Nevada governor signs bill expanding cancer presumptions

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak on Thursday signed into law changes to the state’s first responder cancer presumption law.

S.B. 215, which passed the Nevada Assembly on June 3 in a 35-6 vote and the Senate on June 1 in a 19-2 vote, expands cancer presumption from firefighters to include fire and arson investigators, fire and hazardous material instructors, and training officers and volunteer firefighters who have been employed in that role five years or more.

The change in the law adds to the list of chemical exposures that may be deemed to be reasonably associated with various cancers, and eliminates language that states that the provisions of the law “do not create a conclusive presumption.”

The law will take effect July 1, 2019, and only apply to claims filed on or after that date.