EXEMPT
(Reprinted with amendments adopted on April 21, 2025)
FIRST REPRINT A.B. 216
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ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 216–ASSEMBLYMEMBER HARDY
PREFILED FEBRUARY 3, 2025
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Referred to Committee on Judiciary
SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to domestic violence.
(BDR 14-181)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact.
Effect on the State: Yes.
CONTAINS UNFUNDED MANDATE (§§ 1, 2)
(NOT REQUESTED BY AFFECTED LOCAL GOVERNMENT)
~
EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to domestic violence; requiring a peace officer
who investigates an act of domestic violence to conduct a
lethality assessment under certain circumstances;
requiring a peace officer who conducts a lethality
assessment to take certain actions if the assessment
indicates that the person assessed is in a potentially high-
risk lethal situation; requiring each law enforcement
agency to prescribe a written or electronic form for
documenting the results of a lethality assessment;
requiring a peace officer who investigates an act of
domestic violence to submit the results of a lethality
assessment to the district attorney of the jurisdiction in
which the act occurred; authorizing a court to consider the
results of a lethality assessment in reviewing the custody
status of certain persons; and providing other matters
properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law requires a peace officer investigating an act of domestic violence 1
to provide certain information to a person suspected of being a victim of an act of 2
domestic violence. (NRS 171.1225) Section 2 of this bill requires a peace officer 3
investigating an act of domestic violence to complete a lethality assessment form 4
for a person suspected of being a victim of an act of domestic violence if the peace 5
officer has probable cause to believe that the person believed to have committed the 6
act of domestic violence is: (1) his or her spouse or former spouse; (2) a person 7
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with whom he or she had or is having a dating relationship; or (3) a person with 8
whom he or she has a child in common. 9
Section 1 of this bill requires a peace officer who completes a lethality 10
assessment form to take certain actions based upon the results of the lethality 11
assessment. Section 1 also requires each law enforcement agency to prescribe a 12
written or electronic form on which the results of a lethality assessment conducted 13
pursuant to section 2 must be reported. 14
Existing law requires a peace officer who investigates an act of domestic 15
violence to prepare and submit to certain persons a written report of the 16
investigation. (NRS 171.1227) Section 3 of this bill requires a peace officer who 17
investigates an act of domestic violence to submit the results of a lethality 18
assessment conducted pursuant to section 2 to the district attorney of the 19
jurisdiction in which the act occurred. 20
Existing law requires a court to consider certain factors in reviewing the 21
custody status of a person. (NRS 178.4853) Section 4 of this bill authorizes the 22
court to include the results of a lethality assessment when considering these factors. 23
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Chapter 171 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 1
thereto a new section to read as follows: 2
1. Each law enforcement agency shall prescribe a written or 3
electronic form on which the results of a lethality assessment 4
conducted pursuant to NRS 171.1225 must be reported. 5
2. If a lethality assessment conducted pursuant to NRS 6
171.1225 indicates that the person assessed is in a potentially 7
high-risk lethal situation, the peace officer shall: 8
(a) Advise the person that he or she is in a potentially high-risk 9
lethal situation; 10
(b) Provide the person with a domestic violence card that 11
contains information about appropriate counseling or other 12
supportive services available in the community in which the 13
person resides; and 14
(c) Refer the person to a victim’s advocate who primarily 15
provides services to victims of domestic violence. 16
3. If a person does not or is unable to provide information to 17
a peace officer sufficient to allow the peace officer to complete the 18
lethality assessment form or refuses to accept a domestic violence 19
card provided pursuant to subsection 2, the peace officer shall 20
document this information on the lethality assessment form. 21
4. As used in this section, “victim’s advocate” means a person 22
who has completed relevant training and who, with or without 23
compensation, works for: 24
(a) A program of a university, state college or community 25
college within the Nevada System of Higher Education which 26
provides assistance to victims; 27
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(b) A program of a tribal organization which provides 1
assistance to victims; 2
(c) An organization which provides assistance to victims; or 3
(d) A nonprofit organization which provides assistance to 4
victims. 5
Sec. 2. NRS 171.1225 is hereby amended to read as follows: 6
171.1225 1. When investigating an act of domestic violence, 7
a peace officer shall: 8
(a) Make a good faith effort to explain the provisions of NRS 9
171.137 pertaining to domestic violence and advise victims of all 10
reasonable means to prevent further abuse, including advising each 11
person of the availability of a shelter or other services in the 12
community. 13
(b) Provide a person suspected of being the victim of an act of 14
domestic violence with a written copy of the following statements: 15
(1) My name is Officer ......................... (naming the 16
investigating officer). Nevada law requires me to inform you of the 17
following information. 18
(2) If I have probable cause to believe that a battery has been 19
committed against you, your minor child or the minor child of the 20
person believed to have committed the battery in the last 24 hours 21
by your spouse, your former spouse, any other person to whom you 22
are related by blood or marriage, a person with whom you have had 23
