(Reprinted with amendments adopted on May 23, 2023)
FIRST REPRINT S.B. 262
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SENATE BILL NO. 262–SENATORS FLORES, DONATE, SCHEIBLE,
D. HARRIS, NEAL; LANGE, NGUYEN, OHRENSCHALL AND
SPEARMAN
MARCH 13, 2023
____________
JOINT SPONSORS: ASSEMBLYMEN GONZÁLEZ, TORRES, D’SILVA,
NGUYEN; ANDERSON, BILBRAY-AXELROD, NEWBY,
PETERS AND WATTS
____________
Referred to Committee on Government Affairs
SUMMARY—Revises the qualifications for membership on certain
town advisory councils and boards. (BDR 21-857)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.
Effect on the State: No.
~
EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to towns; eliminating the requirement that a
member of a citizens’ advisory council of a town or
certain town advisory boards be a qualified elector; and
providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law provides that in a county having a population of less than 100,000 1
(currently all counties other than Clark and Washoe Counties) which has not 2
elected to accept the provisions of the Unincorporated Town Government Law 3
(NRS 269.500-269.625), the board of county commissioners may, under certain 4
circumstances, by ordinance create a citizens’ advisory council to act in an advisory 5
and liaison capacity with respect to governing the affairs of an unincorporated 6
town. (NRS 269.011, 269.024, 269.0242) Any such citizens’ advisory council must 7
consist of not fewer than three nor more than five members, each of whom must be 8
a resident and qualified elector in the town. (NRS 269.0242) Section 1 of this bill 9
eliminates the requirement that a member of such a citizens’ advisory council be a 10
qualified elector. Section 1 further requires that a member of such a citizens’ 11
advisory council be: (1) a resident of the town; and (2) a citizen of the United States 12
or lawfully entitled to reside in the United States. 13
Existing law provides that the Unincorporated Town Government Law applies 14
in a county having a population of 100,000 or more (currently Clark and Washoe 15
Counties) and in any other county in which the board of county commissioners has 16
adopted by ordinance, the Unincorporated Town Government Law. (NRS 269.530) 17
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Pursuant to the Unincorporated Town Government Law, the board of county 18
commissioners must provide for a town advisory board in an ordinance which 19
establishes an unincorporated town. Such a town advisory board must consist of 20
three or five qualified electors who are residents of the unincorporated town. (NRS 21
269.576, 269.577) Existing law further authorizes the board of county 22
commissioners of any county, by resolution, to designate one or more town services 23
to be within the power of a town advisory board to manage. (NRS 269.580) If the 24
board of county commissioners has not made such a designation, sections 2 and 3 25
of this bill eliminate the requirement that a member of such a town advisory board 26
be a qualified elector. Instead, sections 2 and 3 require that a member of such a 27
town advisory board be: (1) a resident of the unincorporated town; and (2) a citizen 28
of the United States or lawfully entitled to reside in the United States. 29
Section 4 of this bill makes a conforming change to revise the declaration of 30
candidacy that must be filed by a candidate for the position of a town advisory 31
board if the members of the town advisory board are not required to be qualified 32
electors pursuant to sections 2 and 3 because the board of county commissioners 33
has not designated one or more services to be within the power of the town 34
advisory board to manage. 35
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. NRS 269.0242 is hereby amended to read as 1
follows: 2
269.0242 Any ordinance enacted pursuant to NRS 269.024 3
must include provisions in substance as follows: 4
1. The citizens’ advisory council must consist of not fewer than 5
three nor more than five members. 6
2. Each member of the advisory council must be [a] : 7
(a) A resident [and qualified elector in] of the town [.] ; and 8
(b) A citizen of the United States or lawfully entitled to reside 9
in the United States. 10
3. The members of the advisory council must be appointed by 11
the board of county commissioners from a list of a number of 12
qualified persons, equal in number to the number of positions on the 13
advisory council which are to be filled, elected at an informal 14
election. Notice of the election must be posted in accordance with 15
NRS 241.020. The election must be held in the town in November 16
of the year of the general election. 17
4. The list of names of the persons elected must be presented to 18
the board of county commissioners at their first meeting in 19
December of the year of the general election. The persons appointed 20
to the advisory council shall serve their respective terms at the 21
pleasure of the board. 22
5. The members of the advisory council first appointed by the 23
board of county commissioners shall serve until the 1st Monday in 24
January following the next general election, and thereafter the terms 25
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of office of the members of the advisory council are for 2 years and 1
begin on the 1st Monday in January following each general election. 2
6. The advisory council shall assist the board of county 3
commissioners in governing the town by acting as liaison between 4
