Nevada Senate Bill SB426 Latest Draft

                            REQUIRES TWO-THIRDS MAJORITY VOTE (§ 1)  
  
  	S.B. 426 
 
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SENATE BILL NO. 426–COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES 
 
(ON BEHALF OF THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE  
FOR THE REVIEW AND OVERSIGHT OF THE  
TAHOE REGIONAL PLANNING AGENCY AND  
THE MARLETTE LAKE WATER SYSTEM) 
 
MARCH 24, 2025 
____________ 
 
Referred to Committee on Natural Resources 
 
SUMMARY—Making various changes relating to the Tahoe 
Regional Planning Compact. (BDR 22-374) 
 
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact. 
 Effect on the State: Yes. 
 
~ 
 
EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. 
 
 
AN ACT relating to governmental administration; imposing a transit 
surcharge on the per night rental of transient lodging in 
the Lake Tahoe Basin and setting forth the permissible 
uses of those transit surcharges; establishing the Lake 
Tahoe Basin Scenic Byway Corridor Recreation Safety 
Zone; authorizing the Tahoe transportation district to 
enter into an agreement with one or more local 
governments to provide parking enforcement within the 
Safety Zone; authorizing any board of county 
commissioners of a county located upon any publicly 
owned property or right-of-way in the Lake Tahoe Basin 
to construct, acquire, install, equip, maintain, operate and 
regulate parking facilities; and providing other matters 
properly relating thereto. 
Legislative Counsel’s Digest: 
 Existing law sets forth the Tahoe Regional Planning Compact, an interstate 1 
agreement between the States of California and Nevada pursuant to which the 2 
bistate Tahoe Regional Planning Agency regulates environmental and land-use 3 
matters within the Lake Tahoe Basin. (NRS 277.190-277.220) The Tahoe Regional 4 
Planning Compact provides for the creation of the Tahoe transportation district as a 5 
special purpose district managed by a board of directors which develops and 6 
implements transportation plans and programs for the Lake Tahoe Basin. While 7   
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Congressional approval is generally required to amend the Compact, the Compact 8 
specifically grants the authority to the legislatures of the states of California and 9 
Nevada to, by substantively identical enactments, amend the article of the Compact 10 
relating to the Tahoe transportation district. (NRS 277.200) This bill proposes to 11 
enact various changes to this article of the Compact relating to the Tahoe 12 
transportation district.  13 
 First, section 1 of this bill imposes, with certain exceptions, a transit surcharge 14 
on the per night rental of transient lodging in the amount of $4.00 within the Tahoe 15 
region in the State of California and $4.25 within the Tahoe region in the State of 16 
Nevada. The proceeds of these transit surcharges must be: (1) distributed to Tahoe 17 
transportation district; and (2) used to support transportation in the Tahoe region, 18 
except that $0.25 of the surcharge imposed in the Tahoe region in the State of 19 
Nevada must be distributed to the Tahoe Science Advisory Council to support its 20 
activities in the Tahoe region. 21 
 Second, section 1 creates the Lake Tahoe Basin Scenic Byway Corridor 22 
Recreation Safety Zone, consisting of any portion of U.S. Highway 50, California 23 
State Route 28, Nevada State Route 28 and Nevada State Route 431 that is located 24 
in the Tahoe region and directly connected to a recreational destination or that has 25 
otherwise been designated as a scenic byway. Section 1 further authorizes the 26 
Tahoe transportation district to enter into an agreement with one or more local 27 
governments in the region to provide parking enforcement within the Safety Zone. 28 
If the district enters into such an agreement, the Tahoe transportation district may 29 
enter into a contract with a private company to provide such parking enforcement 30 
services but such a contract must not order, mandate or require the issuance of a 31 
certain number of parking citations or otherwise base a payment to the private 32 
company on the number of parking citations issued by the private company. 33 
 Finally, section 1 authorizes the board of county commissioners in the Tahoe 34 
region to, upon any publicly owned property or right-of-way, construct, acquire, 35 
install, equip, maintain, operate and regulate parking facilities or parking spaces for 36 
use by the general public. Section 1 further authorizes such a board of county 37 
commissioners to: (1) enter into a contact, lease or other arrangement with the 38 
Tahoe transportation district to operate certain parking facilities or parking spaces; 39 
and (2) fix and charge reasonable fees for the use of any such parking facility or 40 
parking space. The proceeds of the fees for use of such parking that is along 41 
California State Route 28 or Nevada State Route 28 and connected to any 42 
recreational trail must be used to administer parking management programs and 43 
operate and maintain parking facilities or associated facilities, including sanitation, 44 
signage, recreational trails and public transit. 45 
 
