Key Legislation Effective on July 1, 2015
(Prepared by Joe Tommasino--Staff Attorney for Las Vegas Justice Court)
Bill #
Subject Matter
Courts Affected
JC/Muni.
Section 28, 40, 41, and 42 create new misdemeanors.
JC/Muni.
Section 109 extends the sunset date for the $100 DUI Fee
until June 30, 2017.
This bill revises the date on which certain public employees
become eligible to participate in the Public Employees' Benefit Program to:
(1) the date of hire or first day of the term of office of the public employee,
if that date is the first day of the month; (2) the first day of the month
immediately following the date of hire or first day of the term of office of
the public employee.
Section 1 of this bill revises the membership of the Advisory
Commission to include a municipal judge or justice of the peace appointed
by the governing body of the Nevada Judges of Limited Jurisdiction.
Sections 1 and 8 create new crimes. Section 7 changes the weights relating
to certain marijuana crimes.
This bill creates a new crime.
Section 2 changes the definition of a traffic offense relating to school buses.
Detailed changes relating to PERS. For example, if a person becomes a
member of PERS on or after July 1, 2015, and that member is convicted of
or pleads guilty or nolo contendere to certain felonies, the member forfeits,
with limited exceptions, all rights and benefits under the retirement system.
1
SB 488
2
SB 483
Commercial
Feed
DUI
3
SB 472
PEBP
All
4
SB 449
Advisory
Commission
JC/Muni.
5
SB 447
Marijuana
All
6
7
8
SB 417
SB 410
SB 406
Hunting
Traffic
PERS
JC/Muni.
JC/Muni.
All
Implementation Items
Also, this bill provides an additional benefit option for the spouse of a
member who is killed in the line of duty, the course of employment, or in
the course of judicial service, as applicable, on or after July 1, 2013. This
additional option authorizes the surviving spouse to receive a benefit that is
equivalent to the greater of: (1) fifty percent of the salary of the member on
the date of the member’s death; or (2) one hundred percent of the
retirement allowance that the member was eligible to receive based on the
member’s years of service obtained before the member’s death without any
reduction for age for the deceased member.
Section 5 of this bill provides that a person who becomes a member of the
System on or after July 1, 2015, is eligible to retire at 65 years of age if he
or she has at least 5 years of service, at 62 years of age if he or she has at
least 10 years of service, at 55 years of age if he or she has at least 30 years
of service, and at any age if he or she has at least 33 1/3 years of service.
Section 20 of this bill makes the eligibility requirements for retirement
relating to age and service consistent between public employees and
justices of the Supreme Court, judges of the Court of Appeals, district
judges, justices of the peace and municipal judges.
Sections 10, 14, 24 and 27 of this bill clarify that the term “spouse”
includes a domestic partner for purposes of determining eligibility to
receive survivor benefits from a public retirement system. (ETC.)
1
9
SB 388
Filing Fees
DC
This bill provides that if a district court has issued a final order in a divorce
action that was commenced by the parties filing a joint petition, the county
clerk must charge and collect: (1) an additional fee of $129 the first time
that a party files a motion to modify, adjust or enforce that final order; and
(2) an additional fee of $57 the first time that the other party files an
opposition, answer or response to such a motion.
This bill requires that the proceeds of those additional fees must only be
used for certain purposes which benefit the district court.
10
SB 338
Criminal
Procedure
All
Section 5:
Sec. 5. 1. Except as otherwise provided in this section or as
otherwise authorized pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection 2 of
section 4 of this act, a person must not be compelled to produce or
disclose any record or information provided to the Safe-to-Tell
Program.
2. A defendant in a criminal action may file a motion to compel a
person to produce or disclose any record or information provided
to the Program. A defendant in a criminal action who files such a
motion shall serve a copy of the motion upon the prosecuting
attorney and upon the Director, either or both of whom may file a
response to the motion not later than a date determined by the
court.
3. If the court grants a motion filed by a defendant in a criminal
action pursuant to subsection 2, the court may conduct an in
camera review of the record or information or make any other
order which justice requires. Counsel for all parties shall be
permitted to be present at every stage at which any counsel is
permitted to be present. If the court determines that the record or
information includes evidence that could be offered by the
defendant to exculpate the defendant or to impeach the testimony
of a witness, the court shall order the record or information to be
provided to the defendant. The identity of any person who reported
information to the Safe-to-Tell Program must be redacted from
any record or information provided pursuant to this subsection,
and the record or information may be subject to a protective order
further redacting the record or information or otherwise limiting
the use of the record or information.
4. The record of any information redacted pursuant to subsection 3
must be sealed and preserved to be made available to the appellate
court in the event of an appeal. If the time for appeal expires
without an appeal, the court shall provide the record to the Safeto-Tell Program.
2
11
SB 303
Children
DC
12
SB 273
Criminal Law
All
13
14
SB 263
SB 262
Traffic
Guardians
JC/Muni.
DC
Section 1 of this bill provides that a child is, rather than may be, in need of
protection if the child is in the care of a person responsible for the welfare
of the child and another child has been subjected to abuse by that person,
unless the person has successfully completed a plan for services that was
recommended by an agency which provides child welfare services to
address the abuse of the other child. Section 1 also provides that a child
may be in need of protection if the child is in the care of a person
responsible for the welfare of the child and another child has been
subjected to abuse by that person, regardless of whether the person has
successfully completed such a plan for services.
Existing law sets forth the grounds necessary to terminate parental rights,
including, without limitation, conduct of a parent or parents that
demonstrates a risk of serious physical, mental or emotional injury to the
child if the child were returned to, or remains in, the home of his or her
parent or parents. (NRS 128.105) Section 3 of this bill requires a court to
consider certain factors if the child has been out of the care of his or her
parent or guardian for at least 12 consecutive months, before making a
finding that parental conduct satisfies that provision. Section 4 of
this bill revises the conditions a court is required to consider in determining
neglect by or unfitness of a parent for the purpose of proceedings regarding
the termination of parental rights.