the residents of the town and the board. The advisory council and 5
the board shall cooperate to inform each other of all matters of 6
interest to the town and its residents. The advisory council shall not 7
expend or contract any town money for any purpose. 8
7. The members of the advisory council shall serve without 9
compensation. 10
Sec. 2. NRS 269.576 is hereby amended to read as follows: 11
269.576 1. Except as appointment may be deferred pursuant 12
to NRS 269.563, the board of county commissioners of any county 13
whose population is 700,000 or more shall, in each ordinance which 14
establishes an unincorporated town pursuant to NRS 269.500 to 15
269.625, inclusive, provide for: 16
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection [7,] 8, 17
appointment by the board of county commissioners or the election 18
by the registered voters of the unincorporated town of three or five 19
[qualified electors who are residents of the unincorporated town] 20
persons to serve as the town advisory board. If the ordinance 21
provides for appointment by the board of county commissioners, in 22
making such appointments, the board of county commissioners shall 23
consider: 24
(1) The results of any poll conducted by the town advisory 25
board; and 26
(2) Any application submitted to the board of county 27
commissioners by persons who desire to be appointed to the town 28
advisory board in response to an announcement made by the town 29
advisory board. 30
(b) A term of 2 years for members of the town advisory board. 31
(c) Election of a chair from among the members of the town 32
advisory board for a term of 2 years, and, if a vacancy occurs in the 33
office of chair, for the election of a chair from among the members 34
for the remainder of the unexpired term. The ordinance must also 35
provide that a chair is not eligible to succeed himself or herself for a 36
term of office as chair. 37
2. Each member of a town advisory board described in 38
subsection 1 must be: 39
(a) If the board of county commissioners has, pursuant to NRS 40
269.580, designated one or more of the services enumerated in 41
NRS 269.575 as properly within the power of the town advisory 42
board to manage: 43
(1) A resident of the unincorporated town; and 44
(2) A qualified elector. 45
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(b) If the board of county commissioners has not, pursuant to 1
NRS 269.580, designated one or more of the services enumerated 2
in NRS 269.575 as properly within the power of the town advisory 3
board to manage: 4
(1) A resident of the unincorporated town; and 5
(2) A citizen of the United States or lawfully entitled to 6
reside in the United States. 7
3. Except as otherwise provided in subsection [7,] 8, the 8
members of a town advisory board serve at the pleasure of the board 9
of county commissioners. 10
[3.] 4. If a vacancy occurs on the town advisory board, the 11
board of county commissioners shall appoint a new member to serve 12
out the remainder of the unexpired term of the member. 13
[4.] 5. The board of county commissioners shall provide notice 14
of the expiration of the term of a member of and any vacancy on a 15
town advisory board to the residents of the unincorporated town by 16
mail, newsletter or newspaper at least 30 days before the expiration 17
of the term or filling the vacancy. 18
[5.] 6. The duties of the town advisory board are to: 19
(a) Assist the board of county commissioners in governing the 20
unincorporated town by acting as liaison between the residents of 21
the town and the board of county commissioners; and 22
(b) Advise the board of county commissioners on matters of 23
importance to the unincorporated town and its residents. 24
[6.] 7. The board of county commissioners may provide by 25
ordinance for compensation for the members of the town advisory 26
board. 27
[7.] 8. If an unincorporated town is established in a county 28
whose population is 700,000 or more and is located 25 miles or 29
more from an incorporated city whose population is 500,000 or 30
more: 31
(a) The board of county commissioners shall by ordinance 32
provide for the election by the registered voters of the 33
unincorporated town of three or five [qualified electors who are 34
residents of the unincorporated town] persons to serve as the town 35
advisory board. If there are fewer [qualified electors who are] 36
residents of the unincorporated town who file for election to the 37
town advisory board than there are seats on the town advisory 38
board, the board of county commissioners shall appoint as many 39
new members as are necessary to fill the seats left vacant after the 40
election. 41
(b) The members of the town advisory board of the 42
unincorporated town do not serve at the pleasure of and may not be 43
removed by the board of county commissioners. 44
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9. Each member of a town advisory board described in 1
subsection 8 must be: 2
(a) If the board of county commissioners has, pursuant to NRS 3
269.580, designated one or more of the services enumerated in 4
NRS 269.575 as properly within the power of the town advisory 5
board to manage: 6
(1) A resident of the unincorporated town; and 7
(2) A qualified elector. 8
(b) If the board of county commissioners has not, pursuant to 9
NRS 269.580, designated one or more of the services enumerated 10
in NRS 269.575 as properly within the power of the town advisory 11
board to manage: 12
(1) A resident of the unincorporated town; and 13
(2) A citizen of the United States or lawfully entitled to 14
