Lawmakers will hear several high-profile bills on Wednesday to decriminalize abortion, take patients out of the middle of surprise emergency room bills and require municipal elections to be held in even-numbered years.

They’ll also tackle legislation that would prohibit homeowners associations from retroactively banning pets, create nonbinding class size restrictions and allow English learners to attend schools outside the area for which they’re zoned.

For more information on the status of bills working their way through the Legislature, check out The Nevada Independent’s bill tracker. And for the bills in committee today, check out the Legislature’s website for committee times and links to watch live committee meetings and floor sessions.

Here’s what to watch for on Wednesday at the Legislature:

Budget closings

Members of a joint budget subcommittee are scheduled to approve the budget of the Department of Health and Human Services’s Division of Aging and Disability Services. The meeting starts at 8 a.m.

AB161: Prohibits HOAs from banning pets

Sponsored by Republican Assemblywoman Alexis Hansen, this bill would prevent homeowners associations from retroactively banning pets from any homes covered by the association.

The bill does not preempt existing pet bans put in place prior to Oct. 1, 2019, and allows for homeowner associations to put future pet bans in place, but grandfathers in any existing pet owners. The bill passed on a 37-3 vote in the Assembly.

It’s up for a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee at 8 a.m.

SB166: Equal pay protections

This bill, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Pat Spearman, would give the state’s Equal Rights Commission the ability to levy fines — starting at $5,000 — for employers with more than 30 employees found to have willfully violated employment law, as well as giving the commission the ability to levy compensatory damages in cases of discrimination based on sex.

It also expands protections against gender discrimination to job applicants, as well as regular employees. It also clarifies reporting deadlines for when an unlawful discrimination complaint can be filed.

If a complaint is rejected, the bill also requires the Equal Rights Commission to send a letter to the complainant notifying them of their right to appeal the decision to a District Court. It passed on a 20-1 vote in the Senate on April 22.

It’s scheduled for a hearing in the Assembly Government Affairs Committee at 8:30 a.m.

AB50: Even-year municipal elections

If approved, this bill proposed by Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske would move historically low-turnout municipal elections from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years, matching up with the normal election cycle.

The measure would require all municipalities with odd-numbered year elections — currently Boulder City, Caliente, Henderson, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Yerington — to move to even-year elections in 2022, with some carve-outs for Boulder City as it is already moving towards transitioning its election schedule. The measure allows office-holders elected prior to the change to serve an additional year in office prior to the changeover. It passed on a 36-5 vote in the Assembly on April 23.

It’s up for a hearing in the Senate Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections, which will meet after the adjournment of the Commerce and Labor, Education, and Government Affairs Committees.

SB179: Decriminalizing abortion and changing informed consent

Sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Yvanna Cancela, this bill proposes removing criminal penalties on abortion performed outside the scope of Nevada’s abortion statute, including self-induced abortions. Such abortions are currently punishable under existing law as a category B felony with up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The legislation also proposes to remove penalties on anyone who sells drugs to produce a miscarriage and repeals a statute relating to whether someone has to testify against themselves in an abortion-related prosecution.

Another section of the bill would change the state’s informed consent law for abortions by removing a requirement that doctors must explain the emotional implications of undergoing the procedure.

The bill is up for a hearing in the Assembly Health and Human Services Committee at 12:30 p.m.

AB304: Nonbinding class-size reduction

If approved, this bill would require any request by a school district to vary from legally-required classroom size minimums include an action plan to reduce classroom sizes.

Proposed by Assemblywoman Brittney Miller, the bill also requires the State Board of Education to create nonbinding recommendations on the ratio of students per counselor or social worker in public schools. The original version of the bill would have required school districts reach class-size reduction goals by the 2028-29 school year and compensate teachers if their class size was above the authorized ratio, but the bill was substantially amended.

It’ll be heard in the Senate Education Committee at 1 p.m.

AB219: English language learner accommodations

The Senate Education Committee will also consider AB219, which would allow English learners to attend schools that are outside the area they’re zoned for if they want to find a better English language learner program.

An earlier version of the bill, which is sponsored by Democratic Assemblywoman Selena Torres, called for districts to provide transportation to that other school, but that portion has been removed.

The bill will be heard at 1 p.m.

AB205: Pest and weed management at schools

AB205, which requires school districts to have a policy for integrated pest management and train at least 10 percent of their maintenance staff on pest management, is also up for review by the Senate Education Committee at 1 p.m.

AB212 + AB362: Confidentiality for code enforcement agents, social and child welfare workers

Proposed by Republican Assemblywoman Alexis Hansen, AB212 would allow code enforcement officers to obtain a court order keeping their personal information confidential and not subject to public record requests. It passed unanimously out of the Assembly on April 23.

Democratic Assemblyman Ozzie Fumo’s AB362 would extend similar protections for a county employee or social worker who works in child welfare services.

Both bills will be heard at 1 p.m. in the Senate Government Affairs Committee.

AB66: Psychiatric hospitals for crisis stabilization

Sponsored by the Washoe Regional Behavioral Health Policy Board, this bill would allow the state Division of Public and Behavioral Health to establish psychiatric hospitals to provide crisis stabilization services.

Such services would be required to be reimbursable under Medicaid, and managed care organizations that provide insurance to Medicaid recipients would be required to negotiate in good faith to include such psychiatric hospitals in their network.

The bill will be heard in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee at 4 p.m.

AB469: Surprise emergency room billing

This bill — the product of months of conversations between hospitals and health insurance companies — would hold patients harmless for out-of-network bills they receive for emergency medical treatment. Patients would only be responsible for paying their normal copay, coinsurance or deductible that would’ve been required by their insurance company to an in-network provider to the treatment.

The legislation then lays out several methods by which hospitals and doctors can receive payment from insurance companies when they are out of network. Hospitals, for instance, would be required to be paid 108 or 115 percent of the previously contracted rates if they were recently in network with the insurance company, depending on how long they had been out of network; if they never had a contract or were out of network for more than two years, the two would be required to negotiate with one another and, if unsuccessful, go to arbitration.

It’s up for a hearing in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee at 4 p.m.