 
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN 
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 
 
 Section 1.  NRS 277.200 is hereby amended to read as follows: 1 
 277.200 The Tahoe Regional Planning Compact is as follows: 2 
 3 
Tahoe Regional Planning Compact 4 
 5 
ARTICLE I. Findings and Declarations of Policy 6 
 7 
 (a) It is found and declared that: 8   
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  (1) The waters of Lake Tahoe and other resources of the 1 
region are threatened with deterioration or degeneration, which 2 
endangers the natural beauty and economic productivity of the 3 
region. 4 
  (2) The public and private interests and investments in the 5 
region are substantial. 6 
  (3) The region exhibits unique environmental and ecological 7 
values which are irreplaceable. 8 
  (4) By virtue of the special conditions and circumstances of 9 
the region’s natural ecology, developmental pattern, population 10 
distribution and human needs, the region is experiencing problems 11 
of resource use and deficiencies of environmental control. 12 
  (5) Increasing urbanization is threatening the ecological 13 
values of the region and threatening the public opportunities for use 14 
of the public lands. 15 
  (6) Maintenance of the social and economic health of the 16 
region depends on maintaining the significant scenic, recreational, 17 
educational, scientific, natural and public health values provided by 18 
the Lake Tahoe Basin. 19 
  (7) There is a public interest in protecting, preserving and 20 
enhancing these values for the residents of the region and for 21 
visitors to the region. 22 
  (8) Responsibilities for providing recreational and scientific 23 
opportunities, preserving scenic and natural areas, and safeguarding 24 
the public who live, work and play in or visit the region are divided 25 
among local governments, regional agencies, the states of California 26 
and Nevada, and the Federal Government. 27 
  (9) In recognition of the public investment and multistate and 28 
national significance of the recreational values, the Federal 29 
Government has an interest in the acquisition of recreational 30 
property and the management of resources in the region to preserve 31 
environmental and recreational values, and the Federal Government 32 
should assist the states in fulfilling their responsibilities. 33 
  (10) In order to preserve the scenic beauty and outdoor 34 
recreational opportunities of the region, there is a need to insure an 35 
equilibrium between the region’s natural endowment and its man-36 
made environment. 37 
 (b) In order to enhance the efficiency and governmental 38 
effectiveness of the region, it is imperative that there be established 39 
a Tahoe Regional Planning Agency with the powers conferred by 40 
this compact including the power to establish environmental 41 
threshold carrying capacities and to adopt and enforce a regional 42 
plan and implementing ordinances which will achieve and maintain 43 
such capacities while providing opportunities for orderly growth and 44 
development consistent with such capacities. 45   
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 (c) The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency shall interpret and 1 
administer its plans, ordinances, rules and regulations in accordance 2 
with the provisions of this compact. 3 
 4 
ARTICLE II. Definitions 5 
 6 
As used in this compact: 7 
 (a) “Region,” includes Lake Tahoe, the adjacent parts of 8 
Douglas and Washoe counties and Carson City, which for the 9 
purposes of this compact shall be deemed a county, lying within  10 
the Tahoe Basin in the State of Nevada, and the adjacent parts of the 11 
Counties of Placer and El Dorado lying within the Tahoe Basin in 12 
the State of California, and that additional and adjacent part of the 13 
County of Placer outside of the Tahoe Basin in the State of 14 
California which lies southward and eastward of a line starting at the 15 
intersection of the basin crestline and the north boundary of Section 16 
1, thence west to the northwest corner of Section 3, thence south to 17 
the intersection of the basin crestline and the west boundary of 18 
Section 10; all sections referring to Township 15 North, Range 16 19 
East, M.D.B. & M. The region defined and described herein shall be 20 
as precisely delineated on official maps of the agency. 21 
 (b) “Agency” means the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. 22 
 (c) “Governing body” means the governing board of the Tahoe 23 
Regional Planning Agency. 24 
 (d) “Regional plan” means the long-term general plan for the 25 
development of the region. 26 
 (e) “Planning commission” means the advisory planning 27 
commission appointed pursuant to subdivision (h) of Article III. 28 
 (f) “Gaming” means to deal, operate, carry on, conduct, 29 
maintain or expose for play any banking or percentage game played 30 
with cards, dice or any mechanical device or machine for money, 31 
property, checks, credit or any representative of value, including, 32 
without limiting the generality of the foregoing, faro, monte, 33 
roulette, keno, bingo, fantan, twenty-one, blackjack, seven-and-a-34 
half, big injun, klondike, craps, stud poker, draw poker or slot 35 
machine, but does not include social games played solely for drinks, 36 
or cigars or cigarettes served individually, games played in private 37 
homes or residences for prizes or games operated by charitable or 38 
educational organizations, to the extent excluded by applicable state 39 
law. 40 
 (g) “Restricted gaming license” means a license to operate not 41 
more than 15 slot machines on which a quarterly fee is charged 42 
pursuant to NRS 463.373 and no other games. 43 
 (h) “Project” means an activity undertaken by any person, 44 
including any public agency, if the activity may substantially affect 45   
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the land, water, air, space or any other natural resources of the 1 
region. 2 
 (i) “Environmental threshold carrying capacity” means an 3 
environmental standard necessary to maintain a significant scenic, 4 
recreational, educational, scientific or natural value of the region or 5 
to maintain public health and safety within the region. Such 6 
