The proposal for putting public funding toward a new baseball stadium on the Las Vegas Strip for the Oakland Athletics is on the table once again.
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo announced late Tuesday that he has called for a second special session, this time to bring Senate Bill 509 back up for discussion.
The Legislature was called to convene in Carson City Wednesday to consider "a financing and infrastructure project related to the construction of a Major League Baseball stadium consistent with the provisions of Senate Bill 509 (as introduced)," per the governor's proclamation.
Both chambers gaveled in shortly after noon, and a meeting of the whole Senate is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. to discuss the bill.
The meeting will be held in the Legislative Building in Carson City, with videoconferencing at the Grant Sawyer State Office Building in Las Vegas. People can call in to provide public comment by dialing (888) 475-4499, with meeting ID 876 4526 7078, and pressing the pound symbol (#) when prompted.
The newly re-introduced measure, now listed as Senate Bill 1 for the purposes of the special session, proposes committing up to $380 million in public financing to help build a new major league ballpark in Las Vegas for the A's.
Under the bill, the state would put forward $180 million in transferrable tax credits, while Clark County would issue $25 million in credit and more in bonds paid for by an entertainment district created around the stadium.
In addition to the public funding for construction, the stadium would be exempt from property taxes. A percentage of leftover money collected from the entertainment district also would go into a capital improvement fund.
The public funding proposal's fate was cloudy after it failed to advance through the regular legislative session in the last two weeks.
The A's had made several announcements, including two "binding agreements" for land to develop the stadium, but it wasn't until late Friday, May 26, that SB 509 was introduced in the Nevada Legislature, less than two weeks before the regular session was scheduled to conclude.
The first and only hearing for SB 509 was held the following Monday, which was Memorial Day, but no votes were taken and the regular session came to an end Monday without any further action.
Democratic legislative leaders had said they would not vote on any major funding bills until they addressed all aspects of the state budget. The final budget bill in need of approval, the Capital Improvements and Investments Budget, passed through a brief special session held Tuesday night.
It's unclear what the expected schedule is for the latest special session, or if any more hearings will be held on the A's stadium bill.