reside in the United States. 15
Sec. 3. NRS 269.577 is hereby amended to read as follows: 16
269.577 1. The board of county commissioners of any county 17
whose population is less than 700,000 shall, in each ordinance 18
which establishes an unincorporated town pursuant to NRS 269.500 19
to 269.625, inclusive, provide for: 20
(a) The appointment by the board of county commissioners or 21
the election by the people of three or five [qualified electors who are 22
residents of the unincorporated town] persons to serve as the town 23
advisory board. 24
(b) The removal of a member of the town advisory board if the 25
board of county commissioners finds that the removal of the 26
member is in the best interest of the residents of the unincorporated 27
town. 28
(c) The appointment by the board of county commissioners of a 29
member to serve the unexpired term of a member of the town 30
advisory board removed pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (b) 31
or whose position otherwise becomes vacant. 32
2. Each member of a town advisory board must be: 33
(a) If the board of county commissioners has, pursuant to NRS 34
269.580, designated one or more of the services enumerated in 35
NRS 269.575 as properly within the power of the town advisory 36
board to manage: 37
(1) A resident of the unincorporated town; and 38
(2) A qualified elector. 39
(b) If the board of county commissioners has not, pursuant to 40
NRS 269.580, designated one or more of the services enumerated 41
in NRS 269.575 as properly within the power of the town advisory 42
board to manage: 43
(1) A resident of the unincorporated town; and 44
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(2) A citizen of the United States or lawfully entitled to 1
reside in the United States. 2
3. The board of county commissioners may provide by 3
ordinance for compensation for the members of the town advisory 4
board. 5
[3.] 4. The duties of the town advisory board are to: 6
(a) Assist the board of county commissioners in governing the 7
unincorporated town by acting as liaison between the residents of 8
the town and the board of county commissioners; and 9
(b) Advise the board of county commissioners on matters of 10
importance to the unincorporated town and its residents. 11
Sec. 4. NRS 293.177 is hereby amended to read as follows: 12
293.177 1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 293.165 13
and 293.166, a name may not be printed on a ballot to be used at a 14
primary election unless the person named has filed a declaration of 15
candidacy with the appropriate filing officer and paid the filing fee 16
required by NRS 293.193 not earlier than: 17
(a) For a candidate for judicial office, the first Monday in 18
January of the year in which the election is to be held and not later 19
than 5 p.m. on the second Friday after the first Monday in January; 20
and 21
(b) For all other candidates, the first Monday in March of the 22
year in which the election is to be held and not later than 5 p.m. on 23
the second Friday after the first Monday in March. 24
2. A declaration of candidacy required to be filed pursuant to 25
this chapter must be in substantially the following form: 26
(a) For partisan office: 27
28
DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY OF ........ FOR THE 29
OFFICE OF ................ 30
31
State of Nevada 32
33
County of .................................. 34
35
For the purpose of having my name placed on the official 36
ballot as a candidate for the ................ Party nomination for 37
the office of ........., I, the undersigned ........, do swear or 38
affirm under penalty of perjury that I actually, as opposed to 39
constructively, reside at .........., in the City or Town of ......., 40
County of .........., State of Nevada; that my actual, as opposed 41
to constructive, residence in the State, district, county, 42
township, city or other area prescribed by law to which the 43
office pertains began on a date at least 30 days immediately 44
preceding the date of the close of filing of declarations of 45
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candidacy for this office; that my telephone number is 1
............, and the address at which I receive mail, if different 2
than my residence, is .........; that I am registered as a member 3
of the ................ Party; that I am a qualified elector pursuant 4
to Section 1 of Article 2 of the Constitution of the State of 5
Nevada; that if I have ever been convicted of treason or a 6
felony, my civil rights have been restored; that I have not, in 7
violation of the provisions of NRS 293.176, changed the 8
designation of my political party or political party affiliation 9
on an official application to register to vote in any state since 10
December 31 before the closing filing date for this election; 11
that I generally believe in and intend to support the concepts 12
found in the principles and policies of that political party in 13
the coming election; that if nominated as a candidate of the 14
................ Party at the ensuing election, I will accept that 15
nomination and not withdraw; that I will not knowingly 16
violate any election law or any law defining and prohibiting 17
corrupt and fraudulent practices in campaigns and elections in 18
this State; that I will qualify for the office if elected thereto, 19
including, but not limited to, complying with any limitation 20
prescribed by the Constitution and laws of this State 21
concerning the number of years or terms for which a person 22