standards shall include but not be limited to standards for air quality, 7 
water quality, soil conservation, vegetation preservation and noise. 8 
 (j) “Feasible” means capable of being accomplished in a 9 
successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into 10 
account economic, environmental, social and technological factors. 11 
 (k) “Areas open to public use” means all of the areas within a 12 
structure housing gaming under a nonrestricted license except areas 13 
devoted to the private use of guests. 14 
 (l) “Areas devoted to private use of guests” means hotel rooms 15 
and hallways to serve hotel room areas, and any parking areas. A 16 
hallway serves hotel room areas if more than 50 percent of the areas 17 
on each side of the hallway are hotel rooms. 18 
 (m) “Nonrestricted license” means a gaming license which is not 19 
a restricted gaming license. 20 
 21 
ARTICLE III. Organization 22 
 23 
 (a) There is created the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency as a 24 
separate legal entity. 25 
 The governing body of the agency shall be constituted as 26 
follows: 27 
 (1) California delegation: 28 
 (A) One member appointed by each of the County Boards of 29 
Supervisors of the Counties of El Dorado and Placer and one 30 
member appointed by the City Council of the City of South Lake 31 
Tahoe. Any such member may be a member of the county board of 32 
supervisors or city council, respectively, and shall reside in the 33 
territorial jurisdiction of the governmental body making the 34 
appointment. 35 
 (B) Two members appointed by the Governor of California, one 36 
member appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly of California 37 
and one member appointed by the Senate Rules Committee of the 38 
State of California. The members appointed pursuant to this 39 
subparagraph shall not be residents of the region and shall represent 40 
the public at large within the State of California. 41 
 (2) Nevada delegation: 42 
 (A) One member appointed by each of the boards of county 43 
commissioners of Douglas and Washoe counties and one member 44 
appointed by the board of supervisors of Carson City. Any such 45   
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member may be a member of the board of county commissioners or 1 
board of supervisors, respectively, and shall reside in the territorial 2 
jurisdiction of the governmental body making the appointment. 3 
 (B) One member appointed by the governor of Nevada, the 4 
secretary of state of Nevada or his designee, and the director of the 5 
state department of conservation and natural resources of Nevada or 6 
his designee. Except for the secretary of state and the director of the 7 
state department of conservation and natural resources, the members 8 
or designees appointed pursuant to this subparagraph shall not be 9 
residents of the region. All members appointed pursuant to this 10 
subparagraph shall represent the public at large within the State of 11 
Nevada. 12 
 (C) One member appointed for a 1-year term by the six other 13 
members of the Nevada delegation. If at least four members of the 14 
Nevada delegation are unable to agree upon the selection of a 15 
seventh member within 60 days after the effective date of the 16 
amendments to this compact or the occurrence of a vacancy on the 17 
governing body for that state the governor of the State of Nevada 18 
shall make such an appointment. The member appointed pursuant to 19 
this subparagraph may, but is not required to, be a resident of the 20 
region within the State of Nevada. 21 
 (3) If any appointing authority under paragraph (1)(A), (1)(B), 22 
(2)(A) or (2)(B) fails to make such an appointment within 60 days 23 
after the effective date of the amendments to this compact or the 24 
occurrence of a vacancy on the governing body, the governor of  25 
the state in which the appointing authority is located shall make the 26 
appointment. The term of any member so appointed shall be 1 year. 27 
 (4) The position of any member of the governing body shall be 28 
deemed vacant if such a member is absent from three consecutive 29 
meetings of the governing body in any calendar year. 30 
 (5) Each member and employee of the agency shall disclose his 31 
economic interests in the region within 10 days after taking his seat 32 
on the governing board or being employed by the agency and shall 33 
thereafter disclose any further economic interest which he acquires, 34 
as soon as feasible after he acquires it. As used in this paragraph, 35 
“economic interests” means: 36 
 (A) Any business entity operating in the region in which the 37 
member or employee has a direct or indirect investment worth more 38 
than $1,000; 39 
 (B) Any real property located in the region in which the member 40 
or employee has a direct or indirect interest worth more than $1,000; 41 
 (C) Any source of income attributable to activities in the region, 42 
other than loans by or deposits with a commercial lending institution 43 
in the regular course of business, aggregating $250 or more in value 44   
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received by or promised to the member within the preceding 12 1 
months; or 2 
 (D) Any business entity operating in the region in which the 3 
member or employee is a director, officer, partner, trustee, employee 4 
or holds any position of management. 5 
 No member or employee of the agency shall make, or attempt to 6 
influence, an agency decision in which he knows or has reason to 7 
know he has an economic interest. Members and employees of the 8 
agency must disqualify themselves from making or participating in 9 
the making of any decision of the agency when it is reasonably 10 
foreseeable that the decision will have a material financial effect, 11 
distinguishable from its effect on the public generally, on the 12 
economic interests of the member or employee. 13 
 (b) The members of the agency shall serve without 14 
compensation, but the expenses of each member shall be met by the 15 
body which he represents in accordance with the law of that body. 16 
All other expenses incurred by the governing body in the course of 17 
exercising the powers conferred upon it by this compact unless met 18 
in some other manner specifically provided, shall be paid by the 19 