This bill (1) prohibits, under certain circumstances, a custodian of health
care records who has lawful custody of any health care records of a
provider of health care from preventing the provider of health care from
physically inspecting the health care records or from receiving copies of
those records upon request; (2) requires a custodian of health care records
to deliver the health care records or copies thereof to the provider of health
care and the patient under certain circumstances; and (3) subjects a
custodian of health care records who violates a provision of this bill to
prosecution for a gross misdemeanor and punishment by imprisonment in
the county jail for not more than 364 days or by a fine of not more
than $25,000, or both, for each violation and the imposition of a civil
penalty of not less than $10,000 for each violation.
This bill changes the definition of a traffic offense.
Sections 1 and 6.7 of this bill revise the circumstances under which a court
is authorized to appoint a nonresident as a guardian for an adult ward.
Section 6.3 eliminates existing limitations on the authority of a court to
appoint a nonresident as a guardian for a minor ward. Section 1 also
requires the court to give preference in appointing a guardian for an adult
ward to the following persons in the following order, whether or not the
person is a nonresident: (1) a nominated person, who is a person the adult
ward specifically nominated or requested as a guardian in a will, trust or
other written document executed by the adult ward while competent; or (2)
a relative. If two or more nominated persons are qualified and suitable to be
appointed as a guardian, section 1 authorizes the court to appoint two or
more coguardians or generally requires the court to give preference to the
nominated person named in a will, trust or other written document that is
part of the adult’s established estate plan, but there are certain exceptions
for extraordinary circumstances. In selecting a guardian, section 1 does not
allow the court to give preference to a resident over a nonresident if the
court determines that the nonresident would be a more qualified and
suitable guardian and the adult would receive continuing care and
supervision under the guardianship of the nonresident. If the court selects a
nonresident guardian, section 1 requires the court to order the nonresident
guardian to designate a registered agent in this State.
3
15
SB 249
Finance
All
16
SB 212
Criminal Law
All
Section 2.3 of this bill revises the existing list of persons who are preferred
for appointment as a guardian to a minor to include any person
recommended by: (1) an agency which provides child welfare services, an
agency which provides child protective services or a similar agency; or (2)
a guardian ad litem or court appointed special advocate who represents the
minor. Sections 2.1-2.9 and 6.3 of this bill make conforming changes to
reflect the changes made by the other sections of this bill. Existing law
provides that a ward is eligible to have a public guardian appointed as his
or her permanent or general individual guardian if: (1) there is no relative
or friend able and willing to be appointed as a guardian for the ward; or (2)
the court removes a private professional guardian previously appointed for
the ward. (NRS 253.200) Section 3 of this bill provides for the appointment
of a public guardian for an incompetent adult who failed to nominate a
person for appointment as guardian while he or she was still competent or if
the nominated person is not suitable or willing to serve as guardian.
Existing law provides that a person who is owed money by a county and
who fails or neglects to demand payment of the money within 2 years is
disallowed from collecting the amount owed unless, within 6 years after the
initial 2-year period, the person makes a demand for payment. (NRS
354.190) This bill provides that the owner of an indebtedness of the county
must demand the payment of the indebtedness from the county not later
than 1 year after the date of the original allowance or the payment of the
indebtedness is barred unless the board of county commissioners allows
payment.
This bill deletes the following language from NRS 392.910(1):
[It is unlawful for any person to disturb the peace of any public
school by using vile or indecent language within the building
or grounds of the school. Any person who violates any of
the provisions of this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor.]
17
SB 176
Criminal Law
All
Under existing law, with certain exceptions, it is a crime for a person to
manufacture, import, sell, give, lend or possess certain dangerous or deadly
weapons. (NRS 202.350) Section 2 of this bill removes knives which are
made an integral part of a belt buckle and switchblade knives from the list
of such weapons. Sections 1, 6 and 7 of this bill revise definitions of
“switchblade knife” set forth in other provisions of existing law to
accommodate the change made by section 2. Section 9 of this bill repeals a
provision of existing law that authorizes a sheriff to issue a permit to allow
the manufacture or sale of switchblade knives under certain circumstances.
Existing law also prohibits a person from carrying or possessing certain
weapons on the property of the Nevada System of Higher Education, a
private or public school or a child care facility, or while in a vehicle of a
private or public school or child care facility, unless the person: (1) is a
peace officer; (2) is a school security guard; or (3) has written permission
from the president of a branch or facility of the Nevada System of Higher
Education, the principal of the school or the person designated by a child
care facility to carry the weapon. (NRS 202.265) Section 1 adds pneumatic
guns to the list of prohibited weapons on such property. Under existing law,
it is a crime for a person to carry certain dangerous or deadly weapons in a
concealed manner unless the person has a permit to do so. (NRS 202.350)
Section 2 removes dirks, daggers and knives which are made an integral
part of a belt buckle from the list of weapons for which such a permit is
required. Section 2 also adds pneumatic guns to the list of weapons that a
person cannot carry in a concealed manner without a permit to do so.
4
18
SB 168
Human
Resources
All
19
SB 158
Human
Resources
All
20
SB 156
Criminal Law
All
Existing law establishes certain mandatory subjects of bargaining in the
negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement between a local
government employer and a recognized employee organization. Among
these mandatory subjects is a requirement that the parties bargain over
procedures and requirements for the reopening and renegotiation of the
agreement during periods of fiscal emergency. Currently, the existence of
such an emergency is determined on the basis of revenue shortfalls or other
criteria agreed to by the parties. (NRS 288.150) Section 1 of this bill
authorizes a local government to reopen a collective bargaining agreement
during a fiscal emergency and sets forth the circumstances under which
such an emergency shall be deemed to exist. The procedural requirements
relating to the reopening of the agreement remain a mandatory subject of
bargaining.
