over the course of the legislative session.

AB 158 Living Wills Registry

Perhaps the toughest piece of legislation I worked on this session was AB 158, the creation of an online registry for living wills. The legislation emerged from Assembly Ways and Means and then passed both houses in the final days of the session. In addition to passage of the enabling legislation, I was successful in securing $200,000 in start up funds for this program which will be self-supporting once up and running.

Secretary of State Ross Miller, a key supporter of the program, will begin planning work for the registry as soon as Governor Gibbons signs the legislation. The program will be an option for families of patients and health care professionals for the storage and retrieval of living wills to help ensure that the wishes of patients are honored when it comes to end-of-life decisions. The registry will help alleviate problems caused when living wills are lost or cannot be retrieved quickly in times of medical emergency.

Previous posts on this bill.

AB 178 Renewable Energy

“You’ll never get this bill- it’s too important for a freshman,” was the refrain I heard over and over again at each milestone of this bill’s progress. As the legislation moved through the process, what started out as a bill to expand net metering and create an incentive program for wind power, was amended to deal with other energy issues.

One such issue was brought forth by Senator Mike Schneider (D-Las Vegas), that of light bulb efficiency. As a result of the passage of AB 178 (still awaiting the Governor’s signature as of this posting), Nevada will be the first state in the union to set a standard for common light bulb efficiency.

Previous posts on this bill.

AB 217 State Environmental Commission

Of the bills I worked to get passed, AB 217 may cast the longest shadow on the future of conservation issues in Nevada. AB 217 converts one of the existing Governor’s at-large appointments on the State Environmental Commission to a seat for someone with experience advocating conservation issues. Adding a conservation perspective to the commission will help protect what it is we love about Nevada.

Previous posts on this bill.

AB 235 Prescription Drug Labeling

While campaigning last year, I heard from many seniors who expressed concern about the complexity and cost of prescription drugs. In addition to supporting legislation this past session to address the high cost of medications, I introduced AB 235 in an effort to make medications less confusing.

The passage of AB 235 allows a consumer to request from the doctor, at the time a prescription is written, that a “plain English” label be placed on the bottle by the pharmacist. Do you have a large number of prescriptions you need to keep track of that all have fancy-sounding names? Wouldn’t it be nice if you knew that one bottle was for “cholesterol” and another was for “blood pressure?”

Previous posts on this bill.

AB 296 Water Leasing for Conservation

Water was a major topic this legislative session. It is my belief that conservation of what we love about Nevada best happens when all parties involved come to the table to solve problems.

AB 296 expresses the policy of the state of Nevada to support temporary changes of water use to support wildlife and habitat. Under this policy popular in other western states, agricultural users can now lease excess water to conservation groups, agencies and others to keep water in streams for fish, send water to wetlands for ducks, etc.

AB 297 Reno License Plate for Parks

One of the issues I campaigned on, securing money for our aging parks in Reno, will get a helping hand with the passage of AB 297. The bill sends an application to the Legislative Commission on License Plates to create a Reno license plate, similar to the plates for Las Vegas and Tahoe. The proceeds from sales and renewals of the plate will be used to fund park projects in our city.

Next…

As a freshman, I had modest expectations for my legislative agenda. Never did I believe it would be possible to pass six bills during “my first rodeo.” I like to think I was successful because of the relationships I built with other legislators, Republicans and Democrats, rural and urban, northern and southern. Keeping an open mind, learning from and listening to others and focusing on getting things done for the district also certainly helped.

Now that the interim period has begun, I’ll continue to work for solutions to the issues facing district 24 residents and the state as a whole. Have any suggestions for me? Please contact me.

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