may hold the office; that I understand that knowingly and 23
willfully filing a declaration of candidacy which contains a 24
false statement is a crime punishable as a gross misdemeanor 25
and also subjects me to a civil action disqualifying me from 26
entering upon the duties of the office; and that I understand 27
that my name will appear on all ballots as designated in this 28
declaration. 29
30
................................................................ 31
(Designation of name) 32
33
................................................................ 34
(Signature of candidate for office) 35
36
Subscribed and sworn to before me 37
this ...... day of the month of ...... of the year ...... 38
39
...................................................................... 40
Notary Public or other person 41
authorized to administer an oath 42
43
(b) [For] Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (c), for 44
nonpartisan office: 45
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DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY OF ........ FOR THE 1
OFFICE OF ................ 2
3
State of Nevada 4
5
County of .................................. 6
7
For the purpose of having my name placed on the official 8
ballot as a candidate for the office of ................, I, the 9
undersigned ................, do swear or affirm under penalty of 10
perjury that I actually, as opposed to constructively, reside at 11
........., in the City or Town of ......., County of ........., State of 12
Nevada; that my actual, as opposed to constructive, residence 13
in the State, district, county, township, city or other area 14
prescribed by law to which the office pertains began on a date 15
at least 30 days immediately preceding the date of the close 16
of filing of declarations of candidacy for this office; that my 17
telephone number is ..........., and the address at which I 18
receive mail, if different than my residence, is ..........; that I 19
am a qualified elector pursuant to Section 1 of Article 2 of the 20
Constitution of the State of Nevada; that if I have ever been 21
convicted of treason or a felony, my civil rights have been 22
restored; that if nominated as a nonpartisan candidate at the 23
ensuing election, I will accept the nomination and not 24
withdraw; that I will not knowingly violate any election law 25
or any law defining and prohibiting corrupt and fraudulent 26
practices in campaigns and elections in this State; that I will 27
qualify for the office if elected thereto, including, but not 28
limited to, complying with any limitation prescribed by the 29
Constitution and laws of this State concerning the number of 30
years or terms for which a person may hold the office; that I 31
understand that knowingly and willfully filing a declaration 32
of candidacy which contains a false statement is a crime 33
punishable as a gross misdemeanor and also subjects me to a 34
civil action disqualifying me from entering upon the duties of 35
the office; and that I understand that my name will appear on 36
all ballots as designated in this declaration. 37
38
................................................................ 39
(Designation of name) 40
41
................................................................ 42
(Signature of candidate for office) 43
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Subscribed and sworn to before me 1
this ...... day of the month of ...... of the year ...... 2
3
...................................................................... 4
Notary Public or other person 5
authorized to administer an oath 6
7
(c) For the position of town advisory board if the board of 8
county commissioners has not, pursuant to NRS 269.580, 9
designated one or more of the services enumerated in NRS 10
269.575 as properly within the power of the town advisory board to 11
manage: 12
13
DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY OF ........ FOR THE 14
POSITION OF ................ 15
16
State of Nevada 17
18
County of .................................. 19
20
For the purpose of having my name placed on the official 21
ballot as a candidate for the position of ................, I, the 22
undersigned ................, do swear or affirm under penalty of 23
perjury that I actually, as opposed to constructively, reside 24
at ........., in the Town of ......., County of ........., State of 25
Nevada; that my actual, as opposed to constructive, 26
residence in the town to which the position pertains began 27
on a date at least 30 days immediately preceding the date of 28
the close of filing of declarations of candidacy for this 29
position; that my telephone number is ..........., and the 30
address at which I receive mail, if different than my 31
residence, is ..........; that if nominated as a nonpartisan 32
candidate at the ensuing election, I will accept the 33
nomination and not withdraw; that I will not knowingly 34
violate any election law or any law defining and prohibiting 35
corrupt and fraudulent practices in campaigns and elections 36
in this State; that I will qualify for the position if elected 37
thereto, including, but not limited to, complying with any 38
limitation prescribed by the Constitution and laws of this 39
State concerning the number of years or terms for which a 40
person may hold the position; that I understand that 41
knowingly and willfully filing a declaration of candidacy 42
which contains a false statement is a crime punishable as a 43
gross misdemeanor and also subjects me to a civil action 44
