Nevada’s Egg Crackdown: How Democrats Scrambled Your Wallet
By Kelly Chapman January 25, 2025
In 2021, Nevada Democrats pushed through Assembly Bill 399 (AB399), a law that forced egg producers to go cage-free by the end of 2024.
Governor Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, signed it into law, making Nevada the ninth state to ban the sale of eggs from caged hens. Now, Nevadans are left to deal with the consequences — higher prices and fewer choices at the grocery store.
The bill, introduced by Assemblyman Howard Watts (D-Las Vegas), is packed with government mandates that dictate how egg farmers should run their businesses.
“While promoting cage-free eggs comes from a good place – concern for animal welfare – the unintended effect of driving up egg prices have hit people in the pocketbook,” said Assemblywoman Danielle Gallant (R-Clark). “It’s easy to see how Assemblyman Watts, who has plenty of disposal income, might not fully grasp the financial strain on regular folks.”
The law bans traditional caged egg production, requiring all eggs sold in Nevada to come from cage-free facilities, no matter where they're produced.
Farmers with more than 3,000 hens must provide at least one square foot of space per bird and include costly enrichments like perches, dust-bathing areas, and nests.
In simple terms, the government is telling farmers how to farm and consumers how to shop. And guess who pays for it?
You do.
Starting January 1, 2024, every egg on Nevada store shelves were required to be cage-free, whether it was laid in Nevada or shipped from somewhere else.
That means out-of-state farmers must follow Nevada's rules if they want to sell here. This overreach is a classic example of big-government Democrats meddling in the free market.
Egg prices are already climbing, and experts warn they will get even worse.
https://nevadanewsandviews.com/nevadas-egg-crackdown-how-democrats-scrambled-your-wallet/