Thursday, June 30, 2022 | 2 a.m.
Through efforts such as increasing awareness of apprenticeship programs and providing resources in different languages, Nevada is working to improve workforce development pipelines for the state’s immigrant community.
The Keep Nevada Working Act, passed as Assembly Bill 376 in the 2021 Legislature, created a task force to help bolster immigrants’ options for work. On July 1 — Friday —that task force is requiredto submit a report to the Legislature detailing just how it aims to help immigrants and their families in Nevada.
The Keep Nevada Working Act is among a group of laws that include deadlines of or go into effect Friday in Nevada.
The eight-member task forceh as met several times, Torres said, and is putting together its findings and goals.
Keep Nevada Working Task Forcemembers are Cano Burkhead; Maggie Salas Crespo, former senior adviser for the state’s Office of New Americans; Henderson Police Lt. Chris Aguiar; Alissa Cooley, UNLV Immigration Clinic managing attorney; Michael Flores, UNR director of government relations; Bethany Kahn, Culinary union communications director; Jennie Kim, Clark County Asian American and Pacific Islander Commission member and adviser for NV AAPI Chamber of Commerce; Alletha Muzorewa, workforce development expert; and Vince Saavedra, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement president.
The task force’s report will identify the need to increase awareness for immigrants, especially high school students, on the availability of union apprenticeship programs. It also will recommend more resources be made available in different languages and for professional licensure requirements to be reviewed for immigrants who have skills from their home countries.
Other laws set to take effect Friday across Nevada:
• AB 97 requires any local or state government and agency who discharges Class B firefighting foam with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to notify the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ division of environmental protection within 24 hours after the discharge.
PFAS are widely used chemicals that last a long time and have been found in small amounts in the blood of people and animals. Exposure to PFAS may be linked to harmful health effects. PFAS are in some of the most effective firefighting foams butcan seep into drinking water systems.
• AB 105 requires the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association to include at least three members who are parents or guardians of students who participate in a sport and at least three members who are students currently participating in a sport.
• AB 189 requires the director of the Department of Health and Human Services to expand coverage under the State Plan for Medicaid for pregnant women who qualify for Medicaid.
• AB 261 requires the board of trustees of a school district to provide students with instruction on the history and contributions of Native Americans, people of marginalized sexual orientation, people with disabilities, people from various racial and ethnic backgrounds, immigrants and people from various religious backgrounds.
• AB 399 prohibits farm owners in Nevada from confining egg-laying hens in an enclosure that has less than 1 square foot of usable floor space per hen.
• AB 424 requires a pretrial release hearing within 48 hours after a person has been arrested. It also allows a judge to conduct a pretrial release hearing for a person in another township.
• SB 5 aims to improve patient access to telehealth. It requires the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a data dashboard that allows for the analysis of data relating to access to telehealth by different groups of people in Nevada.
• SB 102 changes the date by which a child must be a certain age to be in a grade level. Instead of Sept. 30, the new date will be the first day of the school year.
• SB 151 requires the boards of trustees of school districts to develop a plan aiming to improve student to staff ratios. It also requires school counselors, psychologists and social workers to complete continuing education.
• SB 172 requires the State Board of Education to provide a uniform grading scale for dual credit courses and international baccalaureate courses.
• SB 354 requires the Department of Education to develop a statewide framework for restorative justice. It prohibits a public school from suspending a student or removing them from school without providing a restorative justice plan first. It also requires schools to consider the effects of homelessness when deciding to suspend or expel a student.