disqualifying me from entering upon the duties of the 45
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position; and that I understand that my name will appear on 1
all ballots as designated in this declaration. 2
3
................................................................ 4
(Designation of name) 5
6
................................................................ 7
(Signature of candidate for position) 8
9
10
Subscribed and sworn to before me 11
this ...... day of the month of ...... of the year ...... 12
13
...................................................................... 14
Notary Public or other person 15
authorized to administer an oath 16
17
3. The address of a candidate which must be included in the 18
declaration of candidacy pursuant to subsection 2 must be the street 19
address of the residence where the candidate actually, as opposed to 20
constructively, resides in accordance with NRS 281.050, if one has 21
been assigned. The declaration of candidacy must not be accepted 22
for filing if the candidate fails to comply with the following 23
provisions of this subsection or, if applicable, the provisions of 24
subsection 4: 25
(a) The candidate shall not list the candidate’s address as a post 26
office box unless a street address has not been assigned to his or her 27
residence; and 28
(b) Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, the candidate 29
shall present to the filing officer: 30
(1) A valid driver’s license or identification card issued by a 31
governmental agency that contains a photograph of the candidate 32
and the candidate’s residential address; or 33
(2) A current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, or 34
document issued by a governmental entity, including a check which 35
indicates the candidate’s name and residential address, but not 36
including a voter registration card. 37
4. If the candidate executes an oath or affirmation under 38
penalty of perjury stating that the candidate is unable to present to 39
the filing officer the proof of residency required by subsection 3 40
because a street address has not been assigned to the candidate’s 41
residence or because the rural or remote location of the candidate’s 42
residence makes it impracticable to present the proof of residency 43
required by subsection 3, the candidate shall present to the filing 44
officer: 45
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(a) A valid driver’s license or identification card issued by a 1
governmental agency that contains a photograph of the candidate; 2
and 3
(b) Alternative proof of the candidate’s residential address that 4
the filing officer determines is sufficient to verify where the 5
candidate actually, as opposed to constructively, resides in 6
accordance with NRS 281.050. The Secretary of State may adopt 7
regulations establishing the forms of alternative proof of the 8
candidate’s residential address that the filing officer may accept to 9
verify where the candidate actually, as opposed to constructively, 10
resides in accordance with NRS 281.050. 11
5. The filing officer shall retain a copy of the proof of identity 12
and residency provided by the candidate pursuant to subsection 3 or 13
4. Such a copy: 14
(a) May not be withheld from the public; and 15
(b) Must not contain the social security number, driver’s license 16
or identification card number or account number of the candidate. 17
6. By filing the declaration of candidacy, the candidate shall be 18
deemed to have appointed the filing officer for the office or 19
position, as applicable, as his or her agent for service of process for 20
the purposes of a proceeding pursuant to NRS 293.182. Service of 21
such process must first be attempted at the appropriate address as 22
specified by the candidate in the declaration of candidacy. If the 23
candidate cannot be served at that address, service must be made by 24
personally delivering to and leaving with the filing officer duplicate 25
copies of the process. The filing officer shall immediately send, by 26
registered or certified mail, one of the copies to the candidate at the 27
specified address, unless the candidate has designated in writing to 28
the filing officer a different address for that purpose, in which case 29
the filing officer shall mail the copy to the last address so 30
designated. 31
7. If the filing officer receives credible evidence indicating that 32
a candidate has been convicted of a felony and has not had his or her 33
civil rights restored, the filing officer: 34
(a) May conduct an investigation to determine whether the 35
candidate has been convicted of a felony and, if so, whether the 36
candidate has had his or her civil rights restored; and 37
(b) Shall transmit the credible evidence and the findings from 38
such investigation to the Attorney General, if the filing officer is the 39
Secretary of State, or to the district attorney, if the filing officer is a 40
person other than the Secretary of State. 41
8. The receipt of information by the Attorney General or 42
district attorney pursuant to subsection 7 must be treated as a 43
challenge of a candidate pursuant to subsections 4 and 5 of NRS 44
293.182 to which the provisions of NRS 293.2045 apply. 45
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9. Any person who knowingly and willfully files a declaration 1
of candidacy which contains a false statement in violation of this 2
section is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. 3
Sec. 5. This act becomes effective upon passage and approval. 4
H