The establishment-backed candidate in all but one of the important primaries identified by The Nevada Independent had a fundraising lead in the first quarter.

The Nevada Justice Association argued that a proposal backed by Uber to impose a cap on attorney fees in civil cases is misleading and would make it harder for Nevadans to receive the best counsel.

Health care providers, including a group called Your Nevada Doctors, have sought to preempt the proposal through an advertising campaign and website arguing that lifting the cap would drive up liability insurance costs and cause doctors to leave the state.

Out of more than $856,000 in campaign contributions to state lawmakers last cycle from lawyers, law groups and legal political action committees, no single donor spent more on legislative campaigns than Citizens for Justice — the political arm of the Nevada Justice Association, an organization for Nevada trial lawyers. 

The bill, which is likely to be the last piece of legislation introduced during the special session, cleared the Senate Committee of the Whole early Tuesday morning, 18-3, with Republican Sens. Ira Hansen, Joe Hardy and Pete Goicoechea in opposition. The legislation, SB4, has dominated the behind-the-scenes conversations during the session and is the culmination of a deal between some of the state’s most powerful political interests, including casinos, business groups and the Culinary Union.

That exemption — which includes hospitals, nursing homes, intermediate care facilities, hospice care, skilled nursing facilities and emergency medical care centers — has drawn a sharp rebuke from the Nevada Hospital Association and other health care providers, who say it would prohibit them from transferring patients between facilities or prohibit visitors from coming to visit patients.

Although lobbyists and members of the public have been barred from the physical legislative building, a host of interest groups are making their demands known and pushing for their priorities to be included in the proclamation that will establish the parameters of what lawmakers can consider in their second special session. Gov. Steve Sisolak is expected to call the next session once lawmakers finish finalizing cuts to the state budget during the first special session, which started Wednesday.

The actual subject of the hearing was AB421, a bill heard by the Assembly Judiciary Committee that would reverse many of the substantive changes Republican lawmakers made in 2015 on lawsuits related to construction defect claims, a move derided by Democrats but lauded by Republicans including Gov. Brian Sandoval and developers as necessary to stem the growing tide of alleged “frivolous” lawsuits on residential construction defects.

Dozens of Nevada’s law firms or lawyers have long been major donors come election season. In 2018, more than 240 lawyers, law firms or law-related PACs donated roughly $630,000 to 56 legislators, good for nearly 6 percent of all contributions to lawmakers during campaign cycle.