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).

1-1 Section 1. NRS 354.624 is hereby amended to read as follows:

1-2 354.624 1. Each local government shall provide for an annual audit

1-13 submits an application for an extension to the department. If the local

2-1 government fails to provide for an audit in accordance with the provisions

2-2 of this section, the department of taxation shall cause the audit to be made

2-3 at the expense of the local government. All audits must be conducted by a

2-4 public accountant who is certified or registered or by a partnership or

2-5 professional corporation that is registered pursuant to chapter 628 of NRS.

2-6 2. The annual audit of a school district must [be] :

2-7 (a) Be concluded and the report submitted to the board of trustees as

2-8 provided in subsection 5 not later than 4 months after the close of the fiscal

2-9 year for which the audit is conducted.

2-10 (b) If the school district has more than 150,000 pupils enrolled,

2-11 include an audit of the expenditure by the school district of all public

2-12 money used:

2-13 (1) To design, construct or purchase new buildings for schools or

2-14 related facilities;

2-15 (2) To enlarge, remodel or renovate existing buildings for schools

2-16 or related facilities; and

2-17 (3) To acquire sites for building schools or related facilities, or

2-18 other real property for purposes related to schools.

2-19 3. The governing body may, without requiring competitive bids,

2-20 designate the auditor or firm annually. The auditor or firm must be

2-21 designated not later than 3 months before the close of the fiscal year for

2-22 which the audit is to be made.

2-23 4. Each annual audit must cover the business of the local government

2-24 during the full fiscal year. It must be a financial audit conducted in

2-25 accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, including comment

2-26 on compliance with statutes and regulations, recommendations for

2-27 improvements and any other comments deemed pertinent by the auditor,

2-28 including his expression of opinion on the financial statements. The

2-29 department of taxation shall prescribe the form of the financial statements,

2-30 and the chart of accounts must be as nearly as possible the same as the chart

2-31 that is used in the preparation and publication of the annual budget. The

2-32 report of the audit must include:

2-33 (a) A schedule of all fees imposed by the local government which were

2-34 subject to the provisions of NRS 354.5989;

2-35 (b) A comparison of the operations of the local government with the

2-36 approved budget, including a statement from the auditor that indicates

2-37 whether the governing body has taken action by adoption as recommended,

2-38 by adoption with modifications or by rejection on any deficiencies in

2-39 operations and recommendations for improvements which were noted or

2-40 made in previous reports;

2-41 (c) A statement from the auditor that indicates whether each of the

2-42 following funds established by the local government is being used

3-1 expressly for the purposes for which it was created, in the form required by

3-2 NRS 354.6241:

3-3 (1) An enterprise fund.

3-4 (2) An internal service fund.

3-5 (3) A trust or agency fund.

3-6 (4) A self-insurance fund.

3-7 (5) A fund whose balance is required by law to be:

3-8 (I) Used only for a specific purpose other than the payment of

3-9 compensation to a bargaining unit, as defined in NRS 288.028; or

3-10 (II) Carried forward to the succeeding fiscal year in any designated

3-11 amount; and

3-12 (d) A list and description of any property conveyed to a nonprofit

3-13 organization pursuant to NRS 244.287 or 268.058.

3-14 5. The recommendations and the summary of the narrative comments

3-15 contained in the report of the audit must be read in full at a meeting of the

3-16 governing body held not more than 30 days after the report is submitted to

3-17 it. Immediately thereafter, the entire report, together with any related letter

3-18 to the governing body required by generally accepted auditing standards or

3-19 by regulations adopted pursuant to NRS 354.594, must be filed as a public

3-20 record with:

3-21 (a) The clerk or secretary of the governing body;

3-22 (b) The county clerk;

3-23 (c) The department of taxation; and

3-24 (d) In the case of a school district, the department of education.

3-25 6. The governing body shall act upon the recommendations of the

3-26 report of the audit within 3 months after receipt of the report, unless

3-27 prompter action is required concerning violations of law or regulation, by

3-28 setting forth in its minutes its intention to adopt the recommendations, to

3-29 adopt them with modifications or to reject them for reasons shown in the

3-30 minutes.

3-31 Sec. 2. Chapter 393 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a

3-32 new section to read as follows:

3-33 A school district that has more than 150,000 pupils enrolled shall

3-34 develop and adopt a policy concerning the renovation or reconstruction

3-35 of older buildings for schools or related facilities. As part of the policy,

3-36 consideration must be given to the relative advantages and disadvantages

3-37 of the renovation or reconstruction of older buildings for schools or

3-38 related facilities as compared to the design, construction or purchase of

3-39 new buildings for schools or related facilities. The policy must include,

3-40 without limitation, guidelines for use by the board of trustees in

3-41 determining whether older buildings should be renovated or

3-42 reconstructed or whether new buildings to replace those older buildings

3-43 should be constructed or purchased.

4-1 Sec. 3. 1. The legislature hereby finds and declares that:

4-2 (a) The deterioration of school facilities has become a grave concern in

4-3 this state;

4-4 (b) The local governments in the various portions of the state are

4-5 currently faced with unique financial problems resulting from a variety of

4-6 situations because in some local governments the population is rapidly

4-7 increasing whereas in others the population is generally declining;

4-8 (c) Some local governments are still attempting to rehabilitate schools

4-9 that were built around the turn of the last century and others cannot build

4-10 new schools quickly enough to meet the needs of the children in the

4-11 district; and

4-12 (d) Because of the unique variety of problems facing the local

4-13 governments of this state a general law cannot be made applicable to ensure

4-14 that children in more densely populated urban areas are provided with a

4-15 safe environment which encourages learning.

4-16 2. The board of trustees of the Clark County School District shall

4-17 establish a pilot program to replace schools. The school district may use an

4-18 amount not to exceed $15 million from the proceeds of the bonds issued

4-19 pursuant to subsection 3 or 4 of NRS 350.020 to:

4-20 (a) Evaluate older schools within the district to determine the need for

4-21 renovation or reconstruction of those schools in furtherance of section 2 of

4-22 this act; and

4-23 (b) Reconstruct one existing elementary school designated by the board

4-24 of trustees from among the three schools analyzed in 1998 by the board of

4-25 trustees in the study entitled "Rehab vs. Replacement Study/Phase

4-26 Analysis." The board of trustees, upon designating the school to be

4-27 reconstructed, shall with all deliberate speed commence the reconstruction

4-28 of the designated school with a planned completion date of July 1, 2001.

4-29 3. The purpose of this section is to provide authority to expend the

4-30 proceeds of the bonds issued pursuant to subsection 3 or 4 of NRS 350.020

4-31 for reconstruction that is additional to and does not replace, repeal or limit

4-32 any existing authority to so expend such proceeds.

4-33 4. On or before February 1, 2001, the Clark County School District

4-34 shall submit to the director of the legislative counsel bureau for

4-35 transmission to the 71st session of the Nevada legislature an interim report

4-36 regarding the pilot program to replace schools. The report must include,

4-37 without limitation, the progress of the effort to evaluate the older schools

4-38 conducted pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection 2 of this section and the

4-39 progress of the reconstruction of the designated elementary school.

4-40 Sec. 4. This act becomes effective on July 1, 1999.