Assemblymember Brian Hibbits told the Senate Committee on Revenue that Assembly Bill 243 would provide a partial property tax exemption to surviving spouses of members of the U.S. Armed Forces who were killed in action.

"We know that our service members sacrifice tremendously for us," Assemblymember Brian Hibbits said, presenting the bill. "Recognizing the weight of all of these sacrifices is incredibly important, but it is critical that we specifically acknowledge and consider what we can do to support the family members whose spouses have been killed in the line of duty."

The bill would grant a surviving spouse an exemption equal to the percentage used for a disabled veteran's exemption under current law, applied to up to the first $20,000 of a property's assessed value, subject to qualifying conditions in the bill. As presented, those conditions include that a claimant must be the surviving spouse or registered domestic partner, must not have remarried, and may claim the exemption in only one county.

In committee questioning, Senator Stone asked how many Nevada spouses would be eligible. "The number of spouses is unknown," Hibbits replied.

Hibbits said there have been 57 Gold Star families in Nevada over the past 25 years, but added that whether those families included surviving spouses who had not remarried is information "that is not kept." Supporters likewise acknowledged the number of actual eligible individuals is uncertain. Andrew Lee Pilbot, chairman of the United Veterans Legislative Council for Nevada, said his outreach to the statewide Gold Star coordinator confirmed the 57-family count and urged passage. "It's a small number but it's the right thing," Pilbot said.

Committee members also confirmed there were no amendments and no opposition or neutral testimony on the record during the public hearing. After the hearing, the committee met in work session. Senator Stone moved to pass the bill; Senator Steinbeck seconded. The committee passed AB 243 unanimously.

If enacted, the bill would create the new exemption as written in the Assembly bill; the measure as presented does not specify a data-reporting requirement detailing the count of eligible spouses or an automatic inflation adjustment for the exemption amount. Questions about administrative implementation and whether the Veterans Affairs disability percentage referenced in the bill would be interpreted as a fixed percentage or mirror changes to other veteran exemptions were raised in committee discussion but not resolved during the hearing.

The committee referred the bill forward with a favorable recommendation.