Nevada lawmaker drops college degree requirements for state jobs in bill
The top Nevada Assembly Democrat proposes removing college degree requirements for most state government jobs and accepting equivalent levels of work experience from the federal government in a bill introduced Monday.
Speaker Steve Yeager, D-Las Vegas, brought Assembly Bill 547 about a month after he and caucus leaders sent a letter to Joe Lombardo that called on the Republican governor to consider a recruitment plan for former federal employees laid off during the Trump administration’s cuts.
“With the rising cost of daily life, high unemployment rate, and tariffs negatively impacting key Nevada industries, we can’t arbitrarily deprive Nevadans of appropriate job opportunities just because they don’t have a college degree,” Yeager said in a news release. “AB547 will expand career opportunities for all Nevadans and ensure that former federal workers recklessly and indiscriminately fired by the Trump/Musk administration have job opportunities right here in Nevada. This is common sense legislation that promotes economic stability and responsible governance.”
AB 547 proposes that the “appointing authority,” or the person or group in charge of hiring, would not require a bachelor’s degree precondition for employment in state jobs. It would also recognize relevant federal government employment as equivalent to state employment.
The legislation has an exemption that allows hiring leaders to decide if the “knowledge, skills or abilities required” for the role can only be obtained through earning a bachelor’s degree.
Democratic caucus officials said AB 547 is modeled after executive orders in four other states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and New Mexico.
Yeager and Speaker Pro-Tempore Daniele Monroe-Moreno and Majority Floor Leader Sandra Jauregui asked Lombardo in the March 5 letter to hire recently laid off federal workers to fill vacancies in the state, in part citing their concern over the state’s high unemployment rate.
Lombardo and some Republican state lawmakers dismissed the letter at the time, calling it politically motivated.
A representative for Lombardo did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.
