The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Nevada authorizes State Engineer to retire relinquished water rights and amends permit cancellation rules
Last action · April 12, 2025: (Pursuant to Joint Standing Rule No. 14.3.1, no further action allowed.)Sponsor: James Ohrenschall
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What This Bill Proposed
Senator James Ohrenschall introduced SB 342 to authorize the State Engineer to coordinate the relinquishment of water rights in designated s and mandate the retirement of those rights. The bill prohibits new water s from retired rights sources and updates permit cancellation and review procedures. The measure remains in Senate committee following initial introduction.
Changes how water rights can be permanently retired in designated basins and alters the rules for reviewing cancelled water permits, directly impacting water permit holders and agricultural or municipal water users.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Water permit holders
Permit holders face new restrictions regarding permit cancellations and the ability to relinquish and permanently retire water rights in designated basins.
State Engineer
The State Engineer gains new authority and responsibilities to coordinate water right relinquishments and enforce the retirement of those rights.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to water rights that are voluntarily relinquished?
Can new water be appropriated from a source where rights have been retired?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in Senate committee.
Procedural history
3 actions- Apr 12, 2025(Pursuant to Joint Standing Rule No. 14.3.1, no further action allowed.)
- Mar 13, 2025CommitteeFrom printer. To committee.
- Mar 12, 2025IntroducedRead first time. Referred to Committee on Natural Resources. To printer.
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Formalization of Water Right Retirement
The bill introduces a statutory mechanism for the State Engineer to coordinate and permanently retire water rights in designated groundwater basins.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.leg.state.nv.us
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 60)
- Controversy35Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz15Current news / social attention level
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