Assembly Bill No. 252–Committee on Natural Resources, Agriculture and Mining

February 16, 1999

____________

Referred to Committee on Natural Resources,
Agriculture and Mining

 

SUMMARY—Revises provisions governing liens upon lands entitled to receive water from irrigation districts. (BDR 48-972)

FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.

Effect on the State or on Industrial Insurance: No.

~

EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. Green numbers along left margin indicate location on the printed bill (e.g., 5-15 indicates page 5, line 15).

 

AN ACT relating to public water; revising the provisions governing liens upon lands entitled to receive water from an irrigation district; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

1-1 Section 1. NRS 539.513 is hereby amended to read as follows:

1-2 539.513 1. [For the purpose of defraying] To defray the organization

1-3 and current expense of the district, and of the care, operation, maintenance,

1-4 management, repair, and necessary current improvement or replacement of

1-5 existing works and property, including salaries and wages of officers and

1-6 employees and other proper incidental expenditures, the board may:

1-7 (a) Fix rates of tolls or charges, and provide for the collection thereof

1-8 by the district treasurer as operation and maintenance, or some like

1-9 designation; or

1-10 (b) Levy assessments therefor, or for a portion thereof, collecting the

1-11 balance as tolls or charges.

1-12 [In this relation, provision may be made by the board] The board may

1-13 provide for the fixing, levying and collection of a minimum, flat or stated

1-14 operation and maintenance assessment, toll or charge per acre, whether

1-15 water is used or not, and a further operation and maintenance toll or charge

1-16 for water used in excess of the amount delivered for the minimum charge ,

2-1 [;] or the board may adopt other reasonable methods of fixing and

2-2 collecting the operation and maintenance charges.

2-3 2. Assessments, tolls and charges may be collected in advance, and the

2-4 assessment and such tolls and charges may be based upon an estimate of

2-5 the operation and maintenance revenue required for the current or ensuing

2-6 year, to be adjusted as near as may be from year to year.

2-7 3. Water service may be refused and water delivery may be shut off

2-8 whenever there is a default in the payment of operation and maintenance,

2-9 but all other legal remedies [shall] must also be available for the

2-10 enforcement of the debt.

2-11 4. The assessments, tolls and charges [shall] must be collected by the

2-12 treasurer and deposited in the general fund or operation and maintenance

2-13 fund, and he shall account therefor and disburse the same as provided in

2-14 this chapter.

2-15 5. The assessments, tolls or charges fixed by the board of directors for

2-16 the payment of operation and maintenance expenses, as provided in this

2-17 chapter, [shall become] are a lien upon all lands entitled to receive water

2-18 from the irrigation district system of works, as of the date fixed by the

2-19 board of directors for the payment of the [same,] assessments, tolls or

2-20 charges, whether water is delivered to such lands or not.

2-21 6. If the owner of land upon which a lien is imposed pursuant to

2-22 subsection 5 conveys the right to use the water but does not sell the land

2-23 upon which the lien is imposed, the lien remains in effect until:

2-24 (a) The proposed change in the beneficial use of the water is approved

2-25 by the state engineer pursuant to NRS 533.370; or

2-26 (b) The new owner of the right to use the water enters into a written

2-27 agreement with the irrigation district for the payment of the assessments,

2-28 tolls or charges required pursuant to this section.

~