agency out of its own funds. 20 
 (c) Except for the secretary of state and director of the state 21 
department of conservation and natural resources of Nevada and the 22 
member appointed pursuant to subdivision (a)(2)(C), the members 23 
of the governing body serve at the pleasure of the appointing 24 
authority in each case, but each appointment shall be reviewed no 25 
less often than every 4 years. Members may be reappointed. 26 
 (d) The governing body of the agency shall meet at least 27 
monthly. All meetings shall be open to the public to the extent 28 
required by the law of the State of California or the State of Nevada, 29 
whichever imposes the greater requirement, applicable to local 30 
governments at the time such meeting is held. The governing body 31 
shall fix a date for its regular monthly meeting in such terms as “the 32 
first Monday of each month,” and shall not change such date more 33 
often than once in any calendar year. Notice of the date so fixed 34 
shall be given by publication at least once in a newspaper or 35 
combination of newspapers whose circulation is general throughout 36 
the region and in each county a portion of whose territory lies within 37 
the region. Notice of any special meeting, except an emergency 38 
meeting, shall be given by so publishing the date and place and 39 
posting an agenda at least 5 days prior to the meeting. 40 
 (e) The position of a member of the governing body shall be 41 
considered vacated upon his loss of any of the qualifications 42 
required for his appointment and in such event the appointing 43 
authority shall appoint a successor. 44   
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 (f) The governing body shall elect from its own members a 1 
chairman and vice chairman, whose terms of office shall be 2 years, 2 
and who may be reelected. If a vacancy occurs in either office, the 3 
governing body may fill such vacancy for the unexpired term. 4 
 (g) Four of the members of the governing body from each state 5 
constitute a quorum for the transaction of the business of the 6 
agency. The voting procedures shall be as follows: 7 
 (1) For adopting, amending or repealing environmental 8 
threshold carrying capacities, the regional plan, and ordinances, 9 
rules and regulations, and for granting variances from the 10 
ordinances, rules and regulations, the vote of at least four of the 11 
members of each state agreeing with the vote of at least four 12 
members of the other state shall be required to take action. If there is 13 
no vote of at least four of the members from one state agreeing with 14 
the vote of at least four of the members of the other state on the 15 
actions specified in this paragraph, an action of rejection shall be 16 
deemed to have been taken. 17 
 (2) For approving a project, the affirmative vote of at least five 18 
members from the state in which the project is located and the 19 
affirmative vote of at least nine members of the governing body are 20 
required. If at least five members of the governing body from the 21 
state in which the project is located and at least nine members of the 22 
entire governing body do not vote in favor of the project, upon a 23 
motion for approval, an action of rejection shall be deemed to have 24 
been taken. A decision by the agency to approve a project shall be 25 
supported by a statement of findings, adopted by the agency, which 26 
indicates that the project complies with the regional plan and with 27 
applicable ordinances, rules and regulations of the agency. 28 
 (3) For routine business and for directing the agency’s staff on 29 
litigation and enforcement actions, at least eight members of the 30 
governing body must agree to take action. If at least eight votes in 31 
favor of such action are not cast, an action of rejection shall be 32 
deemed to have been taken. 33 
 Whenever under the provisions of this compact or any ordinance, 34 
rule, regulation or policy adopted pursuant thereto, the agency is 35 
required to review or approve any project, public or private, the 36 
agency shall take final action by vote, whether to approve, to require 37 
modification or to reject such project, within 180 days after the 38 
application for such project is accepted as complete by the agency in 39 
compliance with the agency’s rules and regulations governing such 40 
delivery unless the applicant has agreed to an extension of this time 41 
limit. If a final action by vote does not take place within 180 days, 42 
the applicant may bring an action in a court of competent 43 
jurisdiction to compel a vote unless he has agreed to an extension. 44 
This provision does not limit the right of any person to obtain 45   
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judicial review of agency action under subdivision (h) of Article VI. 1 
The vote of each member of the governing body shall be 2 
individually recorded. The governing body shall adopt its own rules, 3 
regulations and procedures. 4 
 (h) An advisory planning commission shall be appointed by the 5 
agency. The commission shall include: the chief planning officers of 6 
Placer County, El Dorado County, and the City of South Lake 7 
Tahoe in California and of Douglas County, Washoe County and 8 
Carson City in Nevada, the executive officer of the Lahontan 9 
Regional Water Quality Control Board of the State of California, the 10 
executive officer of the Air Resources Board of the State of 11 
California, the director of the state department of conservation and 12 
natural resources of the State of Nevada, the administrator of the 13 
division of environmental protection in the state department of 14 
conservation and natural resources of the State of Nevada, the 15 
administrator of the Lake Tahoe Management Unit of the United 16 
States Forest Service, and at least four lay members with an equal 17 
number from each state, at least half of whom shall be residents of 18 
the region. Any official member may designate an alternate. 19 
 The term of office of each lay member of the advisory planning 20 
commission shall be 2 years. Members may be reappointed. 21 
 The position of each member of the advisory planning 22 
commission shall be considered vacated upon loss of any of the 23 
