S.J.R. 6
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SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 6–SENATOR SPEARMAN
MARCH 14, 2023
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JOINT SPONSORS: ASSEMBLYWOMEN GONZÁLEZ AND TAYLOR
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Referred to Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections
SUMMARY—Proposes to amend the Nevada Constitution to
provide for annual sessions of the Legislature.
(BDR C-954)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.
Effect on the State: Yes.
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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION—Proposing to amend the Nevada
Constitution to provide for limited annual regular
legislative sessions and for legislative compensation and
expenses to be paid in a manner fixed and determined by
law.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
The Nevada Constitution provides for biennial regular sessions of the 1
Legislature of not more than 120 consecutive calendar days beginning on the first 2
Monday of February in each odd-numbered year. (Nev. Const. Art. 4, § 2) This 3
joint resolution proposes to amend the Nevada Constitution to provide for limited 4
annual regular sessions. Beginning on the first Monday of February in each odd-5
numbered year, the Legislature would hold a regular session of not more than 90 6
legislative days. Beginning on the first Monday in February in each even-numbered 7
year, the Legislature would hold a regular session of not more than 60 legislative 8
days and prioritize legislative business related to the executive budget and fiscal 9
issues. This joint resolution also proposes to authorize the Speaker of the Assembly 10
and the Majority Leader of the Senate, acting jointly, to call a regular session of the 11
Legislature to recess. This resolution defines a “legislative day” as any calendar day 12
on which either the House of the Legislature is in session or any legislative 13
committee holds a meeting during a session, excluding any day when the 14
Legislature is in recess. 15
The Nevada Constitution authorizes Legislators to: (1) receive compensation 16
for the first 60 days of each regular session and the first 20 days of each special 17
session; and (2) appropriate funds for the payment of the actual expenses members 18
of the Legislature may incur for postage, express charges, newspapers and 19
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stationery in an amount not to exceed $60 per member for each general or special 20
session. (Nev. Const. Art. 4, § 33) This joint resolution proposes to amend the 21
Nevada Constitution to remove those provisions and to provide that Legislators 22
must be paid at regular intervals as set by law and that an appropriation may be 23
made for the payment of the actual expenses members of the Legislature may incur 24
for each regular or special session. 25
If this joint resolution is passed by the 2023 Legislature, it must also be passed 26
by the next Legislature and then approved and ratified by the voters in an election 27
before the proposed amendments to the Nevada Constitution become effective. 28
RESOLVED BY THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF 1
NEVADA, JOINTLY, That Section 2 of Article 4 of the Nevada 2
Constitution be amended to read as follows: 3
Sec. 2. 1. The regular sessions of the Legislature shall 4
be [biennial, and shall commence on the 1st Monday of 5
February following the election of members of the Assembly, 6
unless] annual as set forth in this section, but the Governor 7
of the State or the members of the Legislature [shall,] may , 8
on extraordinary occasions in the interim [,] between 9
regular sessions, convene the Legislature by proclamation or 10
petition [.] in special sessions only as authorized by this 11
Constitution. 12
2. [The] In each odd-numbered year, the Legislature 13
shall commence the regular session on the first Monday of 14
February and shall adjourn sine die [each regular session] 15
not later than midnight Pacific time at the end of the [120th 16
consecutive calendar] 90th legislative day of that session, 17
inclusive of the day on which that session commences. Any 18
legislative action taken after midnight Pacific time at the end 19
of the [120th consecutive calendar] 90th legislative day of 20
that session is void, unless the legislative action is 21
[conducted] taken during a special session. 22
3. In each even-numbered year, the Legislature shall 23
commence the regular session on the first Monday of 24
February and shall adjourn sine die not later than midnight 25
Pacific time at the end of the 60th legislative day of that 26
session, inclusive of the day on which that session 27
commences. Any legislative action taken after midnight 28
Pacific time at the end of the 60th legislative day of that 29
session is void, unless the legislative action is taken during a 30
special session. 31
4. During a regular session held in an even-numbered 32
year the Legislature shall prioritize legislative business 33
related to the executive budget and any other issues that the 34