Existing law provides for the resolution of an impasse in collective
bargaining through fact-finding, arbitration or both, but imposes limitations
on the money that a fact finder or arbitrator may consider in determining
the financial ability of a local government employer to pay compensation or
monetary benefits. (NRS 288.200, 288.215, 288.217, 354.6241) Section 2
of this bill provides, for certain governmental funds of a local government
other than a school district, that a budgeted ending fund balance of not
more than 25 percent of the total budgeted expenditures, less capital outlay,
is not subject to negotiation and cannot be considered by a fact finder or
arbitrator in determining ability to pay.
If a local government employer is a party to a collective bargaining
agreement or similar agreement, existing law requires that the agreement be
approved at a public hearing by the governing body of the local
government employer. (NRS 288.153) Section 1 of this bill requires that a
copy of the proposed agreement and certain supporting material relating to
the agreement be made available to the public not less than 3 business days
before the hearing, either by posting the documents on the Internet website
of the local government or, if the local government does not have such a
website, by depositing the documents with the clerk of the governing body.
Any document so deposited is a public record and must be open for public
inspection. Existing law provides for the public dissemination of any
supporting material provided to a public body in connection with a meeting
of the body, and establishes the time within which such material must be
made available to the public. (NRS 241.020) Section 2 of this bill revises
those provisions to conform with the requirements of section 1.
Under existing law, police officers may establish temporary roadblocks
upon the highways of this State to control traffic at or near the scene of a
potential or existing emergency or hazard. (NRS 484B.573) A person who
unlawfully proceeds through a temporary roadblock shall be punished for a
gross misdemeanor, or for a category B felony if the person is the direct
cause of a death or substantial bodily harm to any person or damage to
property in excess of $1,000. (NRS 484B.580) This bill provides that a
person who unlawfully proceeds through a temporary roadblock that is
established because of flooding or water on the roadway is liable for the
expenses of any emergency response that is required to: (1) remove the
driver or any passenger from the vehicle; (2) move or remove the vehicle
from the roadway or any area near the roadway where the vehicle creates a
hazard; or (3) both (1) and (2). A person is immune from liability for such
expenses if the person unlawfully proceeds through a temporary roadblock
for the purpose of making a good faith effort to assist another person who is
or appears to be in danger as a result of flooding or water on the roadway.
5
21
22
SB 84
SB 69
Providers of
Health Care
Judicial
Retirement
All
All
Existing law provides that certain acts constitute reckless driving, such as
driving a vehicle in willful or wanton disregard of the safety of persons or
property, or willfully failing or refusing to stop a vehicle when given
certain signals by a peace officer. (NRS 484B.550, 484B.653) This bill
provides that a person who is convicted of reckless driving for driving a
vehicle into any area that is temporarily covered as a result of a rise in
water level may be liable for the expenses of any emergency response that
is required to: (1) remove the driver or any passenger from the vehicle; (2)
move or remove the vehicle from the area; or (3) both (1) and (2).
This bill expands the definition of “provider of health care” to include: (1)
an alcohol and drug abuse counselor or a problem gambling counselor who
is certified pursuant to chapter 641C of NRS and an alcohol and drug abuse
counselor or a clinical alcohol and drug abuse counselor who is licensed
pursuant to that chapter. Adding those persons to the list of providers of
health care makes certain requirements that are currently applicable to other
providers of health care applicable to those persons and medical facilities as
well. Such requirements include, without limitation, retention of patient
records, requirements for billing, standards for advertisements and criminal
penalties for acquiring certain debts. (NRS 629.051, 629.071, 629.076,
629.078)
Existing law also includes the definition of “provider of health care” by
reference in various other provisions. By expanding the definition, the bill
expands the definition for those other provisions, thereby making those
provisions include alcohol and drug abuse counselors and problem
gambling counselors. The term is referenced in provisions relating to
various subjects including, without limitation, admissibility of the
testimony of hypnotized witnesses, power of attorney, practice during
declared emergencies, investigations conducted concerning facilities for
long-term care, confidentiality of reports and referrals relating to maternal
health, payments by insurance, release of the results of certain laboratory
tests, drug donation programs, interpreters and realtime captioning
providers and the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange. (NRS 41.141,
48.039, 162A.790, 415A.210, 427A.145, 442.395, 449.2475, chapter 453B
of NRS, NRS 652.193, chapters 656A and 695I of NRS)
Existing law authorizes a retired justice or judge who accepts employment
as a senior justice, senior judge, senior justice of the peace or senior
municipal judge of the Nevada Court System to qualify to receive
allowances under the Judicial Retirement Plan for the duration of his or her
active service if the justice or judge is at least 60 years of age at the time of
his or her reemployment and accepts the employment at least 6 months
after the effective date of his or her retirement. (NRS 1A.360) Section 2 of
this bill changes the minimum age requirement to a requirement that, at the
time of reemployment, the retired justice or judge must be receiving: (1) a
benefit that is not actuarially reduced; or (2) a benefit that is actuarially
reduced but the retired justice or judge has reached the required age at
which he or she could have retired with a benefit that was not actuarially
reduced. Section 2 also reduces the minimum required period before the
acceptance of such employment from 6 months to 90 days after the
effective date of the retirement of the justice or judge. Section 2.5 of this
bill authorizes a retired justice or judge who is a member of the Public
Employees’ Retirement System and who accepts employment as a senior
justice, senior judge, senior justice of the peace or senior municipal judge
with the Nevada Court System to continue to receive allowances
under the Public Employees’ Retirement System for the duration of that
employment.