qualifications required for appointment, and in such an event the 24 
appointing authority shall appoint a successor. 25 
 The advisory planning commission shall elect from its own 26 
members a chairman and a vice chairman, whose terms of office 27 
shall be 2 years and who may be reelected. If a vacancy occurs in 28 
either office, the advisory planning commission shall fill such 29 
vacancy for the unexpired term. 30 
 A majority of the members of the advisory planning commission 31 
constitutes a quorum for the transaction of the business of the 32 
commission. A majority vote of the quorum present shall be 33 
required to take action with respect to any matter. 34 
 (i) The agency shall establish and maintain an office within the 35 
region, and for this purpose the agency may rent or own property 36 
and equipment. Every plan, ordinance and other record of the 37 
agency which is of such nature as to constitute a public record under 38 
the law of either the State of California or the State of Nevada shall 39 
be open to inspection and copying during regular office hours. 40 
 (j) Each authority charged under this compact or by the law of 41 
either state with the duty of appointing a member of the governing 42 
body of the agency shall by certified copy of its resolution or other 43 
action notify the Secretary of State of its own state of the action 44 
taken. 45   
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ARTICLE IV. Personnel 1 
 2 
 (a) The governing body shall determine the qualification of, and 3 
it shall appoint and fix the salary of, the executive officer of the 4 
agency, and shall employ such other staff and legal counsel as may 5 
be necessary to execute the powers and functions provided for under 6 
this compact or in accordance with any intergovernmental contracts 7 
or agreements the agency may be responsible for administering. 8 
 (b) Agency personnel standards and regulations shall conform 9 
insofar as possible to the regulations and procedures of the civil 10 
service of the State of California or the State of Nevada, as may be 11 
determined by the governing body of the agency; and shall be 12 
regional and bistate in application and effect; provided that the 13 
governing body may, for administrative convenience and at its 14 
discretion, assign the administration of designated personnel 15 
arrangements to an agency of either state, and provided that 16 
administratively convenient adjustments be made in the standards 17 
and regulations governing personnel assigned under 18 
intergovernmental agreements. 19 
 (c) The agency may establish and maintain or participate in such 20 
additional programs of employee benefits as may be appropriate to 21 
afford employees of the agency terms and conditions of employment 22 
similar to those enjoyed by employees of California and Nevada 23 
generally. 24 
 25 
ARTICLE V. Planning 26 
 27 
 (a) In preparing each of the plans required by this article and 28 
each amendment thereto, if any, subsequent to its adoption, the 29 
planning commission after due notice shall hold at least one public 30 
hearing which may be continued from time to time, and shall review 31 
the testimony and any written recommendations presented at such 32 
hearing before recommending the plan or amendment. The notice 33 
required by this subdivision shall be given at least 20 days prior to 34 
the public hearing by publication at least once in a newspaper or 35 
combination of newspapers whose circulation is general throughout 36 
the region and in each county a portion of whose territory lies within 37 
the region. 38 
 The planning commission shall then recommend such plan or 39 
amendment to the governing body for adoption by ordinance. The 40 
governing body may adopt, modify or reject the proposed plan or 41 
amendment, or may initiate and adopt a plan or amendment without 42 
referring it to the planning commission. If the governing body 43 
initiates or substantially modifies a plan or amendment, it shall hold 44   
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at least one public hearing thereon after due notice as required in 1 
this subdivision. 2 
 If a request is made for the amendment of the regional plan by: 3 
 (1) A political subdivision a part of whose territory would be 4 
affected by such amendment; or 5 
 (2) The owner or lessee of real property which would be 6 
affected by such amendment, 7 
 the governing body shall complete its action on such amendment 8 
within 180 days after such request is accepted as complete 9 
according to standards which must be prescribed by ordinance of the 10 
agency. 11 
 (b) The agency shall develop, in cooperation with the states of 12 
California and Nevada, environmental threshold carrying capacities 13 
for the region. The agency should request the President’s Council on 14 
Environmental Quality, the United States Forest Service and other 15 
appropriate agencies to assist in developing such environmental 16 
threshold carrying capacities. Within 18 months after the effective 17 
date of the amendments to this compact, the agency shall adopt 18 
environmental threshold carrying capacities for the region. 19 
 (c) Within 1 year after the adoption of the environmental 20 
threshold carrying capacities for the region, the agency shall amend 21 
the regional plan so that, at a minimum, the plan and all of its 22 
elements, as implemented through agency ordinances, rules and 23 
regulations, achieves and maintains the adopted environmental 24 
threshold carrying capacities. Each element of the plan shall contain 25 
implementation provisions and time schedules for such 26 
implementation by ordinance. The planning commission and 27 
governing body shall continuously review and maintain the regional 28 
plan and, in so doing, shall ensure that the regional plan reflects 29 
changing economic conditions and the economic effect of regulation 30 
on commerce. The regional plan shall consist of a diagram, or 31 
diagrams, and text, or texts setting forth the projects and proposals 32 
for implementation of the regional plan, a description of the needs 33 
and goals of the region and a statement of the policies, standards and 34 
elements of the regional plan. 35 
 The regional plan shall be a single enforceable plan and includes 36 
