CARSON CITY — The Nevada Senate Committee on Education on the record opened and advanced Assembly Bill 3 28, a measure that creates an interim study of issues affecting African Americans in Nevada and establishes a Juneteenth commission as a subcommittee under the joint interim committee on education.

Assemblyman Ruben De Silva, sponsor of the bill, told the committee AB 3 28 began as “a commission study, into, the idea, of, looking back into our history and taking a specific look at the, the role of slavery, of of discrimination, of Jim Crow,” and that the measure was amended to broaden the work to study “issues that affect African Americans in Nevada” and to create a Juneteenth commission.

The bill sets a short-term interim study (a subcommittee) under the interim committee on education and establishes membership and duties for a Juneteenth commission. Senator Neal explained the commission’s membership will include academic representatives from African American studies programs at the Nevada System of Higher Education (UNLV, UNR and Nevada State University), representatives of Juneteenth nonprofits and other professionals in education, museum and cultural history.

The bill directs that the subcommittee meet quarterly, terminate at the end of its interim term, and report proposals to the Legislature. The measure also authorizes an “Education Economic Fund” to receive gifts, grants and bequests; Senator Neal said there are currently no state funds for the commission and local governments that historically invest in Juneteenth events may be asked to participate in funding. In explaining the purpose, Assemblyman De Silva said, “All this bill does is now look at it. And in, and based upon that study, there'll be some policy proposals recommended. But again, there's no need to enact, no mandate to enact on those, policy proposals.”

Committee members asked staff and sponsors to clarify the difference between the standing commission originally proposed and the interim subcommittee that the amended bill creates; sponsors confirmed the Juneteenth body will be organized as a subcommittee of the interim education committee and will not exist for the full biennium. Sponsors also said an earlier fiscal note linked to NSHE was removed because the bill is now a study and studies are funded from separate interim-study allocations.

Supporters who testified included Ayesha Goins, first vice president of the NAACP, who said “we support this bill,” and Doug Unger of the Nevada Faculty Alliance/UNLV, who told the committee that the amended bill “creates a Juneteenth standing committee or commission to report an education and culture specific to African Americans” and that the study could “help uncover issues in both K‑12 and higher education and in our communities.” Unger also warned of national efforts to remove certain books from school reading lists and said AB 3 28 “should be a positive effort toward [the preservation of truth].”

The committee later moved AB 3 28 in a work session. A motion to “do pass” was made and seconded; the committee chair called for the ayes and noted recorded opposition from Senators Buck and Titus. The bill will move on from the committee as recommended.

Why it matters: the study is intended to compile historical and contemporary policy recommendations affecting Nevada’s African American residents and to provide a formal vehicle — through meetings and written reports — for community groups, educators and scholars to present proposals to the Legislature.

Next steps: AB 3 28 was advanced by the Senate Committee on Education and will proceed according to the Legislature’s calendar for committee-recommended bills.