or are having a dating relationship or a person with whom you have 24
a child in common, and if I had a face-to-face encounter with the 25
person suspected of committing the battery that was of sufficient 26
duration to determine whether probable cause existed while 27
responding to the initial incident or call for service, I am required, 28
unless mitigating circumstances exist, to arrest the person suspected 29
of committing the battery. 30
(3) If I have probable cause to believe that a battery has been 31
committed against you, your minor child or the minor child of the 32
person believed to have committed the battery in the last 7 days by 33
your spouse, your former spouse, any other person to whom you are 34
related by blood or marriage, a person with whom you have had or 35
are having a dating relationship or a person with whom you have a 36
child in common, and if I did not have a face-to-face encounter with 37
the person suspected of committing the battery that was of sufficient 38
duration to determine whether probable cause existed while 39
responding to the initial incident or call for service, I am required, 40
unless mitigating circumstances exist, to arrest the person suspected 41
of committing the battery. 42
(4) If I am unable to arrest the person suspected of 43
committing the battery, you have the right to request that the 44
prosecutor file a criminal complaint against the person. I can 45
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provide you with information on this procedure. If convicted, the 1
person who committed the battery may be placed on probation, 2
ordered to see a counselor, put in jail or fined. 3
(5) The law provides that you may seek a court order for the 4
protection of you, your minor children or any animal that is owned 5
or kept by you, by the person who committed or threatened the act 6
of domestic violence or by the minor child of either such person 7
against further threats or acts of domestic violence. You do not need 8
to hire a lawyer to obtain such an order for protection. 9
(6) An order for protection may require the person who 10
committed or threatened the act of domestic violence against you to: 11
(I) Stop threatening, harassing or injuring you or your 12
children; 13
(II) Move out of your residence; 14
(III) Stay away from your place of employment; 15
(IV) Stay away from the school attended by your 16
children; 17
(V) Stay away from any place you or your children 18
regularly go; 19
(VI) Avoid or limit all communication with you or your 20
children; 21
(VII) Stop physically injuring, threatening to injure or 22
taking possession of any animal that is owned or kept by you or 23
your children, either directly or through an agent; and 24
(VIII) Stop physically injuring or threatening to injure 25
any animal that is owned or kept by the person who committed or 26
threatened the act or his or her children, either directly or through an 27
agent. 28
(7) A court may make future orders for protection which 29
award you custody of your children and require the person who 30
committed or threatened the act of domestic violence against you to: 31
(I) Pay the rent or mortgage due on the place in which 32
you live; 33
(II) Pay the amount of money necessary for the support of 34
your children; 35
(III) Pay part or all of the costs incurred by you in 36
obtaining the order for protection; and 37
(IV) Comply with the arrangements specified for the 38
possession and care of any animal owned or kept by you or your 39
children or by the person who committed or threatened the act or his 40
or her children. 41
(8) To get an order for protection, go to room number ....... 42
(state the room number of the office at the court) at the court, which 43
is located at ......................... (state the address of the court). Ask the 44
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clerk of the court to provide you with the forms for an order of 1
protection. 2
(9) If the person who committed or threatened the act of 3
domestic violence against you violates the terms of an order for 4
protection, the person may be arrested and, if: 5
(I) The arresting officer determines that such a violation 6
is accompanied by a direct or indirect threat of harm; 7
(II) The person has previously violated a temporary or 8
extended order for protection; or 9
(III) At the time of the violation or within 2 hours after 10
the violation, the person has a concentration of alcohol of 0.08 or 11
more in the person’s blood or breath or an amount of a prohibited 12
substance in the person’s blood or urine, as applicable, that is equal 13
to or greater than the amount set forth in subsection 3 or 4 of 14
NRS 484C.110, 15
the person will not be admitted to bail sooner than 12 hours after 16
arrest. 17
(10) You may obtain emergency assistance or shelter by 18
contacting your local program against domestic violence at 19
......................... (state name, address and telephone number of local 20
program) or you may call, without charge to you, the Statewide 21
Program Against Domestic Violence at ........................ (state toll-22
free telephone number of Statewide Program). 23
(c) Complete a lethality assessment form for a person 24
suspected of being the victim of domestic violence if the peace 25
officer has probable cause to believe that the person believed to 26
have committed the act of domestic violence is: 27
(1) His or her spouse or former spouse; 28
(2) A person with whom he or she had or is having a dating 29
relationship; or 30
(3) A person with whom he or she has a child in common. 31
2. The failure of a peace officer to carry out the requirements 32
set forth in subsection 1 is not a defense in a criminal prosecution 33
for the commission of an act of domestic violence, nor may such an 34
omission be considered as negligence or as causation in any civil 35
action against the peace officer or the officer’s employer. 36
3. As used in this section: 37
(a) “Act of domestic violence” means any of the following acts 38
committed by a person against his or her spouse, former spouse, any 39
other person to whom he or she is related by blood or marriage, a 40
person with whom he or she has had or is having a dating 41
relationship, a person with whom he or she has a child in common, 42
