2001 REGULAR SESSION (71st) A AB627 R1 736
Adoption of this amendment will ADD a 2/3s majority vote requirement for final passage of AB627 R1 (§ 9).
ASSEMBLY ACTION Initial and Date |SENATE ACTION Initial and Date
Adopted Lost | Adopted Lost
Concurred In Not |Concurred In Not
Receded Not | Receded Not
Amend the bill as a whole by renumbering sections 2 through 9 as sections 13 through 20 and adding new sections designated sections 2 through 12, following section 1, to read as follows:
“Sec. 2. Chapter 598 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto the provisions set forth as sections 3 to 12, inclusive, of this act.
Sec. 3. As used in sections 3 to 12, inclusive, of this act, unless the context otherwise requires, the words and terms defined in sections 4 to 8, inclusive, of this act have the meanings ascribed to them in those sections.
Sec. 4. “Commissioner” means the commissioner of the consumer affairs division of the department of business and industry.
Sec. 5. “Division” means the consumer affairs division of the department of business and industry.
Sec. 6. “Seller of travel” means a person who offers for sale, directly or indirectly, transportation by air, land, rail or water, travel services, vacation certificates or any combination thereof, to a person or group of persons for a fee, commission or other valuable consideration. The term:
1. Includes any person who offers membership in a travel club or any services related to travel for an advance fee or payment.
2. Does not include:
(a) A hotel that provides or arranges travel services for its patrons or guests; or
(b) A person who, for compensation, transports persons or property by air, land, rail or water.
Sec. 7. “Travel services” include, without limitation, short-term leases of passenger cars, lodging, transfers, sight-seeing tours and any other services that are related to travel by air, land, rail or water or any other method of transportation.
Sec. 8. “Vacation certificate” means any document received by a person for consideration paid in advance which evidences that the holder of the document is entitled to:
1. Transportation by air, land, rail or water; or
2. The use of lodging or other facilities for a specified period,
FLUSH
during the period for
which the certificate is valid.
Sec. 9. 1. Before advertising its services or conducting business in this state, a seller of travel must register with the division by:
(a) Submitting to the division an application for registration on a form prescribed by the division;
(b) Paying to the division a fee of $25; and
(c) Depositing the security required pursuant to section 10 of this act, if any, with the division.
2. The division shall issue a certificate of registration to the seller of travel upon receipt of:
(a) The security in the proper form if the seller of travel is required to deposit security pursuant to section 10 of this act; and
(b) The payment of the fee required by this section.
3. A certificate of registration:
(a) Is not transferable or assignable; and
(b) Expires 1 year after it is issued.
4. A seller of travel must renew a certificate of registration issued pursuant to this section before the certificate expires by:
(a) Submitting to the division an application for the renewal of the certificate on a form prescribed by the division; and
(b) Paying to the division a fee of $25.
Sec. 10. 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 8, each seller of travel shall deposit with the division:
(a) A bond executed by a corporate surety approved by the commissioner and licensed to do business in this state;
(b) An irrevocable letter of credit for which the seller of travel is the obligor, issued by a bank whose deposits are federally insured; or
(c) A certificate of deposit in a financial institution which is doing business in this state and which is federally insured or insured by a private insurer approved pursuant to NRS 678.755. The certificate of deposit may be withdrawn only on the order of the commissioner, except that the interest may accrue to the seller of travel.
2. The term of the bond, letter of credit or certificate of deposit, or any renewal thereof, must be not less than 1 year.
3. The amount of the bond, letter of credit or certificate of deposit, or any renewal thereof, must be $50,000.
4. If the seller of travel deposits a bond, the seller of travel shall keep accurate records of the bond and the payments made on the premium. The records must be open to inspection by the division during business hours. The seller of travel shall notify the division not later than 30 days before the date of expiration of the bond and provide written proof of the renewal of the bond to the division.
5. The commissioner may reject any bond, letter of credit or certificate of deposit that fails to comply with the requirements of this chapter.
6. A seller of travel may change the form of security that he has deposited with the division. If the seller of travel changes the form of the security, the commissioner may retain for not more than 1 year any portion of the security previously deposited by the seller of travel as security for claims arising during the time the previous security was in effect.
7. If the amount of the deposited security falls below the amount required by this chapter for that security, the seller of travel shall be deemed not to be registered as required by section 9 of this act for the purposes of this chapter.
8. The provisions of this section do not apply to a seller of travel who is accredited by and appointed as an agent of the Airlines Reporting Corporation.