all of the following correlated elements: 37 
 (1) A land-use plan for the integrated arrangement and general 38 
location and extent of, and the criteria and standards for, the uses of 39 
land, water, air, space and other natural resources within the region, 40 
including but not limited to an indication or allocation of maximum 41 
population densities and permitted uses. 42 
 (2) A transportation plan for the integrated development of a 43 
regional system of transportation, including but not limited to 44 
parkways, highways, transportation facilities, transit routes, 45   
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waterways, navigation facilities, public transportation facilities, 1 
bicycle facilities, and appurtenant terminals and facilities for the 2 
movement of people and goods within the region. The goal of 3 
transportation planning shall be: 4 
 (A) To reduce dependency on the automobile by making more 5 
effective use of existing transportation modes and of public transit 6 
to move people and goods within the region; and 7 
 (B) To reduce to the extent feasible air pollution which is caused 8 
by motor vehicles. 9 
 Where increases in capacity are required, the agency shall give 10 
preference to providing such capacity through public transportation 11 
and public programs and projects related to transportation. The 12 
agency shall review and consider all existing transportation plans in 13 
preparing its regional transportation plan pursuant to this paragraph. 14 
 The plan shall provide for an appropriate transit system for the 15 
region. 16 
 The plan shall give consideration to: 17 
 (A) Completion of the Loop Road in the states of Nevada and 18 
California; 19 
 (B) Utilization of a light rail mass transit system in the South 20 
Shore area; and 21 
 (C) Utilization of a transit terminal in the Kingsbury Grade area. 22 
 Until the regional plan is revised, or a new transportation plan is 23 
adopted in accordance with this paragraph, the agency has no 24 
effective transportation plan. 25 
 (3) A conservation plan for the preservation, development, 26 
utilization, and management of the scenic and other natural 27 
resources within the basin, including but not limited to, soils, 28 
shoreline and submerged lands, scenic corridors along transportation 29 
routes, open spaces, recreational and historical facilities. 30 
 (4) A recreation plan for the development, utilization, and 31 
management of the recreational resources of the region, including 32 
but not limited to, wilderness and forested lands, parks and 33 
parkways, riding and hiking trails, beaches and playgrounds, 34 
marinas, areas for skiing and other recreational facilities. 35 
 (5) A public services and facilities plan for the general location, 36 
scale and provision of public services and facilities, which, by the 37 
nature of their function, size, extent and other characteristics are 38 
necessary or appropriate for inclusion in the regional plan. 39 
 In formulating and maintaining the regional plan, the planning 40 
commission and governing body shall take account of and shall seek 41 
to harmonize the needs of the region as a whole, the plans of the 42 
counties and cities within the region, the plans and planning 43 
activities of the state, federal and other public agencies and 44   
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nongovernmental agencies and organizations which affect or are 1 
concerned with planning and development within the region. 2 
 (d) The regional plan shall provide for attaining and maintaining 3 
federal, state, or local air and water quality standards, whichever are 4 
strictest, in the respective portions of the region for which the 5 
standards are applicable. 6 
 The agency may, however, adopt air or water quality standards 7 
or control measures more stringent than the applicable state 8 
implementation plan or the applicable federal, state, or local 9 
standards for the region, if it finds that such additional standards or 10 
control measures are necessary to achieve the purposes of this 11 
compact. Each element of the regional plan, where applicable, shall, 12 
by ordinance, identify the means and time schedule by which air and 13 
water quality standards will be attained. 14 
 (e) Except for the Regional Transportation Plan of the California 15 
Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the regional plan, ordinances, 16 
rules and regulations adopted by the California Tahoe Regional 17 
Planning Agency in effect on July 1, 1980, shall be the regional 18 
plan, ordinances, rules and regulations of the Tahoe Regional 19 
Planning Agency for that portion of the Tahoe region located in the 20 
State of California. Such plan, ordinance, rule or regulation may be 21 
amended or repealed by the governing body of the agency. The 22 
plans, ordinances, rules and regulations of the Tahoe Regional 23 
Planning Agency that do not conflict with, or are not addressed by, 24 
the California Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s plans, ordinances, 25 
rules and regulations referred to in this subdivision shall continue to 26 
be applicable unless amended or repealed by the governing body of 27 
the agency. No provision of the regional plan, ordinances, rules and 28 
regulations of the California Tahoe Regional Planning Agency 29 
referred to in this subdivision shall apply to that portion of the 30 
region within the State of Nevada, unless such provision is adopted 31 
for the Nevada portion of the region by the governing body of the 32 
agency. 33 
 (f) The regional plan, ordinances, rules and regulations of the 34 
Tahoe Regional Planning Agency apply to that portion of the region 35 
within the State of Nevada. 36 
 (g) The agency shall adopt ordinances prescribing specific 37 
written findings that the agency must make prior to approving any 38 
project in the region. These findings shall relate to environmental 39 
protection and shall insure that the project under review will not 40 
adversely affect implementation of the regional plan and will not 41 
cause the adopted environmental threshold carrying capacities of the 42 
region to be exceeded. 43 
 (h) The agency shall maintain the data, maps and other 44 
information developed in the course of formulating and 45   
 	– 14 – 
 