Governor, in coordination with the Speaker of the Assembly 35
and the Majority Leader of the Senate, determines are fiscal 36
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in nature or require the immediate attention of the 1
Legislature. 2
5. During any regular session: 3
(a) The Legislature may introduce, consider and pass 4
any bill related to any subject as not otherwise prohibited by 5
this Constitution; 6
(b) A standing legislative committee may hold meetings; 7
and 8
(c) The Speaker of the Assembly and the Majority 9
Leader of the Senate may jointly call a recess of the 10
Legislature. 11
6. The Governor shall submit to the Legislature: 12
(a) The proposed executive budget [to the Legislature] 13
not later than 14 calendar days before the commencement of 14
each regular session [. 15
4.] held in an odd-numbered year. 16
(b) Any proposed appropriations or proposed revisions 17
to the executive budget not later than 14 calendar days 18
before the commencement of each regular session held in 19
an even-numbered year. 20
7. For the purposes of this section [, “midnight] : 21
(a) “Legislative day” means any calendar day on which 22
either House of the Legislature is in session or any 23
legislative committee holds a meeting during a session. The 24
term does not include any day the Legislature is in recess 25
pursuant to subsection 5. 26
(b) “Midnight Pacific time” must be determined based on 27
the actual measure of time that, on the final [calendar] 28
legislative day of the session, is being used and observed by 29
the general population as the uniform time for the portion of 30
Nevada which lies within the Pacific time zone, or any legal 31
successor to the Pacific time zone, and which includes the 32
seat of government of this State as designated by Section 1 of 33
Article 15 of this Constitution. The Legislature and its 34
members, officers and employees shall not employ any 35
device, pretense or fiction that adjusts, evades or ignores this 36
measure of time for the purpose of extending the duration of 37
the session. 38
And be it further 39
RESOLVED, That Section 33 of Article 4 of the Nevada 40
Constitution be amended to read as follows: 41
Sec. 33. The members of the Legislature shall receive 42
for their services a compensation to be fixed by law and paid 43
out of the public treasury [, for not to exceed 60 days during 44
any regular session of the Legislature and not to exceed 20 45
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days during any special session;] at regular intervals 1
determined by law, but no increase of such compensation 2
shall take effect during the term for which the members of 3
either [house] House shall have been elected; Provided, that 4
an appropriation may be made for the payment of such actual 5
expenses as members of the Legislature may incur [for 6
postage, express charges, newspapers and stationery not 7
exceeding the sum of Sixty dollars] for any [general] regular 8
or special session to each member; and Furthermore 9
Provided, that the Speaker of the Assembly [,] and the 10
Lieutenant Governor, as President of the Senate, shall each, 11
during the time of their actual attendance as such presiding 12
officers , receive an additional allowance of two dollars per 13
diem. 14
And be it further 15
RESOLVED, That Section 6 of Article 11 of the Nevada 16
Constitution be amended to read as follows: 17
[Section] Sec. 6. 1. In addition to other means 18
provided for the support and maintenance of said university 19
and common schools, the legislature shall provide for their 20
support and maintenance by direct legislative appropriation 21
from the general fund, upon the presentation of budgets in the 22
manner required by law. 23
2. During a regular session of the Legislature [,] in any 24
odd-numbered year, before any other appropriation is 25
enacted to fund a portion of the state budget for the next 26
ensuing biennium, the Legislature shall enact one or more 27
appropriations to provide the money the Legislature deems to 28
be sufficient, when combined with the local money 29
reasonably available for this purpose, to fund the operation of 30
the public schools in the State for kindergarten through grade 31
12 for the next ensuing biennium for the population 32
reasonably estimated for that biennium. 33
3. During a special session of the Legislature that is held 34
between the end of a regular session in an odd-numbered 35
year in which the Legislature has not enacted the 36
appropriation or appropriations required by subsection 2 to 37
fund education for the next ensuing biennium and the first 38
day of that next ensuing biennium, before any other 39
appropriation is enacted other than appropriations required to 40
pay the cost of that special session, the Legislature shall enact 41
one or more appropriations to provide the money the 42
Legislature deems to be sufficient, when combined with the 43
local money reasonably available for this purpose, to fund 44
the operation of the public schools in the State for 45
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kindergarten through grade 12 for the next ensuing biennium 1
