Staying Ahead of the Curve: Legislative Updates for Nevada CRE Clients

During the Nevada Legislature’s regular 2025 session, state lawmakers considered a total of 601 Assembly Bills (“AB”), 508 Senate Bills (“SB”), and 28 joint resolutions, with much of the action occurring during the last week of the session—including a record 87 vetoes by Gov. Joe Lombardo.

Highlighted below are several of the enrolled bills affecting commercial real estate.

Public Lands

The legislature considered three resolutions (i.e., AJR10, AJR12 and SJR4) to address the scarcity of land for development within the state, which is over 80% federally owned. None of these measures passed, due at least in part to the highly politicized debate around public lands at the federal level.

Nonetheless, SB15, which did pass, eliminates caps on fees charged by Clark County under the Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan, paving the way to extend that streamlined environmental review program if additional land is released for development in the future. Additionally, Gov. Lombardo and the Bureau of Land Management signed a data sharing agreement to consolidate and improve information sharing about federal land that is available for disposal in Nevada.

Water Rights

As drought and water scarcity impact the state, the legislature considered several bills aimed at water conservation and infrastructure.

• AB10: Existing law allows for a governing body to create an improvement district for certain local improvement projects and to finance the cost thereof. In response to an issue at a Henderson homeowner’s association that required over $500,000 to replace a broken water distribution system, this bill expands the scope of such projects to include water or sewer systems owned by a common interest community.

• AB104 and SB36: These bills, in relevant part, create (a) the Account for Retiring Water Rights, which is to be used for the purchase of certain decreed or certificated groundwater rights, and (b) the Voluntary Water Rights Retirement Program, by which such water rights may be acquired or donated through June 30, 2035. Retired water rights may not thereafter be appropriated. While neither bill provides new funding to retire water rights, each provides a necessary framework to implement the programs.

Local Government

Local governments serve as the gatekeepers to commercial development, and the legislature passed several bills aimed at local planning, regulation and property conditions.

• AB241: Directed at expanding housing availability, this bill amends NRS Chapter 278, which governs local planning, to require that no later than March 1, 2026, each governing body adopt an ordinance authorizing by-right a multifamily housing or mixed-use development that includes residential use on property zoned for commercial use. The ordinance may establish standards for doing so; industrial property does not fall within the scope of commercial use.

• SB28: Championed by the City of Las Vegas, this bill encourages development of public transportation near housing developments. It will allow developers proposing projects that align with a municipality’s goals for affordability or transit-oriented development (TOD) to partner with local governments to use tax increment financing to fund necessary public infrastructure, such as new roads, utility upgrades or transit stops. This can significantly reduce a developer’s off-site improvement costs, making large-scale, master-planned and mixed-use projects more financially feasible.

• SB72: This bill amends the Henderson City Charter, such that the city may now sell any real property (not just unimproved real property) on a time payment basis. It also removes the requirement that the city accept at least its cost of acquisition as consideration for the transfer of real property once owned by the states, Clark County, the federal government or any other quasi-public or nonprofit entity.

• AB211: This bill empowers local governments, tenants and tenant advocacy groups to file a civil action in district court against the owner of a residential multifamily property that is maintained in a “substandard” condition, which includes violations of habitability standards or building codes. Most critically, the court is authorized to appoint a receiver to take temporary control of the property, manage repairs using rents and even borrow money to complete the work, with the owner ultimately responsible for all costs.

Economic Development Incentives

Although neither Gov. Lombardo’s economic development bill (i.e., SB461) nor SB402 and SB420—introducing certain development incentives—passed, the legislature did prioritize economic development. For example, whileexisting law provides that certain local governments may apply to the Office of Economic Development to create an inland port for a contiguous area that includes certain transportation infrastructure and no residential property, AB462 further authorizes “industrial parks” and “industrial park authorities” for property adjacent to an inland port.

Such ports may cross jurisdictional boundaries, subject to the negotiation of an interlocal or cooperative agreement. These areas may benefit from tax increment financing incentives, bonds and securities, subject to payment of prevailing wage. This should help to diversify and stabilize Nevada’s economy by leveraging the state’s strategic location near major West Coast ports and railroads.

Legal and Administrative Issues

The legislature adopted several bills with respect to various legal and administrative matters affecting commercial real estate.

• AB72: This bill, in relevant part, authorizes the secretary of state to adopt a code of professional responsibility for notaries and to establish sanctions for violations thereof. Notably, a notarial officer may refuse to notarize a document if he or she is not satisfied that (a) the person executing the record is competent or has the capacity to execute, or (b) the person’s signature is knowingly and voluntarily made.

• AB192: This bill adopts the Uniform Easement Relocation Act and the Uniform Mortgage Modification Act. The former generally allows a property owner by court action to relocate an easement burdening its land so long as the relocation does not materially impair the utility of the easement to its holder or the condition, use or value of the benefitted property (with certain exceptions related to conservation, public uses and common interest communities). The latter establishes safe harbor provisions for specified categories of mortgage modifications that do not affect the priority of the mortgage or prejudice junior interest holders.

• AB258: This bill requires that brokerage agreements for the assistance, solicitation or negotiation of an agreement for the sale, purchase, option, rental or lease or real property or the sale, exchange, option or purchase of a business must be in writing (i.e., may not be oral).

While the foregoing does not include every piece of legislation affecting commercial real estate, it provides insight into the issues confronted by the state and what our legislature deems important. Please contact a member of our team to answer any questions related to the 2025 legislative session and to help navigate any new opportunities or challenges raised thereby.

---

This document is intended to provide you with general information regarding the Nevada Legislature’s regular 2025 session. The contents of this document are not intended to provide specific legal advice. If you have any questions about the contents of this document or if you need legal advice as to an issue, please contact the attorneys listed or your regular Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP attorney. This communication may be considered advertising in some jurisdictions. The information in this article is accurate as of the publication date. Because the law in this area is changing rapidly, and insights are not automatically updated, continued accuracy cannot be guaranteed.