6
23
SB 60
Fictitious
Addresses
All
24
SB 58
Juvenile
Information/
Criminal Law
All
25
SB 37
Electronic
Supervision
All
Additionally, existing law provides that a retired justice or judge who is
reemployed and commissioned as a senior justice, senior judge, senior
justice of the peace or senior municipal court judge is entitled to receive a
retirement allowance in addition to compensation for his or her service and
is entitled to receive additional service credit for actual time served if he or
she reenrolled in a retirement plan. (NRS 2.060, 3.090) Existing law further
provides that such provisions, in addition to certain other provisions
relating to the benefits of a retired justice or judge, expire by limitation on
June 30, 2015. (Chapter 398, Statutes of Nevada 2009, p. 2222) Section 3
of this bill removes this sunset provision.
Existing law authorizes the Secretary of State to issue a fictitious address to
a victim, or the parent or guardian of a victim, of domestic violence, human
trafficking, sexual assault or stalking who applies for the issuance of a
fictitious address. (NRS 217.462-217.471) Sections 1-5, 17 and 17.5 of
this bill transfer the authority over and funding for this application process
to the Office of the Attorney General.
Existing law authorizes directors of juvenile services and the Chief of the
Youth Parole Bureau, or his or her designee, to release, upon written
request and good cause shown, certain information concerning a child who
is within the purview of the juvenile court to certain other persons involved
in the juvenile justice system. (NRS 62H.025) Section 1 of this bill
specifies that juvenile justice information is confidential and may only be
released under certain circumstances. Section 1 also revises: (1) the
information that may be released; (2) the list of persons to whom the
information may be released; and (3) the circumstances under which the
information may be released. Section 1 further eliminates the requirement
that a request for such information be in writing and revises from 3
days to 5 business days the period in which a denial of a request for the
release of the information must be made to the person who requested the
information. Finally, section 1 makes it a gross misdemeanor for certain
persons to disseminate or make public juvenile justice information.
Existing law makes it a gross misdemeanor for certain persons to
disseminate or make public information relating to child welfare services.
(NRS 432B.290) Section 1.5 of this bill revises the list of persons who may
disseminate or make public such information and the circumstances under
which the information may be released.
Under existing law, certain criminal offenders who have been granted
probation or who are placed on parole or in residential confinement may be
subject to electronic supervision. Existing law provides that: (1) the
capabilities of an electronic device used to supervise such an offender must
be limited to recording or transmitting information concerning the
offender’s presence at his or her residence; and (2) such an electronic
device may not be used if it is capable of recording or transmitting oral or
wire communications or any auditory sound, or any information concerning
the activities of the offender while in his or her residence. (NRS 4.3762,
5.076, 176A.440, 176A.540, 176A.660, 213.124, 213.15193, 213.152,
213.380) This bill revises provisions concerning the capabilities of an
electronic device used to electronically supervise an offender to authorize
the use of devices that are capable of: (1) using the Global Positioning
System; (2) recording or transmitting information concerning the location
of the person being monitored; and (3) producing, upon request, reports or
records of the person’s presence near or within a crime scene or prohibited
area or his or her departure from a specified geographic location. This bill
also maintains provisions of existing law that prohibit the use of an
electronic device which is capable of recording or transmitting oral or wire
communications or any auditory sound, or any information concerning the
activities of an offender.
7
Deceptive
Trade Practices
Case Statistics
DC
Section 6 of this bill authorizes a court to order a person who is not
cooperating with an investigation to cease doing business in this State.
All
AB 435
Judicial
Districts
DC
29
AB 388
Public
Employees
All
Section 1 of this bill eliminates the requirement for the Court Administrator
to submit a separate report relating to certain statistics regarding specialty
court programs, and instead requires such statistics to be included in the
annual report on court statistics. Section 1 also eliminates the requirement
for the Court Administrator to submit a report containing statistics on cases
relating to competency, convictions and malpractice of certain licensed
medical professionals. Sections 15 and 16 of this bill eliminate the
requirement that court clerks submit such case statistics to the Office of
Court Administrator. Section 2 of this bill eliminates the requirement that
the Supreme Court submit a report containing statistics on the use of
arbitration and alternative dispute resolution in the court system.
Section 2 of this bill: (1) increases the number of judicial districts in this
State from 10 to 11 judicial districts; (2) removes Mineral County from the
Fifth Judicial District; (3) removes Lander and Pershing Counties from the
Sixth Judicial District; and (4) provides that Lander, Mineral and Pershing
Counties constitute the Eleventh Judicial District. Section 1 of this bill
provides that there must be one district judge for the Eleventh Judicial
District, and section 3 of this bill decreases the number of district judges in
the Sixth Judicial District from two to one. Section 3.5 of this bill provides
that the Sixth and Eleventh Judicial District Courts have concurrent
jurisdiction over all matters arising from or relating to the administration of
the Humboldt River Decree. The venue for any case or proceeding arising
from or relating to the administration of the Humboldt River Decree must
be determined on an alternating basis between the Sixth and Eleventh
Judicial District Courts.