for the population reasonably estimated for that biennium. 2
4. During a special session of the Legislature that is held 3
in a biennium for which the Legislature has not enacted the 4
appropriation or appropriations required by subsection 2 to 5
fund education for the biennium in which the special session 6
is being held, before any other appropriation is enacted other 7
than appropriations required to pay the cost of that special 8
session, the Legislature shall enact one or more 9
appropriations to provide the money the Legislature deems to 10
be sufficient, when combined with the local money 11
reasonably available for this purpose, to fund the operation of 12
the public schools in the State for kindergarten through grade 13
12 for the population reasonably estimated for the biennium 14
in which the special session is held. 15
5. Any appropriation of money enacted in violation of 16
subsection 2, 3 or 4 is void. 17
6. As used in this section, “biennium” means a period of 18
two fiscal years beginning on July 1 of an odd-numbered year 19
and ending on June 30 of the next ensuing odd-numbered 20
year. 21
And be it further 22
RESOLVED, That Section 12 of Article 17 of the Nevada 23
Constitution be amended to read as follows: 24
Sec. 12. The first regular session of the Legislature shall 25
commence on the second Monday of December A.D. 26
Eighteen hundred and Sixty Four, and the second regular 27
session of the same shall commence on the first Monday of 28
January A.D. Eighteen hundred and Sixty Six; and the third 29
regular session of the Legislature shall be the first of the 30
biennial sessions, and shall commence on the first Monday of 31
January A.D. Eighteen hundred and Sixty Seven; and the 32
regular sessions of the Legislature shall be held thereafter . 33
[biennially.] 34
And be it further 35
RESOLVED, That Section 2 of Article 19 of the Nevada 36
Constitution be amended to read as follows: 37
Sec. 2. 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 1 38
of Article 4 of this Constitution, but subject to the limitations 39
of Section 6 of this Article, the people reserve to themselves 40
the power to propose, by initiative petition, statutes and 41
amendments to statutes and amendments to this Constitution, 42
and to enact or reject them at the polls. 43
2. An initiative petition shall be in the form required by 44
Section 3 of this Article and shall be proposed by a number of 45
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registered voters equal to 10 percent or more of the number of 1
voters who voted at the last preceding general election in not 2
less than 75 percent of the counties in the State, but the total 3
number of registered voters signing the initiative petition 4
shall be equal to 10 percent or more of the voters who voted 5
in the entire State at the last preceding general election. 6
3. If the initiative petition proposes a statute or an 7
amendment to a statute, the person who intends to circulate it 8
shall file a copy with the Secretary of State before beginning 9
circulation and not earlier than [January 1 of the year 10
preceding the year in which a] 1 year before the 11
commencement of the regular session of the Legislature [is 12
held.] to which the petition will be transmitted. After its 13
circulation, it shall be filed with the Secretary of State not less 14
than 30 days [prior to any] before the commencement of the 15
regular session of the Legislature [.] to which the petition will 16
be transmitted. The circulation of the petition shall cease on 17
the day the petition is filed with the Secretary of State or such 18
other date as may be prescribed for the verification of the 19
number of signatures affixed to the petition, whichever is 20
earliest. The Secretary of State shall transmit such petition to 21
the Legislature as soon as the Legislature convenes and 22
organizes. The petition shall take precedence over all other 23
measures except appropriation bills, and the statute or 24
amendment to a statute proposed thereby shall be enacted or 25
rejected by the Legislature without change or amendment 26
within 40 days. If the proposed statute or amendment to a 27
statute is enacted by the Legislature and approved by the 28
Governor in the same manner as other statutes are enacted, 29
such statute or amendment to a statute shall become law, but 30
shall be subject to referendum petition as provided in Section 31
1 of this Article. If the statute or amendment to a statute is 32
rejected by the Legislature, or if no action is taken thereon 33
within 40 days, the Secretary of State shall submit the 34
question of approval or disapproval of such statute or 35
amendment to a statute to a vote of the voters at the next 36
succeeding general election. If a majority of the voters voting 37
on such question at such election votes approval of such 38
statute or amendment to a statute, it shall become law and 39
take effect upon completion of the canvass of votes by the 40
Supreme Court. An initiative measure so approved by the 41
voters shall not be amended, annulled, repealed, set aside or 42
