News - October 21, 2025 - by Ray Hagar

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Earlier this month, Gov. Joe Lombardo said he would call the Legislature back into a special session later this year.

Yet the Republican governor, running for re-election in 2026, did not specify when he would call lawmakers back to Carson City or what would be on the agenda.

Many have speculated that Lombardo wants to revisit the failed attempt from the regular session of the Legislature earlier this year to help build a Hollywood-style movie-making complex in the Summerlin area of the Las Vegas Valley.

The plan -- pushed by Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros. Discovery and Howard Hughes Corporation -- included transferable film production tax credits for about $100 million over 15 years.

If that is Lombardo's plan, he won't have the support of the state Senate Minority Leader Robin Titus, R-Wellington.

"I'm more convinced even now that they (transferable tax credits) are not good for Nevada," Titus said recently on Nevada Newsmakers. "I've done a lot of homework and tried to keep an open mind."

Titus, however, told host Sam Shad that she understands Lombardo's insistence on building the movie studio.

"The governor really wants this to be a jobs bill," she said. "And I certainly understand. We've lost 2,000-plus construction jobs in this last year or whatever time period it is. And so he wants this to be a jobs bill. But I want it to be a sustainable jobs bill, and there's a difference there.

"I'm not against supporting and making Nevada a good economic state to have businesses want to move here. I certainly am for that," Titus continued.

"But there's ways to do that," she added. "We have something called an infrastructure bank that people can borrow money on. We could certainly give grants and loans and hold these folks accountable when they come. But just giving transferable tax credits to somebody, I mean, we only have to look at the Apex project in Southern Nevada to know what a disaster some of the stuff could be."

Titus' "homework" on the issue included a study of Georgia's transferable movie tax credit program. The state is home to the largest movie production studio outside of Hollywood. Titus set up a conference call between her GOP senate caucus and a Republican senator from Georgia who was adept on the issue.

"I wanted to know a little bit more information, how it impacted them and not  get my information from lobbyists," Titus said. "And so we had a caucus call. They (Georgia Republicans) did a great presentation."

The reason why Lombardo has not set a date for the special session yet is because he is still buttressing support for his agenda, Titus said.

If Lombardo doesn't have the votes, then there's no reason to call a special session.

"There's really a possibility we won't have a special session until the governor figures out what he's going to call it for and he has the votes for those things," Titus said. "Now, we'll move along faster if they finally decide to leave the film tax out."

Another factor holding up the special session is the current shutdown of the federal government, Titus said.

Because of the shutdown, there is no clear path forward for funding federal programs that states rely on, such as Medicaid, highway funds, children's nutritional and health services and various federal education grants.

Federal funds make up 27.7 percent of the current Nevada two-year budget, according to the non-partisan Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities. Nevada has $14.8 billion in federal funds in its current overall budget of $53.4 billion, according to the Guinn Center.

"As you are well aware, the federal government is still shut down. We don't know what the outcome is going to be," Titus said.

"I don't see how we could have a special session until we see what happens with the federal government, but that doesn't mean I don't anticipate it going in sooner," Titus said.

Titus said another agenda item for a special session could be crime legislation sponsored by Lombardo that did not pass the Legislature earlier this year. That includes provisions for DUI penalties, “smash and grab” crimes against retailers and school safety.

"We have to support our small businesses," Titus said. "We've got to fix that (smash and grabs). And again, some of these penalties, we can't just keep releasing folks back to the street where they continue to do what they've done before."

Despite her opposition to the tax credits for the proposed movie studio, Titus said she and Lombardo, both Republican leaders, remain on good terms.

"The governor and I have a good relationship and we can be honest and fair with each other when nobody else is in the room, " she said.

Only the governor can call a special session, Titus said, although the Legislature can also call one if it has the support of two-thirds of the lawmakers in both the state Senate and Assembly.

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