Nevada 2025 Regular Session

Nevada Senate Bill SB156 Compare Versions

The same version is selected twice. Please select two different versions to compare.

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	EXEMPT
2	2	(Reprinted with amendments adopted on April 15, 2025)
3	3	FIRST REPRINT S.B. 156
4	4
5	5	- SB156_R1
6	6
7	7	SENATE BILL NO. 156–SENATOR FLORES
8	8
9	9	PREFILED FEBRUARY 2, 2025
10	10	____________
11	11
12	12	Referred to Committee on Government Affairs
13	13
14	14	SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to the prevention of gun
15	15	violence. (BDR 18-958)
16	16
17	17	FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.
18	18	Effect on the State: Yes.
19	19
20	20	~
21	21
22	22	EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
23	23
24	24
25	25	AN ACT relating to firearm safety; creating the Office for the
26	26	Prevention of Gun Violence in the Office of the Attorney
27	27	General; setting forth the powers and duties of the Office;
28	28	and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
29	29	Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
30	30	Under existing law, the Attorney General is the legal adviser on all state 1
31	31	matters arising in the Executive Department of the State Government. (NRS 2
32	32	228.110) Section 7 of this bill creates the Office for the Prevention of Gun 3
33	33	Violence within the Office of the Attorney General and: (1) requires the Attorney 4
34	34	General to appoint an Ombudsman of the Office; (2) requires the Ombudsman to 5
35	35	employ such personnel as are necessary to perform the functions and duties of the 6
36	36	Office; and (3) authorizes state agencies to cooperate with and assist the Office in 7
37	37	the performance of its duties. Section 8 of this bill requires the Office to: (1) advise 8
38	38	the Attorney General on all matters relating to the prevention of gun violence; (2) 9
39	39	increase public awareness of federal and state laws and available resources relating 10
40	40	to the prevention of gun violence; (3) increase education relating to the prevention 11
41	41	of gun violence through public awareness campaigns and the development of 12
42	42	certain materials and training resources; (4) collaborate with professors and 13
43	43	researchers in identifying and developing data and resources relating to preventing 14
44	44	gun violence; and (5) at the request of the Attorney General, assist with certain 15
45	45	other educational campaigns and programs relating to the prevention of gun 16
46	46	violence, firearm safety and suicide prevention. Section 9 of this bill authorizes the 17
47	47	Ombudsman to establish and administer a program to award grants to organizations 18
48	48	in this State to conduct certain gun violence prevention initiatives and sets forth 19
49	49	certain provisions should such a program be created. Section 10 of this bill requires 20
50	50	the Office to create and maintain a resource bank for data, research and statistical 21
51	51	information pertaining to gun violence in the State. Section 11 of this bill 22
52	52	authorizes the Office to apply for and receive gifts, grants and contributions to 23
53	53	carry out the duties and defray the expenses of the Office. Section 12 of this bill 24
54	54	requires the Attorney General to submit a biennial report to the Legislature 25
55	55	– 2 –
56	56
57	57
58	58	- SB156_R1
59	59	concerning the activities and effectiveness of the Office for the Prevention of Gun 26
60	60	Violence. Sections 2-6 of this bill define certain terms for the purposes of the 27
61	61	provisions of sections 2-12. 28
62	62
63	63
64	64	THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
65	65	SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
66	66
67	67	Section 1. Chapter 228 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 1
68	68	thereto the provisions set forth as sections 2 to 12, inclusive, of this 2
69	69	act. 3
70	70	Sec. 2. As used in sections 2 to 12, inclusive, of this act, 4
71	71	unless the context otherwise requires, the words and terms defined 5
72	72	in sections 3 to 6, inclusive, of this act have the meanings ascribed 6
73	73	to them in those sections. 7
74	74	Sec. 3. “Ombudsman” means the Ombudsman of the Office. 8
75	75	Sec. 4. “Office” means the Office for the Prevention of Gun 9
76	76	Violence created by section 7 of this act. 10
77	77	Sec. 5. “Resource bank” means the bank of information, 11
78	78	materials and resources pertaining to gun violence in Nevada 12
79	79	created and maintained by the Office pursuant to section 10 of this 13
80	80	act. 14
81	81	Sec. 6. “State agency” means an agency, bureau, board, 15
82	82	commission, department, division or any other unit of the 16
83	83	Executive Department of the State Government. 17
84	84	Sec. 7. 1. The Office for the Prevention of Gun Violence is 18
85	85	hereby created within the Office of the Attorney General. 19
86	86	2. The Attorney General shall appoint an Ombudsman of the 20
87	87	Office, who shall serve at the pleasure of the Attorney General. 21
88	88	3. The Ombudsman shall employ such personnel as are 22
89	89	necessary to perform the functions and duties of the Office set 23
90	90	forth in sections 8 to 12, inclusive, of this act. 24
91	91	4. Any state agency may cooperate with and assist the Office 25
92	92	in the performance of its duties and functions. 26
93	93	Sec. 8. The Office for the Prevention of Gun Violence shall: 27
94	94	1. Advise the Attorney General on all matters related to the 28
95	95	prevention of gun violence, including, without limitation, the 29
96	96	effectiveness of state laws in preventing gun violence, the legal, 30
97	97	social and policy barriers to preventing gun violence and 31
98	98	strategies and policies to prevent gun violence. 32
99	99	2. Increase public awareness of federal and state laws and 33
100	100	available resources relating to preventing gun violence, including, 34
101	101	without limitation: 35
102	102	(a) Best practices for the safe storage of firearms; 36
103	103	(b) Safe and responsible gun ownership; 37
104	104	– 3 –
105	105
106	106
107	107	- SB156_R1
108	108	(c) Federal and state laws relating to purchasing, owning and 1
109	109	storing a firearm; 2
110	110	(d) Accessing resources relating to mental health and 3
