'Red flag' gun law, boost to minimum wage clear last big hurdles in the Nevada Legislature
'Red flag' gun law, minimum wage hike expected to soon be signed into law
James DeHavenNevada lawmakers on Friday passed a pair of high-profile measures to tighten gun controls and raise the statewide minimum wage.
The gun measure will allow courts greater power to seize guns from people deemed a danger to themselves or others. Meanwhile, the state's minimum wage will grow from $8.25 to $12 an hour.
More details on both measures:
'RED FLAG' LAW FOR GUNS
Assembly Bill 291 garnered lengthy, emotional floor speeches before clearing the state Senate on a party-line vote, with all eight Republicans opposed. It’s expected to be signed by Gov. Steve Sisolak after returning to the Assembly for a procedural vote.
The measure was introduced as a sweeping legislative response to the 2017 mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip, but advanced only after undergoing a facelift to remove contested language that would’ve allowed cities and counties to enact tougher gun restrictions than those approved by the state.
That provision was replaced with a “red flag” law that allows courts greater power to seize guns from people deemed a danger to themselves or others.
Lawmakers also folded in a defunct measure meant to tighten existing restrictions on those who negligently leave firearms around children.
That part of AB 291 makes it a misdemeanor for someone to leave guns lying around if they know there is a "substantial risk" a child might obtain it. The provision was inspired by the death of Brooklynn Mohler, a 13-year-old Las Vegas girl who suffered a fatal gunshot wound at a friend's house in 2013.
Republicans mostly objected to the red flag revision, which they saw as little more than a court-sanctioned gun grab that will open up the state to legal challenges.
Democrats defended the bill as a sensible response to the 58-person massacre at the Route 91 Harvest Festival. Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui, D-Las Vegas managed to escape that carnage before carrying AB 291 to Carson City, where she’s offered tearful testimony in support of the measure.
More:Las Vegas shooting survivor pushes Nevada gun bill to help prevent a repeat of October 1
Related:A loaded Glock at friend's house ended in tragedy. Now two Nevada parents want change
MINIMUM WAGE BOOST
Assembly Bill 456, the second major measure soon on its way to Sisolak’s desk, gradually ramps up the statewide minimum wage to $12 per hour by 2024.
The measure has drawn fire both from business groups, who felt it went too far, and progressives, who argued it didn’t go far enough.
Opponents in the latter camp wanted to see Nevada lawmakers join workers in the well-publicized “Fight for 15,” the nationwide push for a $15 per hour minimum wage.
Though no one seemed to like it, AB 456 did strike what more than one Democratic lawmaker described as a “palatable” balance between the measure’s most outspoken opponents. State Sen. Keith Pickard, R-Henderson, joined 12 Democrats to advance the measure on Friday.
Other Republicans have opposed the measure on the grounds that it could discourage small businesses from hiring. Democrats shot back with data painting a murkier relationship between employment and minimum wage hikes.
Lawmakers later advanced Assembly Joint Resolution 10, a proposed constitutional amendment that also seeks a $12 minimum wage by 2024. But that resolution, unlike the Assembly bill, goes on to eliminate a two-tiered minimum wage structure that allows businesses that offer health insurance to pay less than businesses that don’t.
Lawmakers will have to approve the resolution again in 2021 before it can be referred to voters as a ballot initiative in 2022.
James DeHaven is the politics reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal. He covers campaigns, the Nevada Legislature and everything in between. Support his work by subscribing to RGJ.com right here.