Nevada 2023 Regular Session

Nevada Senate Bill SB107 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	- 82nd Session (2023)
4	4	Senate Bill No. 107–Senator Daly
5	5
6	6	CHAPTER..........
7	7
8	8	AN ACT relating to highways; requiring the Department of
9	9	Transportation to establish a program to allow contractors
10	10	performing certain work on a highway to obtain a permit for
11	11	the use of certain law enforcement vehicles; and providing
12	12	other matters properly relating thereto.
13	13	Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
14	14	Under existing law, the Department of Transportation is required, with certain
15	15	exceptions, to contract for all work of construction, reconstruction, improvement
16	16	and maintenance of highways in this State. (NRS 408.327) Section 1 of this bill
17	17	requires the Department to establish a program to allow a contractor who has been
18	18	awarded a contract for work on a highway to obtain a permit for the use of a law
19	19	enforcement vehicle owned by the Nevada Highway Patrol that: (1) is clearly
20	20	marked as such; (2) is equipped with at least one flashing red warning lamp and
21	21	may be equipped with other warning lights; and (3) has been rendered incapable of
22	22	being driven. Section 1 also provides that a contractor may only use: (1) the
23	23	flashing red warning lamp or other warning lamps if construction workers are
24	24	present; and (2) the law enforcement vehicle if the contractor has requested the
25	25	presence of an authorized emergency vehicle operated by a Nevada Highway Patrol
26	26	Officer and neither an officer nor an authorized emergency vehicle could be made
27	27	available in the area where the work is being performed.
28	28	Under existing law, certain state and local agencies are authorized to obtain
29	29	permits from the Department of Public Safety to own and operate emergency
30	30	vehicles in the performance of their duties. (NRS 484A.480) Section 2 of this bill
31	31	authorizes the issuance of such a permit for a vehicle owned and operated by the
32	32	office of a coroner or medical examiner.
33	33	Section 2 also makes a conforming change to allow the holder of a permit
34	34	issued pursuant to section 1 to operate the warning lights on a law enforcement
35	35	vehicle while parked on a highway.
36	36
37	37	EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
38	38
39	39
40	40	THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
41	41	SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
42	42
43	43	Section 1. Chapter 408 of NRS is hereby amended by adding
44	44	thereto a new section to read as follows:
45	45	1. The Department shall establish a program wherein a
46	46	contractor that has been awarded a contract for the construction,
47	47	reconstruction, improvement, maintenance or repair of a highway
48	48	may obtain a permit for the use of a law enforcement vehicle
49	49	owned by the Nevada Highway Patrol that is:
50	50	(a) Plainly and clearly marked as a vehicle of the Nevada
51	51	Highway Patrol;
52	52	– 2 –
53	53
54	54
55	55	- 82nd Session (2023)
56	56	(b) Equipped with at least one flashing red warning lamp and
57	57	may be equipped with additional warning lights; and
58	58	(c) Rendered incapable of being driven.
59	59	2. The Department may adopt regulations to carry out the
60	60	program established pursuant to this section.
61	61	3. Except as provided by subsection 5, a contractor who is
62	62	issued a permit pursuant to subsection 1 for a law enforcement
63	63	vehicle described in subsection 1 may:
64	64	(a) Tow the vehicle to and from the area where the work on
65	65	the highway is being performed; and
66	66	(b) Operate the flashing red warning lamp or other warning
67	67	lights while the vehicle is parked in the area in which work on the
68	68	highway is being performed only if construction workers are
69	69	present.
70	70	4. The use of a law enforcement vehicle pursuant to a permit
71	71	issued pursuant to this section, including, without limitation, the
72	72	operation of the flashing red warning lamp or other warning
73	73	lights, shall not be considered the false impersonation of a police
74	74	officer.
75	75	5. A contractor may only use the law enforcement vehicle
76	76	pursuant to subsection 3 if the contractor has requested the
77	77	presence of an authorized emergency vehicle operated by a peace
78	78	officer employed by the Nevada Highway Patrol and neither an
79	79	officer nor an authorized emergency vehicle could be made
80	80	available in the area where the work on the highway is being
81	81	performed.
82	82	Sec. 2. NRS 484A.480 is hereby amended to read as follows:
83	83	484A.480 1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS
84	84	484A.490, authorized emergency vehicles are vehicles publicly
85	85	owned and operated in the performance of the duty of:
86	86	(a) A police or fire department.
