ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION —
Urging the Federal government to maintain the moratorium prohibiting explosive nuclear weapons testing.  

WHEREAS, The State of Nevada and its citizens have long contributed to U.S. national security by hosting the Nevada National Security Site, previously the Nevada Test Site, where a total of 100 atmospheric tests and 828 underground tests were conducted; and 

WHEREAS, After sustained advocacy by Nevadans, the era of U.S. explosive nuclear testing ended in 1992 when a moratorium on underground nuclear testing was passed by bipartisan majorities in the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President George H.W. Bush, and has been voluntarily upheld by every president for over thirty years; and  

WHEREAS, Former national security officials and other Washington-based research organizations have recently called for renewed explosive nuclear testing, which, if adopted, would occur underground at the Nevada National Security Site in Nye County just 65 miles from Las Vegas and introduce environmental, health, and economic risks to all Nevadans; and 

WHEREAS, When the Federal government first selected the Nevada Test Site for nuclear testing, an estimated 57,000 people lived in Clark and the five nearby rural counties, whereas today these counties are home to more than 2.3 million people; and 

WHEREAS, Explosive underground nuclear testing could inadvertently release radioactive material into the air, as has happened in the past with at least 32 venting accidents from underground  tests at the Nevada Test Site, including the 1970 Baneberry incident which released a significant amount of radioactive material across a vast region of the western United States and exposed 86 Nevada Test Site workers to high levels of radiation; and 

WHEREAS, More than 32,000 downwinder claims have been filed as a result of atmospheric testing, and more than 27,000 claims have been filed under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program by former Nevada Test Site employees and contractors, demonstrating the impact of nuclear testing on Nevada citizens’ healthv; and 

WHEREAS, Exposure to radiation from resumed explosive nuclear testing can result in negative chronic health effects to the local population over time, including cancers, heart disease, neurological disorders, autoimmune disorders and thyroid disease; and 

WHEREAS, Previous underground testing has caused tremors in Las Vegas registering as high as 5.7 on the Richter scale, which rattled residents and visitors, underscoring that resumed testing could pose significant risks to Nevada’s instructure, buildings, and ultimately economy, including its tourism and real estate industries; and 

WHEREAS, Resumed explosive nuclear testing would further contaminate local groundwater sources, as evidenced by the National Nuclear Security Administration environmental reports indicating radioactive materials in groundwater from previous testing, and groundwater’s known effectiveness in dispersing radioactive contamination into the surrounding environment; and 

WHEREAS, There is no technical or military requirement to resume nuclear testing as, the Directors of the Los Alamos, Sandia, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, the Commander of United States Strategic Command, along with the Secretaries of Defense and Energy, have affirmed the safety, security, reliability, and performance of the nuclear weapons annually for over twenty-five years and consistently determined there is no technical or military  requirement to resume testing; and  

WHEREAS, No country other than North Korea has conducted an explosive nuclear test this century, and 187 countries, including the United States, every N.A.T.O. and U.S. Pacific ally, Russia and China are signatories to the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty; and 

WHEREAS, Resuming explosive nuclear testing would undermine U.S. national security by encouraging Russia, China, and other countries to resume nuclear weapons testing and improve their nuclear arsenals; and  

WHEREAS The United States has extensive data from having conducted more nuclear tests than any other country, which fuels today’s powerful science-based stockpile stewardship program with cutting edge diagnostic, modeling and computing capabilities that are second to none; and 

WHEREAS, Polling conducted by the University of Maryland in 2024 found more than two-thirds of Nevada Republicans and Democrats favor continuing to abide by the moratorium on nuclear testing; now, therefore, be it 

RESOLVED BY THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, JOINTLY, That the members of the 83rd Session of the Nevada legislature hereby urge the Federal government to maintain the moratorium on explosive nuclear weapons testing; and be it further 

RESOLVED, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly prepare and transmit a copy of this resolution to the President of the United States, Vice President of the United States as the presiding officer of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, the Under Secretary for the National Nuclear Security Administration, and each member of the Nevada Congressional Delegation; and be it further,  

RESOLVED, That this resolution becomes effective upon passage.