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VEGAS INC C OV E R STO RY ATION o a fast e about shake. rie and you in Flores, f more were make g from So she n that with 10 ritional are Act nt, a fact of when h still is mirror d. levels, mpacts . "Also, nd that ur food ritional wmaker med at . unford, failed n that k food ants or TECHNOLOGY LEGISLATION EPHEDRINE SALES As methamphetamine addiction continues to grip Nevada, policy makers have looked for ways to restrict sales of the drug's easily obtained precursor ingredients, most notably pseudoephedrine, the main chemical in many over-the-counter cold medicines. Last session, an effort to require prescriptions for pseudoephedrine-containing medicines failed. The push to refine restrictions will continue this session. Assembly Bill 39 would allow for a same-day customer verification system that would enable pharmacists to check whether a customer had purchased pseudoephedrine products that day. The real-time system would replace the log book that pharmacists now are required to maintain. The bill also would set limits for how much pseudoephedrine-containing medicine a customer could purchase within 30 days. CONSTRUCTION DEFECT LEGISLATION Session after session, Republicans have worked either to repeal or significantly curtail state law that governs how homeowners can sue builders for construction defects. The bills haven't gone anywhere. Construction defect legislation often is one of the bargaining chips Republicans use to trade away votes in favor of tax reform. That could change this session. During past sessions, one significant roadblock – Democratic Assembly Speaker John Oceguera – stood in the way of Republican efforts to chip away at Chapter 40, the state's construction defect law. But thanks to term limits, Oceguera no longer is in the Legislature, and Republicans see this session as an opportunity to revive the legislation, which passed the state Senate nearly unanimously in 2009. Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson, R-Henderson, has proposed BDR 480, which he said would mirror the legislation sponsored in 2009 by conservative Democrat Terry Care. "This does not repeal Chapter 40," Roberson said. "This addresses problems of guaranteed legal fees for construction defect attorneys, and it will redefine what a defect is." The legislation also would require homeowners to file lawsuits within three years of a defect instead of the current 10 years. Critics say Care's bill came close to repealing Chapter 40. But it received bipartisan support in 2009. Oceguera, who controlled much of the process, stood in the way of a compromise in 2011. Roberson hopes 2013 will be the year the issue is addressed, even though Sandoval hasn't seemed interested in taking it up. "This is a very important piece of legislation to me," Roberson said. orm, so ailable. ught as on junk ved so . | 28 JANUARY 2013 20130128_VI01_F.indd 15 | Assemblyman David Bobzien, D-Reno, adopted one of his most recent legislative initiatives after reading a news article on Facebook. Apparently, some employers aren't content simply to browse prospective employees' public social media profiles. Instead, they want applicants' user names and passwords, as well. Bobzien takes exception to that, particularly given that many social media sites, including Facebook, prohibit users from sharing their passwords. BOBZIEN "Applicants shouldn't be required to violate the terms of service for these sites," he said. Bobzien noted that he hasn't received any complaints about the practice from constituents in Nevada. But he felt it was important to "stay ahead of the curve" on technology legislation. Rather than impose blanket restrictions on employers who request password information, BDR 48 would prohibit employers from requiring job applicants to violate social networking sites' terms of service. The bill still is in draft form. Bobzien said he modeled the legislation after proposed laws in other states, including Maryland and Illinois. ONLINE GAMING Even with Nevada's own U.S. Sen. Harry Reid at the helm, the state's gaming lobby failed to persuade Congress to take up legislation legalizing online poker. Enter the Nevada Legislature. In a somewhat unusual move for a regulatory agency, the Gaming Control Board has requested state legislation that would allow Nevada to enter into interstate compacts for online gaming. Essentially, the compacts would allow NevadaREID based gaming companies to build a customer base for their online products in other states. Assembly Bill 5 is one of the most important pieces of gaming legislation up for consideration this session. 15 1/24/13 2:39:32 PM