A bid to reign in corporate investment in Nevada's housing market met its end in the state legislature's special session. The proposed legislation, SB10, which addressed concerns over increasing housing costs, fell short by a single vote in the Assembly on Wednesday night, garnering a 27-10 vote but missing the two-thirds majority required for passage.
SB10, the brainchild of Democratic State Sen. Dina Neal and Republican State Sen. Ira Hansen, was structured to limit the appetite of corporations acquiring residential properties in the Silver State. According to an 8NewsNow report, Hansen highlighted that corporations bought one out of every four homes sold last year, prompting concerns over their extensive role in the housing market. The bill aimed to force these entities to register with the Nevada Secretary of State's office and would place a cap on the number and types of homes they could purchase in a calendar year.
As per a News 3 LV article, the Senate initially supported the measure with an 18-0 majority, while three senators abstained from voting. But in the Assembly, five members chose to abstain from the vote that culminated in the bill's failure. The lawmakers had introduced SB10 using a procedure never before utilized, rallying two-thirds support from both chambers to petition the addition of the bill during the special session.
In symbolic resonance with SB10's defeat, it was Republican Assemblywoman Alexis Hansen, Sen. Ira Hansen's wife, whose 'no' vote proved decisive in blocking the bill's passage, according to the same 8NewsNow coverage. Advocates for the bill, like State Sen. Dina Neal, had stressed the importance of curbing "corporate greed" which, they asserted, has placed homeownership beyond the reach of "everyday Nevadans." "Corporate greed has hollowed out our communities, putting the American dream out of reach for everyday Nevadans," Neal said in a statement obtained by News 3 LV.
