The Nevada legislative session runs for a maximum of 120 calendar days once every two years, always in odd-numbered years. The 83rd session adjourned on June 3, 2025, and the next regular session is scheduled to begin on February 1, 2027.1Nevada Legislature. Events – Nevada Legislature Nevada is one of only four states that still meets biennially, so 2026 has no scheduled session unless a special session is called.
When Sessions Happen and How Long They Last
Article 4, Section 2 of the Nevada Constitution requires the legislature to convene on the first Monday in February following an Assembly election. Because every Assembly seat is on the ballot in even-numbered years, regular sessions always fall in odd-numbered years.2Ballotpedia. Article 4, Nevada Constitution – Section 2 The same provision caps each regular session at 120 consecutive calendar days, counted from opening day. Any vote or action taken after midnight Pacific time on day 120 is void.
That 120-day window creates real pressure. Lawmakers handle the entire state budget plus thousands of policy proposals in roughly four months, then leave Carson City for nearly two years.
Who Serves in the Legislature
The Nevada Legislature has 63 members split between two chambers: a 42-member Assembly and a 21-member Senate. Assembly members serve two-year terms, so every seat is on the ballot each general election cycle. Senators serve four-year staggered terms, with roughly half the chamber up every two years.3Nevada Legislature. About the Legislature
Nevada runs a citizen legislature. Lawmakers earn a daily rate of $130 during session, and the constitution limits pay to no more than 60 days of a regular session and 20 days of a special session. On top of that daily rate, legislators receive a per diem tied to the federal rate for Carson City to cover housing and meals.4National Conference of State Legislatures. 2025 Legislator Compensation Nearly every Nevada legislator holds an outside job, and the chamber leans heavily toward retirees, small business owners, and attorneys whose schedules bend more easily around a four-month session.
How a Bill Moves Through the Process
Every bill starts as a Bill Draft Request (BDR). Legislators, committees, executive agencies, and certain other entities submit these requests to the Legislative Counsel Bureau, a nonpartisan staff agency whose attorneys translate policy ideas into formal legal language.5Nevada Legislature. The Legislative Counsel Bureau The LCB also provides legal advice, fiscal analysis, and research to lawmakers year-round.
Once drafted, a bill is introduced in one chamber, assigned a number, and read aloud for the first time. That first reading is largely ceremonial. The bill then goes to a committee for substantive review.6Nevada Legislature. How a Bill Becomes a Law Committees hold public hearings, take testimony, and decide whether the bill deserves a recommendation to the full chamber. A “do pass” recommendation sends the bill to a second reading and onto the General File for debate, followed by a third reading and a roll call vote.
A bill that clears its house of origin repeats the entire cycle in the second chamber: committee assignment, hearings, floor votes. Both chambers must approve identical language. If the second chamber amends the bill, it goes back to the originating chamber to accept or reject the changes, and a conference committee may iron out disagreements.
The Governor’s Role
Once both chambers pass the same version, the bill goes to the governor. During session, the governor has five days (excluding Sundays) to sign or veto. If the governor does nothing within that window, the bill becomes law without a signature. After the legislature adjourns, the timeline extends to ten days. A veto issued after adjournment gets returned to the legislature for a possible override vote at the next session.
Internal Deadlines That Kill Bills
The 120-day clock would be meaningless without internal deadlines forcing action at each stage. Leadership sets a detailed calendar at the start of every session. The 2025 session followed this pattern:
- Mid-February: deadline for legislators to submit BDR requests
- Mid-March: deadline for bill introductions
- Mid-April: bills must pass out of committee in their house of origin
- Late April: bills must pass their house of origin floor vote
- Mid-May: bills must clear committee in the second house
- Late May: bills must pass the second house floor vote
Miss any of these cutoffs and a bill is effectively dead for the session.7Nevada Legislature. Nevada Electronic Legislative Information System Exempt bills, typically budget-related measures, can bypass some of these deadlines, but ordinary legislation has no escape hatch. This is where most ambitious proposals quietly expire, in a committee that simply ran out of time.
The Two-Thirds Vote for Revenue Bills
Nevada’s constitution adds an extra hurdle for any bill that raises revenue. Article 4, Section 18 requires a two-thirds vote in both chambers to pass legislation that creates or increases any tax, fee, assessment, or rate.8Nevada Legislature. The Constitution of the State of Nevada A simple majority won’t do it. In a 42-member Assembly, that means 28 votes; in a 21-member Senate, 14. Even when one party controls both chambers, passing a tax increase demands broad agreement, and a small group of holdouts can block revenue measures entirely.
Special Sessions
Between regular sessions, the governor can convene the legislature on short notice under Article 5, Section 9 of the Nevada Constitution. The governor issues a proclamation specifying the business to be addressed, and lawmakers are limited to that stated agenda.8Nevada Legislature. The Constitution of the State of Nevada Special sessions carry their own constitutional time limit: 20 calendar days, with any action taken after midnight on day 20 declared void.
Lawmakers can also call themselves back without the governor’s involvement. Article 4, Section 2A allows a special session if two-thirds of the members elected to each chamber sign a petition specifying the business and a convening date. The petition goes to the Secretary of State, who notifies all legislators and the governor.9FindLaw. Nevada Constitution Art 4 2A – Special Sessions of Legislature Either way, lawmakers cannot introduce unrelated bills during a special session.
What Happens Between Sessions
The roughly 20 months between regular sessions aren’t dead time. The legislature creates interim committees to study complex issues that need more attention than a 120-day session allows. These committees hold public meetings, hear testimony, gather data, and produce recommendations that often become the foundation for bills introduced in the next session.10Nevada Legislature. Interim Committees Home
The Legislative Counsel Bureau stays active during the interim, providing legal research and fiscal analysis to individual legislators year-round.5Nevada Legislature. The Legislative Counsel Bureau The Legislative Commission, a body made up of legislative leaders from both chambers, oversees LCB operations between sessions and can authorize more extensive research projects. For anyone tracking Nevada policy, the interim period is when the groundwork for the next session’s biggest fights gets laid.
How to Follow Bills and Testify
The Nevada Electronic Legislative Information System, known as NELIS, is the main public portal for tracking legislative activity. It provides real-time access to bill text, amendments, committee schedules, and vote records.7Nevada Legislature. Nevada Electronic Legislative Information System You can search by bill number, keyword, or legislator name, and set up alerts to follow specific measures through the process.
If you want to go beyond monitoring, committee hearings are your entry point. Committees take public testimony before voting on bills, and you can appear in person in Carson City or participate remotely through video links available at state office buildings in Las Vegas and other locations. Written comments submitted through NELIS also become part of the official record. Contacting your Assembly member or senator directly by email or phone remains the simplest way to register your position on a specific bill.