111	111	substance use disorders and how to refer a person in need of 4
112	112	assistance to resources relating to mental health, substance use 5
113	113	disorders and suicide prevention; and 6
114	114	(e) The availability of, and the process to obtain, an order for 7
115	115	protection pursuant to chapter 33 of NRS. 8
116	116	3. Increase education relating to preventing gun violence 9
117	117	through: 10
118	118	(a) Public awareness campaigns relating to gun violence that 11
119	119	are conducted in a culturally competent manner and directed 12
120	120	toward gun owners, the parents or legal guardians of children, 13
121	121	professions that provide services to persons and communities 14
122	122	disproportionately affected by gun violence and communities 15
123	123	identified by the Office as disproportionately affected by gun 16
124	124	violence; 17
125	125	(b) The development of materials and training resources 18
126	126	relating to the prevention of gun violence that are in multiple 19
127	127	languages, when possible, to be made available to local law 20
128	128	enforcement agencies, health care providers and educators to aid 21
129	129	them in educating the public about the prevention of gun violence; 22
130	130	and 23
131	131	(c) The utilization of multiple forms of messaging, including, 24
132	132	without limitation, television messaging, radio broadcasts, print 25
133	133	media and digital strategies. 26
134	134	4. Collaborate with and assist professors and researchers in: 27
135	135	(a) Identifying new data or data needed for the advancement 28
136	136	of research relating to the prevention of gun violence; 29
137	137	(b) Encouraging the disaggregation of data relating to gun 30
138	138	violence by race and ethnicity to improve the understanding of 31
139	139	barriers to preventing gun violence; 32
140	140	(c) Promoting new and relevant research relating to 33
141	141	preventing gun violence; and 34
142	142	(d) Researching, developing and implementing programs, 35
143	143	initiatives, tools and resources aimed at preventing gun violence. 36
144	144	5. At the request of the Attorney General, provide assistance 37
145	145	to other educational campaigns and programs conducted by the 38
146	146	Office of the Attorney General relating to the prevention of gun 39
147	147	violence, firearm safety and suicide prevention. 40
148	148	Sec. 9. 1. The Ombudsman may, within the limits of money 41
149	149	available for this purpose, establish and administer a program to 42
150	150	award grants to organizations in this State to conduct gun violence 43
151	151	prevention initiatives that are community-based, culturally 44
152	152	– 4 –
153	153
154	154
155	155	- SB156_R1
156	156	competent and focused on interrupting cycles of gun violence, 1
157	157	trauma and retaliation. 2
158	158	2. The Attorney General may adopt regulations for the 3
159	159	administration of any grant program established pursuant to 4
160	160	subsection 1, including, without limitation, the procedure to apply 5
161	161	for such a grant, the criteria for awarding a grant and any 6
162	162	reporting requirements. 7
163	163	3. To be eligible for a grant from a program established 8
164	164	pursuant to subsection 1, an organization must comply with any 9
165	165	regulations adopted pursuant to subsection 2 and demonstrate to 10
166	166	the satisfaction of the Ombudsman that the organization has the 11
167	167	ability to conduct effective gun violence prevention initiatives in 12
168	168	communities identified by the Office as being at high risk of 13
169	169	perpetrating or being victimized by gun violence. 14
170	170	4. Any initiative conducted with a grant awarded by the 15
171	171	program established pursuant to subsection 1 must: 16
172	172	(a) Use strategies that are evidence-informed and have 17
173	173	demonstrated the potential to reduce gun violence without 18
174	174	contributing to mass incarceration, such as hospital-based 19
175	175	violence intervention programs, group violence interventions, 20
176	176	evidence-based street outreach programs and violence interruption 21
177	177	and crisis management programs; and 22
178	178	(b) Include regular evaluations of the effectiveness of 23
179	179	implemented initiatives, which must include soliciting community 24
180	180	input. 25
181	181	Sec. 10. The Office shall create and maintain a resource 26
182	182	bank for data, research and statistical information pertaining to 27
183	183	gun violence in the State. The resource bank must be updated on a 28
184	184	routine basis to reflect current statistical information regarding 29
185	185	gun violence in the State. 30
186	186	Sec. 11. The Office may apply for and receive gifts, grants, 31
187	187	contributions or other money from governmental and private 32
188	188	agencies, affiliated associations and other persons for the purpose 33
189	189	of carrying out the provisions of sections 7 to 12, inclusive, of this 34
190	190	act and to defray expenses incurred by the Office in the discharge 35
191	191	of its duties. 36
192	192	Sec. 12. On or before January 1 of each odd-numbered year, 37
193	193	the Attorney General shall submit to the Director of the Legislative 38
194	194	Counsel Bureau for transmittal to the next regular session of the 39
195	195	Legislature a written report concerning: 40
196	196	1. The implementation of sections 7 to 12, inclusive, of this 41
197	197	act; and 42
198	198	2. The overall effectiveness of the Office for the Prevention of 43
199	199	Gun Violence. 44
200	200	– 5 –
201	201
202	202
203	203	- SB156_R1
204	204	Sec. 13. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 7 of this 1
205	205	act, the Ombudsman of the Office for the Prevention of Gun 2
206	206	Violence shall employ not less than one full-time equivalent 3
207	207	employee for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 and an additional two full-time 4
208	208	equivalent employees for Fiscal Year 2026-2027. 5
209	209	Sec. 14. The provisions of subsection 1 of NRS 218D.380 do 6
210	210	not apply to any provision of this act which adds or revises a 7
211	211	requirement to submit a report to the Legislature. 8
212	212	Sec. 15. This act becomes effective on July 1, 2025. 9
213	213
214	214	H
215	215
216	216
217	217
218	218
219	219
220	220
221	221