This bill changes the period during which a public officer or employee is
eligible to take the specified number of days of leave of absence for
military duty each year from a calendar year to a 12-month period selected
by the officer’s or employee’s public employer. This bill requires: (1) the
Personnel Commission within the Division of Human Resource
Management of the Department of Administration to prescribe this 12month period by regulation for each state agency; and (2) each political
subdivision to prescribe this 12-month period for its agencies. Under
existing law, a public officer or employee who is on leave of absence for
military duty receives his or her regular compensation and his or her
military pay during that period of leave. With respect to a state officer or
employee whose work schedule includes a Saturday or Sunday, this bill
limits the officer’s or employee’s compensation for those additional 24
working days of leave as follows, for each hour during any such period of
leave: (1) if the officer’s or employee’s military pay exceeds his or her
regular compensation, the officer or employee receives only his or her
military pay and not his or her regular compensation; or (2) if the officer’s
or employee’s military pay does not exceed his or her regular
compensation, the officer or employee receives his or her military pay and
his or her regular compensation is reduced by an amount equal to his or her
military pay. This bill provides that for any hours in which an officer or
employee receives such compensation, the officer or employee is not
entitled to receive any additional compensation for which he or she would
otherwise be eligible or use any paid or certain unpaid leave. This bill also
limits the use of the additional 24 working days of leave from service under
any type of orders to only service under orders for training that is scheduled
on a Saturday or Sunday. Finally, this bill clarifies the terms “work
schedule” and “working day” for purposes of accounting for officers’ and
employees’ leave of absence for military duty and clarifies that the leave
must be accounted for on an hourly basis instead of a daily basis.
30
AB 332
Criminal Law
All
26
AB 481
27
AB 457
28
Section 1 creates a new gross misdemeanor.
8
31
AB 324
Children
DC
32
AB 293
Public
Administrators
DC
Existing federal law requires a judge at a permanency hearing to: (1) ask
the child about his or her desired permanency outcome; (2) if the judge
determines that another permanency outcome is better for the child, to
explain why; and (3) if the judge determines that it is not in the best
interests of the child to return home, be placed for adoption or be placed
with a legal guardian or relative, provide compelling reasons for that
determination. (42 U.S.C. § 675a(a)(2)) Existing state law requires a judge
at a permanency hearing to prepare an explicit statement of the facts upon
which he or she based his or her determination regarding the best interests
of the child. Section 6 revises this requirement to meet the federal
requirements.
Existing law authorizes a public administrator, without procuring letters of
administration and upon filing with the court an affidavit of his or her right
to do so, to administer an estate in which the gross value of the decedent’s
property does not exceed $20,000. (NRS 253.0403) Section 1.5 of this bill
increases this threshold amount to $25,000.
Under existing law, a public administrator may secure the property of a
deceased person before the issuance of letters of administration for the
estate of the decedent, before filing an affidavit to administer the estate or
before petitioning to have the estate set aside without administration if the
public administrator finds that there are no relatives of the decedent who
are able to protect the property or that the failure to secure the property
could endanger the property. (NRS 253.0405) Section 1.7 of this bill
instead authorizes a public administrator to act on behalf of the estate
of a deceased person to identify and secure all tangible and intangible
assets of the estate before the issuance of letters of administration, before
filing the affidavit, before petitioning to have the estate set aside without
administration and without giving notice to next of kin if the public
administrator finds that there are no relatives of the decedent who are able
to protect the property or that the failure to secure the property could
endanger the property.
33
AB 179
Personal
Information
All
Section 1.7 also prohibits a public administrator from distributing,
liquidating or otherwise administering the assets of an estate before a court
has issued letters of administration for the estate or otherwise authorized
the public administrator to act as administrator of the estate. Additionally,
section 1.7 authorizes a public administrator who has identified and
secured the assets of an estate to authorize a relative of the decedent, a
named executor or trustee of the estate or an attorney or other natural
person designated by the next of kin of the decedent to access the real
and personal property of the estate.
This bill expands the definition of “personal information” to include such
items of information as electronic mail addresses and passwords, driver’s
authorization card numbers, medical and health insurance identification
numbers and other similar information.
NRS 603A.040: 1. “Personal information” means a natural person’s
first name or first initial and last name in combination with any one
or more of the following data elements, when the name and data
elements are not encrypted:
(a) Social security number.
(b) Driver’s license number, driver authorization card number or
identification card number.
(c) Account number, credit card number or debit card number, in
combination with any required security code, access code or
password that would permit access to the person’s financial
account.
9
34 AB 132
Filing Fee
DC
35
AB 81
Specialty
Courts
All
36
AB 79
Criminal Law
JC/Muni.
(d) A medical identification number or a health insurance
identification number.
(e) A user name, unique identifier or electronic mail address
in combination with a password, access code or security
question and answer that would permit access to an online
account.
2. The term does not include the last four digits of a social
security number, the last four digits of a driver’s license number,
the last four digits of a driver authorization card number or
the last four digits of an identification card number or publicly
available information that is lawfully made available to the general
public from federal, state or local governmental records.
Existing law requires a person who commences an action for divorce in a
district court to pay a fee of $20 to the county clerk for use by the Director
of the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation to
administer the provisions of law relating to the education and counseling of
displaced homemakers. (NRS 19.033) Section 1 of this bill increases the
fee to $30. Section 1 additionally requires a person who commences an
action for the termination of a domestic partnership in a district court to pay
such a fee.
