Secretary of State schedules adoption hearings and warns of statutory freeze on election-related regulation after Feb. 26

Deputy Secretary of State Mark Velaschin closed the workshop by outlining the regulatory timetable and statutory deadlines that will govern the remainder of the rulemaking process.

Velaschin said the first adoption hearing will be held next Wednesday, Jan. 21, followed by another adoption hearing on Jan. 23; a third adoption hearing is scheduled for Feb. 17. He said that if the Secretary of State adopts regulations, the next step will be consideration by the Legislative Commission, which is calendared for Feb. 26 at 1 p.m. in Room 165 of the Legislative Office Building in Las Vegas and video-conferenced to Carson City.

Velaschin explained that NRS 293.247 (as read into the record) imposes a window during which permanent regulations governing the conduct of an election must be effective to apply to that election and that, after the Feb. 26 date, the office will pause proposing or publishing new regulations related to the conduct of an election until after the general election. He also noted that permanent regulations governing a presidential preference primary must be effective before September 2027 to govern that election.

The workshop was adjourned after these announcements.