Sec. 11. 1. The security required to be deposited by a seller of travel pursuant to section 10 of this act must be held in trust for consumers injured as a result of:
(a) Any act of fraud or misrepresentation by the seller of travel acting in his capacity as a seller of travel;
(b) The bankruptcy of the seller of travel; or
(c) The breach of any contract entered into by the seller of travel in his capacity as a seller of travel.
2. A consumer so injured may bring and maintain an action in any court of competent jurisdiction to recover against the security.
3. The division may bring an action for interpleader against all claimants upon the security. If the division brings such an action, the division shall publish notice of the action at least once each week for 2 weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the seller of travel has its principal place of business. The division may deduct its costs of the action, including the costs of the publication of the notice, from the amount of the security. All claims against the security have equal priority. If the security is insufficient to pay all the claims in full, the claims must be paid pro rata. If the seller of travel has posted a bond with the division, the surety is then relieved of all liability under the bond.
4. The division may, in lieu of bringing an action for interpleader pursuant to subsection 3, conduct a hearing to determine the distribution of the security to claimants. The division shall adopt regulations to provide for adequate notice and the conduct of the hearing. If the seller of travel has posted a bond with the division, distribution pursuant to this subsection relieves the surety of all liability under the bond.
5. If the security is sufficient to pay all claims against the security in full, the division may deduct from the amount of the security, the cost of any investigation or hearing it conducted to determine the distribution of the security.
Sec. 12. 1. If no claims have been filed against the security deposited with the division pursuant to section 10 of this act within 6 months after the seller of travel ceases to operate or his registration expires, whichever occurs later, the commissioner shall release the security to the seller of travel and shall not audit any claims filed against the security thereafter by consumers.
2. If one or more claims have been filed against the security within 6 months after the seller of travel ceases to operate or his registration expires, whichever occurs later, the proceeds must not be released to the seller of travel or distributed to any consumer earlier than 1 year after the seller of travel ceases to operate or his registration expires, whichever occurs later.
3. For the purposes of this section, the commissioner shall determine the date on which a seller of travel ceases to operate.”.
Amend sec. 2, page 3, between lines 28 and 29, by inserting:
“[15.] 16. Knowingly falsifies an application for credit relating to a retail installment transaction, as defined in NRS 97.115.”.
Amend sec. 3, page 3, between lines 44 and 45, by inserting:
“The court in any such action may, in addition to any other relief or reimbursement, award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.”.
Amend sec. 3, page 4, by deleting line 10 and inserting:
“598.840 to 598.966, inclusive, or [598.992,] sections 3 to 12, inclusive, of this act, fails to comply with a ”.
Amend sec. 6, page 5, by deleting line 18 and inserting:
“598.946 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 5, before”.
Amend sec. 6, page 5, line 19, by deleting “Before”.
Amend sec. 6, page 5, by deleting lines 22 through 24 and inserting:
“NRS 598.2807. The security must [be] :
(a) Be conditioned on compliance by the owner with the provisions of NRS 598.940 to 598.966, inclusive, and the terms of the contract with a buyer [.] ; and
(b) Remain on deposit with the division until the release of the security is authorized or required pursuant to NRS 598.2809, except that the dance studio or health club may change the form of the security as provided in NRS 598.2807.”.
Amend sec. 6, page 6, by deleting lines 1 through 9 and inserting:
“5. [If a dance studio or health club has actively conducted business for not less than 4 consecutive years and has not changed ownership or, in the case of a corporation, not more than 25 percent of its authorized shares have been transferred, it is not required to deposit security with the division pursuant to NRS 598.2807.] If , on October 1, 2001, a dance studio or health club [does not deposit such security, it shall] has not deposited security with the division pursuant to NRS 598.2807 because it was not required to do so pursuant to this section, the dance studio or health club:
(a) Is not required to deposit security with the division pursuant to NRS 598.2807; and
(b) Shall obtain a written acknowledgment from each member and prominently post a notice on its premises stating that no security for refunds or reimbursement has been deposited with the State of Nevada.”.
Amend sec. 8, page 6, line 11, by deleting “4” and inserting “15”.
Amend sec. 9, page 6, by deleting line 28 and inserting:
“Sec. 20. 1. This section, sections 1 to 12, inclusive, and 14 to 19, inclusive, of this act become effective on October 1, 2001.
2. Section 13 of this act becomes effective at 12:01 a.m. on October 1, 2001.”.
Amend the title of the bill by deleting the seventh line and inserting:
“with the consumer affairs division; requiring certain sellers of travel to register and deposit security with the consumer affairs division; authorizing certain consumers to bring and maintain actions to recover against the security; providing for the release of the security within a certain period after the seller of travel ceases to operate; and providing other matters properly relating”.