Existing law provides that in certain circumstances, an alcoholic or a drug
addict who has been convicted of a crime is eligible to elect to be assigned
by the court to a program of treatment for the abuse of alcohol or drugs
before he or she is sentenced. (NRS 458.300) If the court finds that the
person is eligible to make such an election, the court is required to hold a
hearing before it sentences the person to determine whether the person
should receive treatment under the supervision of a state-approved facility
for the treatment of alcohol or drugs. (NRS 458.310) Section 11 of this bill
defines the term “treatment provider” as a public or private agency,
residential treatment center, facility for the treatment of abuse of alcohol or
drugs, voluntary organization which is certified by the Division of Public
and Behavioral Health of the Department of Health and Human Services, or
a licensed or certified psychologist, marriage and family therapist, social
worker or alcohol, drug and gambling counselor. Sections 12-19 and 21-24
of this bill replace certain references to the term “facility” in chapter 458 of
NRS with the term “treatment provider.” Sections 9, 10 and 26.5 of this
bill provide that if a court places a person under the supervision of a
treatment provider to receive treatment, the court may, in certain
circumstances, authorize the person to complete any period of treatment
remaining under the supervision of a treatment provider in another
jurisdiction. Sections 9 and 21 revise the duties of the court when the court
offers the election of a treatment program to a person. Section 22 provides
that if a person makes such an election to participate in a treatment program
and the court has a specialty court for the supervision and monitoring of the
person, the treatment provider must comply with the requirements of the
specialty court. Existing law also allows certain offenders found guilty of
driving under the influence of alcohol or a prohibited substance to apply to
the court to undergo a program of treatment for alcoholism and drug abuse.
(NRS 484C.320, 484C.330, 484C.340) Sections 27-34 of this bill replace
the term “treatment facility” for the purposes of chapter 484C of NRS with
the term “treatment provider.” Sections 28-30 also revise the duties of the
court upon determining that an application for treatment should be granted.
Sections 8, 9, 25 and 26 of this bill generally replace references to facilities
for the treatment of abuse of alcohol or drugs in other chapters of NRS with
the term “treatment provider.”
Sections 13 and 16 remove misdemeanor penalties for violating certain
laws.
10
37
AB 77
Criminal Law
JC/Muni.
38
AB 70
Marijuana
All
39
AB 68
Judicial
Discipline
All
Section 21 increases a criminal penalty from a misdemeanor to a gross
misdemeanor and allows the State to recover costs of the proceeding.
Sections 1 and 2 of this bill and sections 13-15 adopt provisions
governing penalties for failure to pay, claims for refunds and credits, and
the payment of interest on any overpayment of the tax on medical
marijuana. Section 16 sets forth the procedure by which the denial of a
claim for a refund or credit may be appealed to the Nevada Tax
Commission and provides that the Commission’s final decision on an
appeal is a final decision for the purposes of judicial review pursuant to the
Nevada Administrative Procedure Act. Section 17 denies standing
to commence or maintain a proceeding for judicial review to anyone other
than the person who made the disputed payment. If judgment is rendered
for the claimant in such a proceeding, section 18 provides for the allowance
and computation of interest on the amount found to have been erroneously
or illegally collected. Section 19 prohibits proceedings to prevent or enjoin
the collection of the tax and requires that a timely claim for a refund or
credit be made as a prerequisite to any proceeding for the recovery of a
refund. Section 20 makes it a gross misdemeanor for any person to file a
false or fraudulent return or engage in other conduct with intent to defraud
the State or evade payment of the tax.
Under existing law, the Commission on Judicial Discipline has exclusive
jurisdiction over the public censure, removal, involuntary retirement and
other discipline of judges. (NRS 1.440) Section 2.5 of this bill revises the
definition of the term “judge” to include a person who is a former justice,
judge, justice of the peace or other officer of the Judicial Branch who
presides over judicial proceedings if the conduct at issue occurred while the
person was serving in any such position. Thus, under section 2.5, the
Commission has jurisdiction over a former justice, judge, justice of the
peace or other judicial officer for conduct that occurred while the person
was serving in any such position. Section 3 of this bill: (1) requires that
any complaint or action filed in connection with any proceeding of the
Commission be filed in the Supreme Court; (2) provides that any such
complaint or action filed in a court other than the Supreme Court will be
presumed to be frivolous and intended solely for the purposes of delay; and
(3) requires the Supreme Court to appoint two justices of the peace and two
municipal judges to sit on the Commission for formal, public proceedings
against a justice of the peace or a municipal judge, respectively. Section 3.5
of this bill requires each appointing authority to appoint, for each position
for which the authority makes an appointment to the Commission, one or
more alternate members.
Existing law requires that all proceedings of the Commission remain
confidential until the Commission makes a determination that a reasonable
probability of grounds for disciplinary action against a judge exists and the
special counsel files a formal statement of charges. (NRS 1.4683) Section 5
of this bill instead requires that the existence of a proceeding of the
Commission remain confidential during such time. Section 5 also revises
the information that the Commission is required to disclose if a witness is
prosecuted for perjury committed during the course of a proceeding before
the Commission. Existing law also requires that all deliberative sessions of
the Commission remain private. (NRS 1.4687) Sections 6 and 7 of this bill
require that any minutes of such sessions remain confidential.
Section 1 provides that, unless otherwise expressly provided by law, a
determination or finding by the Commission is required to be recorded in
the minutes of the proceedings of the Commission if the determination or
finding is made before: (1) the filing of a formal statement of charges
against a judge; or (2) the Commission decides to suspend a judge.
11
40
AB 67
DUI
All
Existing law makes it unlawful for a person to drive, operate or be in actual
physical control of a vehicle or vessel while under the influence of
intoxicating liquor or a controlled substance, or both. (NRS 484C.110,
484C.120, 488.410) Sections 9.3 and 20 of this bill define the term “under
the influence” for the purposes of existing law relating to driving, operating
or being in actual physical control of a vehicle or vessel while under the
influence of intoxicating liquor or a controlled substance, or both. Section
9.5 of this bill provides that a person shall be deemed not to be in actual
physical control of a vehicle if: (1) the person is asleep inside the vehicle;
(2) the person is not in the driver’s seat of the vehicle; (3) the engine of the
vehicle is not running; (4) the vehicle is lawfully parked; and (5) under the
facts presented, it is evident that the person could not have driven the
vehicle to the location while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, a
controlled substance or a prohibited substance.
