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 Whereas, The basis of the American form of government is

1-2 representative democracy in which government is exercised through elected

1-3 or appointed representatives of the people; and

1-4 Whereas, American democracy derives its power from the people, and

1-5 the resulting government is charged with acting on behalf of and in the best

1-6 interest of the people; and

1-7 Whereas, A public body is a tool for conducting the business of the

1-8 people; and

1-9 Whereas, It is critical that the actions of a public body reflect serious

1-10 consideration of the opinions of the people that the public body represents;

1-11 and

1-12 Whereas, To ensure that a public body is fully aware of the opinions of

1-13 the people that it represents, the meetings of the public body are open to

1-14 public scrutiny and participation; and

1-15 Whereas, A fundamental notion of democracy is that a public body

1-16 must ascertain and consider fully the varied opinions of the people that it

1-17 represents before taking action upon an item on its agenda; and

1-18 Whereas, To ascertain the opinion of the people, the public body must

1-19 provide a forum which is open to and which fairly represents the differing

1-20 opinions and points of view of the people that it represents; and

1-21 Whereas, To provide such a forum, the public body must ensure that

1-22 all points of view on an item on the agenda, whether popular with the

1-23 public body or not, are allowed an equal opportunity to be presented and

1-24 fully developed; and

2-1 Whereas, To provide such an equal opportunity, the public body must

2-2 allot equal amounts of time at a meeting for testimony, including

2-3 presentations, in favor of and in opposition to an item on the agenda and

2-4 equal amounts of time for rebuttals to such testimony, as long as the

2-5 testimony and rebuttal are not repetitive or irrelevant; and

2-6 Whereas, It has come to the attention of the Nevada Legislature that

2-7 some public bodies in this state do not allow equal amounts of time for

2-8 such testimony and rebuttal, and hence, by not allowing all opinions of the

2-9 people that it represents a fair opportunity to be heard, may not be able to

2-10 act on behalf of and in the best interest of the people; now, therefore, be it

2-11 Resolved by the Assembly of the State of Nevada, the Senate

2-12 Concurring, That the Nevada Legislature hereby urges all public bodies

2-13 that are subject to the provisions of chapter 241 of NRS to provide a forum

2-14 to the public which is fair and which adequately allows expression of all

2-15 sides of an issue before a decision is made; and be it further

2-16 Resolved, That the Nevada Legislature hereby urges such public

2-17 bodies to allot equal amounts of time at a meeting for testimony, including

2-18 presentations, in favor of and in opposition to an item on the agenda, as

2-19 long as the testimony is not repetitive or irrelevant; and be it further

2-20 Resolved, That the Nevada Legislature hereby urges such public

2-21 bodies to allot equal amounts of time at a meeting for the rebuttal of such

2-22 testimony, as long as the rebuttal is not repetitive or irrelevant; and be it

2-23 further

2-24 Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly prepare and transmit a

2-25 copy of this resolution to the Attorney General, State Board of Education,

2-26 Nevada Association of Counties and Nevada League of Cities for

2-27 distribution to all public bodies that are subject to chapter 241 of NRS.