CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - New laws that went into effect Wednesday in Nevada ban the use of vaping products and electronic cigarettes in most public places, and levy a new 30% wholesale tax on e-cigarettes.
Other new laws include an omnibus gun measure that bans bump stocks, creates laws to take guns away from potentially dangerous or at-risk people and drops the legal alcohol level for having a gun to 0.08%.
A variety of other laws ensure equal pay for equal work regardless of gender, and require police officers to disclose the purpose of their questions before asking people who have been arrested about their immigration status, according to a summary compiled by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
An expansion of the state’s clean-air law says vaping and e-cigarettes are no longer allowed in indoor places of employment, child care facilities, theaters, arcades, malls, restaurants and bars where minors aren’t prohibited.
Use of tobacco products, electronic cigarettes, or vaping products will be allowed only in areas of casinos and stand-alone bars where minors are prohibited as well as retail tobacco stores, strip clubs or brothels and convention floors at tobacco-related trade shows, the Southern Nevada Health District said.
Another new law makes it illegal for an employer to refuse employment to someone based on a positive test for marijuana use. It doesn’t cover firefighters, doctors, or those who drive for a living.
Several new laws affect workers rights and health insurance.
Employers now are required to provide a minimum level of health insurance to workers in order to pay them a lower $7.25 per hour minimum wage. And companies and organizations that employ 50 or more workers must offer at least 40 hours of paid sick leave a year.
Nevada also became the fifth state to fully incorporate the federal Affordable Care Act’s protections for patients with pre-existing conditions and help consumers navigate and resolve problems with their insurers.
A new campaign reform law prohibits candidates from paying themselves a salary out of campaign accounts or using unspent campaign funds for personal use. Violators could face $10,000 penalties, up from $5,000.
Lawmakers also passed a homeless youth fee waiver measure in honor of its original sponsor, Assemblyman Tyrone Thompson, who died during the session. Homeless people younger than 25 can get fees waived for drivers license exams, licenses, ID cards, birth certificates and other records.
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