CARSON CITY -- A measure that streamlines the process for restoring civil rights of criminal offenders after they have paid their debts to society was signed into law Tuesday by Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons.

Currently, certain ex-offenders can have their civil rights restored after they apply to the state Pardons Board, chaired by the governor. But the board only meets twice a year and receives up to 100 applications that are reviewed in a short period of time.

SB238 would allow civil rights to be restored to ex-felons more quickly, provided there are no objections from a sentencing judge or from the prosecutor in the case.

Gibbons also signed:

* SB288, which requires the state Division of Industrial Relations to attempt to meet with and assist families of workers killed on the job.

* AB530, suspending funding to Nevada's K-12 school remediation trust fund. Lawmakers said the change had to be made as part of many budget cuts mandated by the state's recession-spawned revenue shortfall.

* SB229, to ensure that foreign-trained doctors who get visas on the condition that they work in "medically underserved'' areas actually provide care in those areas. Sen. Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, authored the bill.

* SB362, which strengthens the ability of various boards to strip medical professionals of their licenses for unsafe practices;

* SB339, requiring Nevada's Colorado River Commission to conduct a feasibility study to explore the use of hydrokinetic power from the Hoover Dam. The goal of the bill is to look into the widest range of renewable energy technologies possible.

Proponents have said hydropower provides a constant source of energy as long as there are flowing currents of water, in contrast to other sources of energy such as wind and solar.