Senate Bill No. 125–Committee on Government Affairs

 

CHAPTER..........

 

AN ACT relating to governmental administration; requiring a local government to submit electronically a fiscal report to the department of taxation and to publish a summary of the fiscal report in a newspaper; requiring the committee on local government finance to establish by regulation certain requirements for a fiscal report of a local government submitted to the department of taxation and for a summary of a fiscal report; authorizing the committee on local government finance to establish by regulation an exception to the requirement that the fiscal report be submitted electronically for certain local governments; authorizing the electronic submission of documents relating to the budgets of local governments to the legislative counsel bureau; repealing the requirement that local governments prepare certain quarterly reports; requiring the publication of certain regulations in the Nevada Administrative Code; 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. Chapter 354 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a

1-2   new section to read as follows:

1-3    1.  Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, the governing board

1-4   of a local government shall:

1-5    (a) Submit electronically a fiscal report of the local government to the

1-6   department of taxation in accordance with the requirements prescribed

1-7   by the committee on local government finance pursuant to subsection 2;

1-8   and

1-9    (b) Publish a summary of the fiscal report, which must contain the

1-10   information required by the committee on local government finance

1-11   pursuant to subsection 2, in a newspaper of general circulation in the

1-12   county in which the local government is situated.

1-13    2.  The committee on local government finance shall prescribe, by

1-14   regulation:

1-15    (a) The dates and times for filing a fiscal report, which must require a

1-16   local government to file at least one fiscal report per year;

1-17    (b) The content of a fiscal report, which must include, without

1-18   limitation, revenues, expenditures, fund balances, cash balances,

1-19   components of assessed value, debt schedules and any other information

1-20   that the committee on local government finance determines to be

1-21   appropriate for determining the financial status of a local government;

1-22   (c) The content for a summary of a fiscal report that must be

1-23   published pursuant to subsection 1; and

1-24    (d) A uniform method for creating and submitting a fiscal report

1-25   electronically pursuant to this section. The method must facilitate the

1-26   storage and reproduction of the fiscal report in electronic format by the

1-27   department of taxation.

1-28    3.  The committee on local government finance may establish, by

1-29   regulation, an exception to the requirement that a fiscal report be

1-30   submitted to the department of taxation in electronic format. The

1-31   exception must be limited to local governments that the committee

1-32   determines do not have the financial ability to comply with the method

1-33   for submitting a fiscal report to the department of taxation prescribed by

1-34   the committee. If the committee on local government finance provides an

2-1  exception pursuant to this subsection, the committee shall provide, by

2-2  regulation, specific standards that it will use to determine whether a local

2-3   government qualifies for an exemption pursuant to this subsection.

2-4    4.  The committee on local government finance shall adopt

2-5   regulations pursuant to this section in the manner prescribed for state

2-6   agencies in chapter 233B of NRS.

2-7    Sec. 2.  NRS 354.470 is hereby amended to read as follows:

2-8    354.470  NRS 354.470 to 354.626, inclusive, and section 1 of this act

2-9   may be cited as the Local Government Budget Act.

2-10    Sec. 3.  NRS 354.475 is hereby amended to read as follows:

2-11    354.475  1.  All special districts subject to the provisions of the Local

2-12   Government Budget Act with annual total expenditures of less than

2-13   $100,000 may petition the department of taxation for exemption from the

2-14   requirements of the Local Government Budget Act for the filing of certain

2-15   budget documents and audit reports. Such districts may further petition to

2-16   return to a cash method of accounting. The minimum required of such

2-17   districts is the filing with the department of taxation of an annual budget

2-18   on or before April 15 of each year and the filing of [quarterly] fiscal

2-19   reports in accordance with [NRS 354.602.] section 1 of this act. Such

2-20   petitions must be received by the department of taxation before December

2-21   31 to be effective for the succeeding fiscal year or, in a case of an annual

2-22   audit exemption, to be effective for the current fiscal year. A board of

2-23   county commissioners may request the department of taxation to audit the

2-24   financial records of such an exempt district.

