(REPRINTED WITH ADOPTED AMENDMENTS)

 

Senate Bill No. 219–Committee on Transportation

 

February 21, 2001

____________

 

Referred to Committee on Transportation

 

SUMMARY—Revises manner in which department of transportation is required to dispose of certain property. (BDR 35‑476)

 

FISCAL NOTE:                     Effect on Local Government: No.

                                    Effect on the State: No.

 

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

 

AN ACT relating to property; revising the manner in which the department of transportation is required to dispose of certain property; 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 408.533 is hereby amended to read as follows:

1-2    408.533  1.  All real property, interests therein or improvements

1-3  thereon and personal property acquired before, on or after April 1, 1957, in

1-4  accordance with the provisions of NRS 408.487 and 408.489 must, after

1-5  approval by the board and if no longer needed for highway purposes, be

1-6  disposed of by the director in accordance with the provisions of subsection

1-7  2, except that:

1-8    (a) When the property was originally donated to the state, no charge

1-9  may be made if it is returned to the original owner or to the holder of the

1-10  reversionary right.

1-11    (b) When the property has been wholly or partially paid for by towns,

1-12  cities or counties, disposal of the property and of money received therefor

1-13  must be agreed upon by the governing bodies of the towns, cities and

1-14  counties and the department.

1-15    (c) When the title to the real property has been acquired in fee pursuant

1-16  to NRS 408.487 and 408.489 and, in the opinion of the board, a sale by

1-17  means of a public auction or sealed bids is uneconomical or impractical

1-18  because:

1-19      (1) There is no access to the property;

1-20      (2) The property has value or an increased value only to a single

1-21  adjoining property owner; or

2-1       (3) Such a sale would work an undue hardship upon a property owner

2-2  as a result of a severance of the property of that owner or a denial of access

2-3  to a public highway,

2-4  the board may enter into a direct sale of the property with such an owner or

2-5  any other person for its fair market value.

2-6    (d) When the property has been acquired and [:

2-7       (1) The proposed purpose for which it was acquired is later

2-8  abandoned by the department; or

2-9       (2) Part] the property or any portion of the property is no longer

2-10  needed for highway purposes , [and] the department [determines that the

2-11  property was acquired for less than its fair market value,

2-12  the department] shall give notice of its intention to dispose of the property

2-13  by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where

2-14  the property is situated. The notice must include the department’s appraisal

2-15  of the fair market value of the property. Any person from whom the

2-16  property was purchased or his heir or grantee may purchase the property at

2-17  its fair market value by direct sale from the department within 60 days after

2-18  the notice is published. If more than one person qualified to purchase the

2-19  property by direct sale pursuant to this paragraph so requests, the person

2-20  with the superior claim, as determined by the department in its sole

2-21  discretion, is entitled to purchase the property by direct sale. If no person

2-22  requests to purchase the property by direct sale within 60 days after the

2-23  notice is published pursuant to this paragraph, the department shall sell the

2-24  property in the manner provided in subsection 2.

2-25    (e) When the property is sought by another public agency for a

2-26  reasonable public use, the department may first offer the property to the

2-27  public agency at its fair market value.

2-28    2.  All property, interests or improvements not [falling] included within

2-29  the provisions of subsection 1 must first be offered for sale by the

2-30  department singly or in combination at public auction or by sealed bids. If

2-31  the highest bid received is 90 percent or more of the department’s appraisal

2-32  of the fair market value of the property, the property may be sold to the

2-33  highest bidder. The notice and the terms of the sale must be published in a

2-34  newspaper of general circulation in the county where the property is

2-35  situated. [Those] The auctions and openings of bids must be conducted by

2-36  the department. If the property cannot be sold for 90 percent or more of its

2-37  fair market value, the department may enter into a written listing agreement

2-38  with a person licensed pursuant to chapter 645 of NRS to sell or lease the

2-39  property for 90 percent or more of its fair market value.

2-40    3.  It is conclusively presumed in favor of the department and any

2-41  purchaser for value that the department acted within its lawful authority in

2-42  acquiring and disposing of the property, and that the director acted within

2-43  his lawful authority in executing any conveyance vesting title in the

2-44  purchaser. All such conveyances must be quitclaim in nature and the

2-45  department shall not warrant title, furnish title insurance or pay the tax on

2-46  transfer of real property.

2-47    4.  No person has a right of action against the department or its

2-48  employees for a violation of this section. This subsection does not prevent

3-1  an action by the attorney general on behalf of the State of Nevada or any

3-2  aggrieved person.

3-3    5.  All sums of money received by the department for the sale of real

3-4  and personal property must be deposited with the state treasurer to be

3-5  credited to the state highway fund, unless the Federal Highway

3-6  Administration participated in acquisition of the property, in which case a

3-7  pro rata share of the money obtained by disposal of the property must be

3-8  paid to the Federal Highway Administration.

3-9    6.  The department may reserve and except easements, rights or

3-10  interests from the conveyance of any real property disposed of in

3-11  accordance with this section or exchanged pursuant to subsection 5 of NRS

3-12  408.489. [Those] The easements, rights or interests include, but are not

3-13  limited to:

3-14    (a) Abutter’s rights of light, view or air.

3-15    (b) Easements of access to and from abutting land.

3-16    (c) Covenants prohibiting the use of signs, structures or devices

3-17  advertising activities not conducted, services not rendered or goods not

3-18  produced or available on the real property.

3-19    Sec. 2.  The amendatory provisions of section 1 of this act do not apply

3-20  to any property for which the department of transportation publishes a

3-21  notice of its intention to dispose of the property pursuant to NRS 408.533

3-22  before the effective date of this act.

3-23    Sec. 3. This act becomes effective upon passage and approval.

 

3-24  H