the minor child of any of those persons or his or her minor child: 43
(1) A battery. 44
(2) An assault. 45
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(3) Compelling the other by force or threat of force to 1
perform an act from which he or she has the right to refrain or to 2
refrain from an act which he or she has the right to perform. 3
(4) A sexual assault. 4
(5) A knowing, purposeful or reckless course of conduct 5
intended to harass the other. Such conduct may include, but is not 6
limited to: 7
(I) Stalking. 8
(II) Arson. 9
(III) Trespassing. 10
(IV) Larceny. 11
(V) Destruction of private property. 12
(VI) Carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. 13
(VII) Injuring or killing an animal. 14
(6) False imprisonment. 15
(7) Unlawful entry of the other’s residence, or forcible entry 16
against the other’s will if there is a reasonably foreseeable risk of 17
harm to the other from the entry. 18
(b) “Dating relationship” means frequent, intimate associations 19
primarily characterized by the expectation of affectional or sexual 20
involvement. The term does not include a casual relationship or an 21
ordinary association between persons in a business or social context. 22
(c) “Lethality assessment form” means a written or electronic 23
form prescribed by a law enforcement agency pursuant to section 24
1 of this act. 25
Sec. 3. NRS 171.1227 is hereby amended to read as follows: 26
171.1227 1. If a peace officer investigates an act that 27
constitutes domestic violence pursuant to NRS 33.018, the peace 28
officer shall prepare and submit a written report of the investigation 29
to the peace officer’s supervisor or to another person designated by 30
the peace officer’s supervisor, regardless of whether the peace 31
officer makes an arrest. 32
2. If the peace officer investigates a mutual battery that 33
constitutes domestic violence pursuant to NRS 33.018 and finds that 34
one of the persons involved was the primary physical aggressor, the 35
peace officer shall include in the report: 36
(a) The name of the person who was the primary physical 37
aggressor; and 38
(b) A description of the evidence which supports the peace 39
officer’s finding. 40
3. If the peace officer investigates an act that constitutes 41
domestic violence pursuant to NRS 33.018, the peace officer shall 42
submit the results of any lethality assessment conducted pursuant 43
to NRS 171.1225 to the district attorney of the jurisdiction in 44
which the act occurred. 45
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4. If the peace officer does not make an arrest, the peace officer 1
shall include in the report the reason the peace officer did not do so. 2
[4.] 5. The information contained in a report made pursuant to 3
subsections 1 and 2 must be: 4
(a) Aggregated each month; and 5
(b) Forwarded by each jurisdiction to the Central Repository for 6
Nevada Records of Criminal History not later than the 15th day of 7
the following month. 8
[5.] 6. The Director of the Department of Public Safety shall 9
prescribe the form on which the information described in subsection 10
[4] 5 must be reported to the Central Repository. In addition to the 11
information required pursuant to subsections 1 and 2, the form must 12
also require the inclusion of the following information from each 13
report: 14
(a) The gender, age and race of the persons involved; 15
(b) The relationship of the persons involved; 16
(c) The date and time of day of the offense; 17
(d) The number of children present, if any, at the time of the 18
offense; 19
(e) Whether or not an order for protection against domestic 20
violence was in effect at the time of the offense; 21
(f) Whether or not any weapons were used during the 22
commission of the offense; 23
(g) Whether or not any person required medical attention; 24
(h) Whether or not any person was given a domestic violence 25
card that contains information about appropriate counseling or other 26
supportive services available in the community in which that person 27
resides; 28
(i) Whether or not the primary physical aggressor, if identified, 29
was arrested and, if not, any mitigating circumstances explaining 30
why an arrest was not made; and 31
(j) Whether or not any other person was arrested. 32
Sec. 4. NRS 178.4853 is hereby amended to read as follows: 33
178.4853 In reviewing the custody status of a person, the court 34
at a minimum shall consider the following factors concerning the 35
person: 36
1. The length of residence in the community; 37
2. The status and history of employment; 38
3. Relationships with the person’s spouse and children, parents 39
or other family members and with close friends; 40
4. Reputation, character and mental condition; 41
5. Prior criminal record, including, without limitation, any 42
record of appearing or failing to appear after release on bail or 43
without bail; 44
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6. The identity of responsible members of the community who 1
would vouch for the reliability of the person; 2
7. The nature of the offense with which the person is charged, 3
the apparent probability of conviction and the likely sentence, 4
insofar as these factors relate to the risk of not appearing; 5
8. The nature and seriousness of the danger to the alleged 6
victim, any other person or the community that would be posed by 7
the person’s release [;] , the consideration of which may include a 8
review of the results of a lethality assessment conducted pursuant 9
to NRS 171.1225; 10
9. The likelihood of more criminal activity by the person after 11
release; and 12
10. Any other factors concerning the person’s ties to the 13
community or bearing on the risk that the person may willfully fail 14
to appear. 15
Sec. 5. The provisions of NRS 354.599 do not apply to any 16
additional expenses of a local government that are related to the 17
provisions of this act. 18
Sec. 6. This act becomes effective upon passage and approval 19
for the purposes of adopting any regulations and performing any 20
other preparatory administrative tasks that are necessary to carry out 21
the provisions of this act and on October 1, 2025, for all other 22
purposes. 23
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