87	87	(b) A sheriff’s office.
88	88	(c) The Department of Public Safety, for vehicles that are:
89	89	(1) Operated in the performance of the duty of the Capitol
90	90	Police Division, the Investigation Division, the Nevada Highway
91	91	Patrol Division, the State Fire Marshal Division, the Training
92	92	Division and the Office of the Director of the Department of Public
93	93	Safety; or
94	94	(2) Designated an authorized emergency vehicle by the
95	95	Director of the Department of Public Safety.
96	96	(d) The Office of the Attorney General.
97	97	(e) The Division of Forestry of the State Department of
98	98	Conservation and Natural Resources in responding to a fire.
99	99	– 3 –
100	100
101	101
102	102	- 82nd Session (2023)
103	103	(f) The Section for the Control of Emissions From Vehicles and
104	104	the Enforcement of Matters Related to the Use of Special Fuel in the
105	105	Department of Motor Vehicles.
106	106	(g) A public ambulance agency.
107	107	(h) A public lifeguard or lifesaving agency.
108	108	(i) The office of a coroner or medical examiner.
109	109	2. A vehicle publicly maintained in whole or in part by the
110	110	State, or by a city or county, and privately owned and operated by a
111	111	regularly salaried member of a police department, sheriff’s office or
112	112	traffic law enforcement department, is an authorized emergency
113	113	vehicle if:
114	114	(a) The vehicle has a permit, pursuant to NRS 484A.490, from
115	115	the Department of Public Safety;
116	116	(b) The person operates the vehicle in responding to emergency
117	117	calls or fire alarms, or at the request of the Nevada Highway Patrol
118	118	or in the pursuit of actual or suspected violators of the law; and
119	119	(c) The State, county or city does not furnish a publicly owned
120	120	vehicle for the purposes stated in paragraph (b).
121	121	3. Every authorized emergency vehicle must be equipped with
122	122	at least one flashing red warning lamp visible from the front and a
123	123	siren for use as provided in chapters 484A to 484E, inclusive, of
124	124	NRS, which lamp and siren must be in compliance with standards
125	125	approved by the Department of Public Safety. In addition, an
126	126	authorized emergency vehicle may display revolving, flashing or
127	127	steady red or blue warning lights to the front, sides or rear of the
128	128	vehicle.
129	129	4. An authorized emergency vehicle may be equipped with a
130	130	system or device that causes the upper-beam headlamps of the
131	131	vehicle to continue to flash alternately while the system or device is
132	132	activated. The driver of a vehicle that is so equipped may use the
133	133	system or device when responding to an emergency call or fire
134	134	alarm, while escorting a funeral procession, or when in pursuit of an
135	135	actual or suspected violator of the law. As used in this subsection,
136	136	“upper-beam headlamp” means a headlamp or that part of a
137	137	headlamp which projects a distribution of light or composite beam
138	138	meeting the requirements of subsection 1 of NRS 484D.210.
139	139	5. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, a person shall
140	140	not operate a motor vehicle with any system or device that causes
141	141	the headlamps of the vehicle to continue to flash alternately or
142	142	simultaneously while the system or device is activated. This
143	143	subsection does not prohibit the operation of a motorcycle equipped
144	144	with any system or device that modulates the intensity of light
145	145	produced by the headlamp of the motorcycle, if the system or device
146	146	– 4 –
147	147
148	148
149	149	- 82nd Session (2023)
150	150	is used only during daylight hours and conforms to the requirements
151	151	of 49 C.F.R. § 571.108.
152	152	6. A person shall not operate a vehicle with any lamp or device
153	153	displaying a red light visible from directly in front of the center of
154	154	the vehicle except an authorized emergency vehicle, a school bus ,
155	155	[or] an official vehicle of a regulatory agency [.] or a vehicle
156	156	operated pursuant to section 1 of this act.
157	157	7. A person shall not operate a vehicle with any lamp or device
158	158	displaying a blue light, except a motorcycle pursuant to NRS
159	159	486.261 , [or] an authorized emergency vehicle [.] or a vehicle
160	160	operated pursuant to section 1 of this act.
161	161
162	162	20 ~~~~~ 23