Existing law allows the affidavits and declarations of certain persons to be
admitted as evidence during a criminal proceeding to prove certain facts
relating to the testing of the blood, breath or urine of a defendant to
determine the presence or concentration of alcohol or certain other
substances. In a felony trial, if the defendant objects in writing to the
admission of such affidavits or declarations, the court must not admit the
affidavit or declaration into evidence and the prosecution may cause the
witness to testify at trial concerning the information contained in the
affidavit or declaration. A defendant in a misdemeanor trial, however, must
also establish that: (1) there is a substantial and bona fide dispute between
the prosecution and the defense regarding the facts in the declaration; and
(2) it is in the best interests of justice that the witness who signed the
affidavit or declaration be cross-examined. (NRS 50.315) The Nevada
Supreme Court has held that the additional requirements imposed on a
misdemeanor defendant under existing law violate a defendant’s
constitutional right to confront the witnesses against him or her and are
therefore unconstitutional. (City of Reno v. Howard, 130 Nev. Adv. Op.
12, 318 P.3d 1063 (2014)) Section 1 of this bill eliminates the
constitutional defect identified by the Nevada Supreme Court and provides
instead that an affidavit or declaration must not be admitted as evidence
during a misdemeanor trial to prove certain facts relating to the testing of
the blood, breath or urine of a defendant to determine the presence or
concentration of alcohol or certain other substances if, not later than 10
days before the date set for trial or such shorter time before the date set for
trial as authorized by the court, the defendant objects in writing to the
admission of the affidavit or declaration. Under section 1, if the affidavit or
declaration is not admitted into evidence, the prosecution may produce the
witness to provide testimony at trial concerning the information contained
in the affidavit or declaration at trial.
Under existing law, a person who drives a vehicle in this State is deemed to
have given his or her consent to an evidentiary test of his or her blood,
urine, breath or other bodily substance to determine the concentration of
alcohol in his or her blood or breath or to determine whether a controlled
substance, chemical, poison, organic solvent or another prohibited
substance is present. If a person who has thus given his or her “implied
consent” to an evidentiary test refuses to submit to the test when directed to
do so by a police officer who has reason to believe that the person was
driving a vehicle or operating a vessel while under the influence of alcohol
or a controlled substance, existing law authorizes the police officer to direct
that reasonable force be used to obtain a sample of blood from the person to
be tested.(NRS 484C.160)
12
The Nevada Supreme Court has held that the consent implied by a person’s
decision to drive in this State is not voluntary consent to an evidentiary
blood test and, thus, existing laws that allow a police officer to obtain a
bloodsample from a person without a warrant and without voluntary
consent are unconstitutional. (Byars v. State, 130 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 85,
336 P.3d 939 (2014)) Sections 12 and 14 of this bill eliminate the
constitutional defect identified by the Nevada Supreme Court and provide
instead that if a person refuses to submit to an evidentiary blood test at the
request of a police officer: (1) the officer may apply for a warrant or other
court order directing the use of reasonable force to obtain the blood sample;
and (2) the person’s driver’s license must be revoked for a certain period.
41
AB 65
Notaries
All
Section 14 further authorizes the revocation of a person’s license, permit or
privilege to drive if an evidentiary test reveals the presence of a detectable
amount of a controlled substance or prohibited substance in his or her blood
or urine for which he or she did not have a valid prescription or hold a valid
registry identification card. Sections 15 and 16 of this bill make
corresponding revisions to provisions of existing law which establish the
procedure for effecting such a revocation and provide for an administrative
hearing to challenge such a revocation. Section 25 of this bill makes
comparable changes to existing law concerning the evidentiary tests of
persons who operate or exercise actual physical control over vessels on the
waters of this State. Section 5 of this bill makes comparable changes to
existing law concerning evidentiary tests of persons who have actual
physical possession of a firearm.
Existing law prohibits persons with certain criminal convictions from
becoming notaries public and provides for the revocation of the
appointment of notaries public who are convicted of certain crimes. (NRS
240.010, 240.150) Sections 1 and 6 of this bill clarify that those
convictions include a conviction that follows a plea of nolo contendere or
no contest. Section 1 also prohibits the Secretary of State from appointing
as a notary public a person whose previous appointment as a notary public
in this State or another state has been revoked for cause.
Existing law prohibits a person who has not been appointed as a notary
public from representing himself or herself as a notary public. (NRS
240.010) Section 1 expands this prohibition to include those persons whose
appointment has expired or been suspended or revoked, and provides a civil
penalty for such a violation.
Existing law requires that applicants for appointment as notaries public
complete 4 hours of instruction relating to the functions and duties of
notaries public. (NRS 240.018) Section 3 of this bill shortens the course to
3 hours and requires an examination. Section 3 also requires a person
renewing his or her appointment as a notary public to retake the course, and
allows the Secretary of State to require a notary public who has violated
any provision of chapter 240 of NRS to retake the course. Additionally,
section 3 authorizes the Secretary of State to use an outside vendor to
administer the course and examination. Section 6.5 of this bill makes
similar conforming changes to the course and examination requirements for
an electronic notary public. Existing law requires the Secretary of State to
issue, upon request and the payment of certain fees, an authentication to
verify that: (1) the signature of a notarial officer on a document is valid;
and (2) the notarial officer holds the office indicated on the document.
(NRS 240.1657) Section 6.3 of this bill requires a request for
authentication to include a statement signed under penalty of perjury that
the document will not be used to: (1) harass a person; or (2) accomplish
any fraudulent, criminal or other unlawful purpose.
13
Section 6.3 also prohibits bringing a civil action against the Secretary of
State on the basis that: (1) the Secretary of State has issued an
authentication; and (2) the document has been used to harass a person or
accomplish any fraudulent, criminal or other unlawful purpose.
