Nevada REALTORS® are urging Gov. Steve Sisolak to veto a bill that was passed Monday in the final minutes of the Nevada Legislature which will harm both renters and property owners throughout the state.
Bypassing the legislative process, state lawmakers met in a conference committee Monday to pass SB151, a bill sponsored by state Sen. Julia Ratti that was amended to incorporate provisions from a bill known as SB256 which failed to win the required approval from both houses of the Legislature.
“This is bad public policy that should never have been approved by the Legislature,” said Nevada REALTORS® President Keith Lynam, a longtime local REALTOR®. “It’s even worse how they abused their own process to sneak parts of a bill they had declared dead into this last-minute legislation, all with no opportunity for public participation.”
Nevada REALTORS® and many others opposed SB256, which passed the state Senate by one vote earlier in the session, but was declared dead weeks ago when it failed to win approval in the Assembly by the required deadline. Introduced by state Sen. Yvanna Cancela, D-Las Vegas, Lynam and other association leaders told lawmakers during the session that SB256 “would egregiously damage Nevada’s hard-working families who rent from Nevada homeowners.”
“My grandmother always used to tell me if you have to sneak around under the cloak of darkness and at the very last second strong-arm people…you are on the wrong path,” Lynam said. “When this bill was shown the light of day within the legitimate legislative process, it was properly deemed bad public policy and died.”
If this bill becomes law, Lynam said, “it will lead to more litigation, fewer homes available for rent, and higher rents. It will harm renters, property owners and the housing market.”
“For these reasons and more, we’re urging Governor Sisolak to veto SB151,” he said.
About Nevada REALTORS®
Nevada REALTORS®, formerly known as the Nevada Association of REALTORS® (NVAR), is a professional trade association with more than 17,000 members committed to protecting, promoting and preserving our communities. Visit www.NVAR.org.