It’s easy to complain about gridlock and bureaucracy in Washington D.C., but Nevada’s federal delegation managed to push forward a slate of new laws in the last session of Congress, which concluded Friday, from expediting federal land purchases to securing funds for a new VA hospital in Reno.
Nevada’s two Democratic senators, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Sen. Jacky Rosen, and its four representatives, Republican Mark Amodei, and Democrats Dina Titus, Susie Lee and Steven Horsford, had a busy year.
Here are the highlights of a few bills Nevada’s congressional delegation passed that have either been signed into law or are expected to receive the president’s signature soon.
1. Accelerating Appraisals and Conservation Efforts (AACE) Act
Lee’s bill aiming to expedite projects on federal land passed both chambers and was signed by President Joe Biden on Saturday.
The bill, endorsed by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo and bolstered by companion legislation Cortez Masto introduced in the Senate, expands access to the appraisers necessary for land transactions by allowing the Department of Interior to contract with private appraisers to tackle federal estimation bottlenecks and expedite the process.
In Nevada, where more than 80 percent of its land is federal, the legislation will give the Department of Interior the flexibility to get land deals done more quickly, and at no additional cost to taxpayers, according to Lee.
2. IMPACTT Human Trafficking Act
The bipartisan bill — of which Titus was an original co-sponsor — establishes a program in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to provide outreach and training to Homeland Security Investigations employees who have been exposed to trauma while working with human trafficking victims.
Lee also signed on as a sponsor to the bill.
3. END FENTANYL ACT
Co-sponsored by Rosen in the Senate, the law requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection to review and update manuals and policies related to inspections at ports of entry at least once every three years, according to the law’s text.
The updates must make sure that inspections effectively respond to changes with technology and methods attempting to disguise the smuggling of drugs and people across the border.
Titus and Lee signed onto co-sponsors in the companion House legislation.
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6. Biking, rock climbing legislation
Two of Lee’s outdoor-related bills passed both chambers as part of the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act, which were recently signed by Biden.
The Biking on Long-Distance Trails (BOLT) Act will provide resources to construct 10 long-distance mountain biking trails in the U.S., and the Protecting America’s Rock Climbing (PARC) Act will protect fixed anchor points on wilderness designations.
The PARC Act, supported by ‘Free Solo’ climber Alex Honnold, makes sure rock climbing is considered a legitimate use of wilderness areas, allowing for the existence and maintenance of fixed hardware on rock climbing routes.
7. Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2024
Multiple Nevada congressional members had a hand in pushing Nevada-specific provisions in the Water Resources Development Act, a sweeping bill supporting nationwide water protection and distribution efforts. The bill has been presented to the president and awaits his signature.
Nevada-specific provisions include the authorization of $29 million for improvements to the Big Bend Water District Treatment and Delivery System in Laughlin; $20 million for Lake Tahoe water and wastewater infrastructure projects; $4 million in flood control plans in Pahrump; and $10 million for water and wastewater infrastructure in Storey County.
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13. Good Samaritan (Good Sam) Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act
Co-sponsored by Cortez Masto and Rosen in the Senate and Lee in the House — with all of Nevada’s delegation in support — the law promotes the remediation of abandoned hardrock mine sites by good Samaritans, and it requires the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a seven-year good Samaritan pilot program that allows people to clean up abandoned hardrock mine sites, according to the law’s text.
Biden signed it into law in December.