Additionally, section 6.3 provides that a person who uses a document for
which an authentication has been issued for such unlawful purposes is
guilty of a category C felony.
Existing law prohibits certain actions by notaries public. (NRS 240.075)
Section 4 of this bill prohibits a notary public from affixing his or her
stamp to any document which does not contain a notarial certificate.
42
AB 63
Elections
All
43
AB 53
Judicial Review
DC
Existing law prohibits the use of the Spanish term “notario” or “notario
publico” in any signage or advertisement by a notary public who is not also
an attorney licensed to practice law in this State. (NRS 240.085) Section 5
of this bill extends this prohibition to the employers of notaries public, and
requires the imposition of a civil penalty for violating such a prohibition.
Under existing law, each candidate for elected office must report to the
Secretary of State contributions and campaign expenses, certain loans to the
candidate and loans previously made to the candidate that have been
forgiven, and contributions to and expenditures made from a legal defense
fund. Existing law specifies the dates, both before and after an election, by
which the reports must be filed. (NRS 294A.120, 294A.125, 294A.128,
294A.200, 294A.286, 294A.362) A candidate for office who ends his or her
campaign without officially withdrawing may simultaneously file all of the
reports that are still due from the candidate, once the candidate has
disposed of any unspent or excess contributions and has notified
the Secretary of State that he or she is ending the campaign and will no
longer accept contributions. (NRS 294A.350) This bill clarifies that if such
a candidate is elected to office, despite ending his or her campaign, the
candidate must begin filing campaign finance reports again, starting with
the next report that is due after his or her election to office.
Section 9 of this bill specifies the manner in which a petition for judicial
review is required to be served. Section 10 of this bill extends from 30 days
to 45 days the period after the service of a petition for judicial review in
which certain records are required to be transmitted to the reviewing court
and also imposes a duty on the party who filed the petition to transmit to
the reviewing court an original or certified copy of the transcript of the
evidence. Section 13 of this bill makes it discretionary instead of
mandatory for a regulatory body that initiates disciplinary proceedings
against a licensee to require the licensee to submit his or her fingerprints.
The Nevada Supreme Court recently clarified that the standard of proof that
is required to be used by administrative agencies in administrative hearings
is a preponderance of the evidence. (Nassiri v. Chiropractic Physicians’
Board of Nevada, 130 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 27, 327 P.3d 487 (2014))
Sections 2, 5, 7 and 14- 27 of this bill revise the standard of proof for
administrative hearings in existing law to conform to the preponderance-ofthe-evidence standard in the Nassiri opinion. Section 11 of this bill codifies
into statute the definition of “substantial evidence” in case law for purposes
of the standard for judicial review. (See, e.g., State Empl’t Sec. Dept. v.
Hilton Hotels Corp., 102 Nev. 606 (1986))
14
44
AB 45
Sexual Offenses DC
45
AB 44
Confessions of
Judgment
JC
Existing law requires the Department of Corrections to assess each prisoner
who has been convicted of a sexual offense to determine the prisoner’s risk
to reoffend in a sexual manner. The Department must use a currently
accepted standard of assessment that returns a risk level of low, moderate
or high. (NRS 213.1214) Existing law also requires the Board to release on
parole a prisoner who meets certain criteria, but the Board is not required to
release on parole a prisoner who has been determined to be a high risk to
reoffend in a sexual manner. (NRS 213.1215) This bill eliminates the
requirement that the assessment return the levels of risk specified in
existing law and provides that the assessment must include, without
limitation, a determination of the prisoner’s risk to reoffend in a sexual
manner, including, without limitation, whether the prisoner is a high risk to
reoffend in a sexual manner for the purposes of NRS 213.1215.
Existing law authorizes judgments upon confession to be entered in any
justice court specified in the confession. (NRS 68.050) This bill requires a
written statement, signed by the defendant, to accompany such a judgment.
The statement must include the facts on which the confession is based and
the amount of debt due or contingent liability for which the judgment will
be entered. This bill further provides that the written statement must be
filed with the clerk of the court, and that the judgment may not be amended
to include additional costs or attorney’s fees incurred after the date of entry
of the judgment.
Note:
"A judgment by confession entered pursuant to this
section may not be subsequently amended to include
additional costs or attorney’s fees incurred after the date
of entry of judgment. This limitation does not prohibit
parties from entering into stipulations for payment plans
or stipulations for judgments with specific amounts due."
46
AB 42
Health Care
All
47
AB 13
UIFSA
DC
Section 4 removes a criminal penalty and provides for an administrative
penalty instead.
In 1997, Nevada enacted the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act to
establish the procedures and jurisdictional requirements regarding the
issuance, enforcement and modification of interstate child-support and
spousal-support orders. (Chapter 489, Statutes of Nevada 1997, pp. 231129) In 2009, Nevada enacted certain amendments to the Act to provide that
the provisions of the Act apply to foreign support orders, foreign tribunals,
and obligees, obligors and children residing in foreign countries. (NRS
130.0902-130.802; chapter 47, Statutes of Nevada 2009, pp. 119-40) The
effective date of these amendments is the date on which The Hague
Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and
Other Forms of Family Maintenance is ratified by the President and the
United States deposits its instrument of ratification. (Chapter 47, Statutes of
Nevada 2009, p. 140) Sections 3 and 4 of this bill make these amendments
effective on July 1, 2015, to comply with the federal law requiring that the
Act, as amended in 2008, be in effect in this State not later than that date as
a condition for the receipt of certain federal funds for support enforcement
efforts. (42 U.S.C. § 654(20)(A), 42 U.S.C. § 666(f); Pub. L. No. 113-183,
128 Stat. 1919) Sections 1-2.7 of this bill make certain amendments to
existing law to match the language of the Act.
15