The Legislature’s recent special session ended without the approval of Assembly Bill 5, also known as the Nevada Studio Infrastructure Jobs and Workforce Training Act.
The previous iteration was Assembly Bill 238, which shared the same name. If approved, the legislation would have resulted in the construction of Summerlin Studios, which is a joint effort between Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros. Discovery and Howard Hughes Corporation.
Summerlin Studios was proposed as a 10-building studio complex with a 500KSF studio/production facility; 100KSF of retail/restaurant/office space; an emergency room and a satellite office for Clark County. Gensler is the architect for Summerlin Studios.
EDITOR’S NOTE: To view our previous coverage on Summerlin Studios and the proposed legislation, click here.
AB5 passed through the Assembly on a 22-20 vote, as it had in the regular session earlier this year. Last session, the bill was not discussed in the Senate. This time, however, the Senate voted 10-8 not to approve the proposal.
Construction groups in support of the legislation claimed it could create up to 19,000 construction jobs and roughly 18,000 permanent jobs once completed.
The legislation needed $1.8B in capital investment by the end of the 2039 fiscal year. Additionally, $4.5B was needed in direct production spending over 15 years from 2029 to 2044. Detractors argued the legislation was more expensive than it was useful.
While the legislation was not passed, Summerlin Studios, or similar projects, are still a possibility. Prior to the special session, Gensler staff told BEX film studio projects have enough attention and support to become a reality in the region without incentives. (NVBEX, Nov. 11)
Other Special Session Results
In total, there were 13 pieces of legislation submitted to Gov. Joe Lombardo for approval. The Governor has 10 days to make his decision on the proposed legislation. By Friday of last week, eight bills were signed into law.
During the session, legislators added a bill that would regulate the number of single-family homes corporations were able to purchase in a single year. Legislators are able to add proposals to special sessions if they have a supermajority.
The bill was proposed by state Democrats, who were just shy of the supermajority. On Tuesday, Sen. Ira Hansen (R-Sparks) and Assemblymember Alexis Hansen (R-Sparks) agreed to include the legislation on the agenda. Alexis Hansen was the deciding “no” vote.
Notably, real estate investors purchased one-third of all single-family properties sold in Q2 of this year. Some have argued that the large number of corporate-owned single-family homes has created an artificial scarcity, which has increased home prices for the consumer and has contributed, in part, to the national housing crisis.
This is not the first time a bill intended to reduce corporate home purchasing was denied, as a similar bill was vetoed by Gov. Joe Lombardo in 2023. Another iteration of the bill was proposed in the 2025 regular session but was unable to make it out of the Senate.