 
- 	*SB426* 
administering the regional plan, in a form suitable to assure a 1 
consistent view of developmental trends and other relevant 2 
information for the availability of and use by other agencies of 3 
government and by private organizations and individuals concerned. 4 
 (i) Where necessary for the realization of the regional plan, the 5 
agency may engage in collaborative planning with local 6 
governmental jurisdictions located outside the region, but 7 
contiguous to its boundaries. In formulating and implementing the 8 
regional plan, the agency shall seek the cooperation and consider the 9 
recommendations of counties and cities and other agencies of local 10 
government, of state and federal agencies, of educational institutions 11 
and research organizations, whether public or private, and of civic 12 
groups and private persons. 13 
 14 
ARTICLE VI. Agency’s Powers 15 
 16 
 (a) The governing body shall adopt all necessary ordinances, 17 
rules, and regulations to effectuate the adopted regional plan. Except 18 
as otherwise provided in this compact, every such ordinance, rule or 19 
regulation shall establish a minimum standard applicable throughout 20 
the region. Any political subdivision or public agency may adopt 21 
and enforce an equal or higher requirement applicable to the same 22 
subject of regulation in its territory. The regulations of the agency 23 
shall contain standards including but not limited to the following: 24 
water purity and clarity; subdivision; zoning; tree removal; solid 25 
waste disposal; sewage disposal; land fills, excavations, cuts and 26 
grading; piers, harbors, breakwaters or channels and other shoreline 27 
developments; waste disposal in shoreline areas; waste disposal 28 
from boats; mobile-home parks; house relocation; outdoor 29 
advertising; floodplain protection; soil and sedimentation control; 30 
air pollution; and watershed protection. Whenever possible without 31 
diminishing the effectiveness of the regional plan, the ordinances, 32 
rules, regulations and policies shall be confined to matters which are 33 
general and regional in application, leaving to the jurisdiction of the 34 
respective states, counties and cities the enactment of specific and 35 
local ordinances, rules, regulations and policies which conform to 36 
the regional plan. 37 
 The agency shall prescribe by ordinance those activities which it 38 
has determined will not have substantial effect on the land, water, 39 
air, space or any other natural resources in the region and therefore 40 
will be exempt from its review and approval. 41 
 Every ordinance adopted by the agency shall be published at 42 
least once by title in a newspaper or combination of newspapers 43 
whose circulation is general throughout the region. Except an 44 
ordinance adopting or amending the regional plan, no ordinance 45   
 	– 15 – 
 