suspended by the Legislature within 3 years from the date it 43
takes effect. If a majority of such voters votes disapproval of 44
such statute or amendment to a statute, no further action shall 45
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be taken on such petition. If the Legislature rejects such 1
proposed statute or amendment, the Governor may 2
recommend to the Legislature and the Legislature may 3
propose a different measure on the same subject, in which 4
event, after such different measure has been approved by the 5
Governor, the question of approval or disapproval of each 6
measure shall be submitted by the Secretary of State to a vote 7
of the voters at the next succeeding general election. If the 8
conflicting provisions submitted to the voters are both 9
approved by a majority of the voters voting on such 10
measures, the measure which receives the largest number of 11
affirmative votes shall thereupon become law. If at the 12
session of the Legislature to which an initiative petition 13
proposing an amendment to a statute is presented which the 14
Legislature rejects or upon which it takes no action, the 15
Legislature amends the statute which the petition proposes to 16
amend in a respect which does not conflict in substance with 17
the proposed amendment, the Secretary of State in submitting 18
the statute to the voters for approval or disapproval of the 19
proposed amendment shall include the amendment made by 20
the Legislature. 21
4. If the initiative petition proposes an amendment to the 22
Constitution, the person who intends to circulate it shall file a 23
copy with the Secretary of State before beginning circulation 24
and not earlier than September 1 of the year before the year in 25
which the election is to be held. After its circulation it shall 26
be filed with the Secretary of State not less than 90 days 27
before any regular general election at which the question of 28
approval or disapproval of such amendment may be voted 29
upon by the voters of the entire State. The circulation of the 30
petition shall cease on the day the petition is filed with the 31
Secretary of State or such other date as may be prescribed for 32
the verification of the number of signatures affixed to the 33
petition, whichever is earliest. The Secretary of State shall 34
cause to be published in a newspaper of general circulation, 35
on three separate occasions, in each county in the State, 36
together with any explanatory matter which shall be placed 37
upon the ballot, the entire text of the proposed amendment. If 38
a majority of the voters voting on such question at such 39
election votes disapproval of such amendment, no further 40
action shall be taken on the petition. If a majority of such 41
voters votes approval of such amendment, the Secretary of 42
State shall publish and resubmit the question of approval or 43
disapproval to a vote of the voters at the next succeeding 44
general election in the same manner as such question was 45
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originally submitted. If a majority of such voters votes 1
disapproval of such amendment, no further action shall be 2
taken on such petition. If a majority of such voters votes 3
approval of such amendment, it shall, unless precluded by 4
subsection 5 or 6, become a part of this Constitution upon 5
completion of the canvass of votes by the Supreme Court. 6
5. If two or more measures which affect the same 7
section of a statute or of the Constitution are finally approved 8
pursuant to this Section, or an amendment to the Constitution 9
is finally so approved and an amendment proposed by the 10
Legislature is ratified which affect the same section, by the 11
voters at the same election: 12
(a) If all can be given effect without contradiction in 13
substance, each shall be given effect. 14
(b) If one or more contradict in substance the other or 15
others, the measure which received the largest favorable vote, 16
and any other approved measure compatible with it, shall be 17
given effect. If the one or more measures that contradict in 18
substance the other or others receive the same number of 19
favorable votes, none of the measures that contradict another 20
shall be given effect. 21
6. If, at the same election as the first approval of a 22
constitutional amendment pursuant to this Section, another 23
amendment is finally approved pursuant to this Section, or an 24
amendment proposed by the Legislature is ratified, which 25
affects the same section of the Constitution but is compatible 26
with the amendment given first approval, the Secretary of 27
State shall publish and resubmit at the next general election 28
the amendment given first approval as a further amendment 29
to the section as amended by the amendment given final 30
approval or ratified. If the amendment finally approved or 31
ratified contradicts in substance the amendment given first 32
approval, the Secretary of State shall not submit the 33
amendment given first approval to the voters again. 34
And be it further 35
RESOLVED, That this resolution becomes effective upon 36
passage. 37
H