2-25    2.  Such districts are exempt from all publication requirements of the

2-26   Local Government Budget Act, except that the department of taxation by

2-27   regulation shall require an annual publication of a notice of budget

2-28   adoption and filing. The department of taxation shall adopt regulations

2-29   pursuant to NRS 354.594 which are necessary to carry out the purposes of

2-30   this section.

2-31    3.  The revenue recorded in accounts that are kept on a cash basis must

2-32   consist of cash items.

2-33    4.  As used in this section, “cash basis” means the system of accounting

2-34   under which revenues are recorded only when received and expenditures

2-35   or expenses are recorded only when paid.

2-36    Sec. 4.  NRS 354.595 is hereby amended to read as follows:

2-37    354.595  Whenever any document, supporting information or related

2-38   schedule concerning the budget of a local government is filed with the

2-39   department of taxation or the Nevada tax commission, the executive

2-40   director shall immediately deliver or transmit electronically a copy to the

2-41   legislative counsel bureau.

2-42    Sec. 5.  NRS 354.665 is hereby amended to read as follows:

2-43    354.665  1.  If a local government does not file a statement, report or

2-44   other document as required by the provisions of NRS 350.0035, [354.602,]

2-45   354.6025, 354.624, 354.6245 , [or] 387.303 or section 1 of this act within

2-46   15 days after the day on which it was due, the executive director shall

2-47   notify the governing body of the local government in writing that the

2-48   report is delinquent. The notification must be noted in the minutes of the

2-49   first meeting of the governing body following transmittal of the

2-50   notification.

3-1    2.  If the required report is not received by the department within 45

3-2  days after the day on which the report was due, the executive director shall

3-3   notify the governing body that the presence of a representative of the

3-4   governing body is required at the next practicable scheduled meeting of

3-5   the Nevada tax commission to explain the reason that the report has not

3-6   been filed. The notice must be transmitted to the governing body at least 5

3-7   days before the date on which the meeting will be held.

3-8    3.  If an explanation satisfactory to the Nevada tax commission is not

3-9   provided at the meetinGreen numbers along left margin indicate location on the printed bill (e.g., 5-15 indicates page 5, line 15).g as requested in the notice and an arrangement is

3-10   not made for the submission of the report, the commission may instruct the

3-11   executive director to request that the state treasurer withhold from the

3-12   local government the next distribution of the supplemental city-county

3-13   relief tax if the local government is otherwise entitled to receive such a

3-14   distribution or of the Local School Support Tax if the local government is

3-15   a school district. Upon receipt of such a request, the state treasurer shall

3-16   withhold the payment and all future payments until he is notified by the

3-17   executive director that the report has been received by the department.

3-18    Sec. 6.  NRS 233B.062 is hereby amended to read as follows:

3-19    233B.062  1.  It is the policy of this state that every regulation of an

3-20   agency be made easily accessible to the public and expressed in clear and

3-21   concise language. To assist in carrying out this policy:

3-22    (a) The attorney general must develop guidelines for drafting

3-23   regulations; and

3-24    (b) Every permanent regulation must be incorporated, excluding any

3-25   forms used by the agency, any publication adopted by reference, the title,

3-26   any signature and other formal parts, in the Nevada Administrative Code,

3-27   and every emergency or temporary regulation must be distributed in the

3-28   same manner as the Nevada Administrative Code.

3-29    2.  The legislative counsel shall:

3-30    (a) Include each permanent regulation in the Nevada Administrative

3-31   Code; and

3-32    (b) Distribute in the same manner as the Nevada Administrative Code

3-33   each emergency or temporary regulation,

3-34  that is required to be adopted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter

3-35   and which is adopted by an entity other than an agency.

3-36    3.  The legislative commission may authorize inclusion in the Nevada

3-37   Administrative Code of the regulations of an agency otherwise exempted

3-38   from the requirements of this chapter.

3-39    Sec. 7.  NRS 354.602 is hereby repealed.

3-40    Sec. 8.  The provisions of subsection 1 of NRS 354.599 do not apply

3-41   to any additional expenses of a local government that are related to the

3-42   provisions of this act.

3-43    Sec. 9.  This act becomes effective on July 1, 2001.

 

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