 
- 	*SB426* 
shall become effective until 60 days after its adoption. Immediately 1 
after its adoption, a copy of each ordinance shall be transmitted to 2 
the governing body of each political subdivision having territory 3 
within the region. 4 
 (b) No project other than those to be reviewed and approved 5 
under the special provisions of subdivisions (d), (e), (f) and (g) may 6 
be developed in the region without obtaining the review and 7 
approval of the agency and no project may be approved unless it is 8 
found to comply with the regional plan and with the ordinances, 9 
rules and regulations enacted pursuant to subdivision (a) to 10 
effectuate that plan. 11 
 The agency may approve a project in the region only after 12 
making the written findings required by this subdivision or 13 
subdivision (g) of Article V. Such findings shall be based on 14 
substantial evidence in the record. 15 
 Before adoption by the agency of the ordinances required in 16 
subdivision (g) of Article V, the agency may approve a project in 17 
the region only after making written findings on the basis of 18 
substantial evidence in the record that the project is consistent with 19 
the regional plan then in effect and with applicable plans, 20 
ordinances, regulations, and standards of federal and state agencies 21 
relating to the protection, maintenance and enhancement of 22 
environmental quality in the region. 23 
 (c) The legislatures of the states of California and Nevada find 24 
that in order to make effective the regional plan as revised by the 25 
agency, it is necessary to halt temporarily works of development in 26 
the region which might otherwise absorb the entire capability of the 27 
region for further development or direct it out of harmony with the 28 
ultimate plan. Subject to the limitation provided in this subdivision, 29 
from the effective date of the amendments to this compact until the 30 
regional plan is amended pursuant to subdivision (c) of Article V, or 31 
until May 1, 1983, whichever is earlier: 32 
 (1) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, no new 33 
subdivision, planned unit development, or condominium project 34 
may be approved unless a complete tentative map or plan has been 35 
approved before the effective date of the amendments to this 36 
compact by all agencies having jurisdiction. The subdivision of land 37 
owned by a general improvement district, which existed and owned 38 
the land before the effective date of the amendments to this 39 
compact, may be approved if subdivision of the land is necessary to 40 
avoid insolvency of the district. 41 
 (2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), no apartment building 42 
may be erected unless the required permits for such building have 43 
been secured from all agencies having jurisdiction, prior to the 44 
effective date of the amendments to this compact. 45   
 	– 16 – 
 
 
- 	*SB426* 
 (3) During each of the calendar years 1980, 1981 and 1982, no 1 
city or county may issue building permits which authorize the 2 
construction of a greater number of new residential units within the 3 
region than were authorized within the region by building permits 4 
issued by that city or county during the calendar year 1978. For the 5 
period of January through April, 1983, building permits authorizing 6 
the construction of no more than one-third of that number may be 7 
issued by each such city or county. For purposes of this paragraph a 8 
“residential unit” means either a single family residence or an 9 
individual residential unit within a larger building, such as an 10 
apartment building, a duplex or a condominium. 11 
 The legislatures find the respective numbers of residential units 12 
authorized within the region during the calendar year 1978 to be as 13 
follows: 14 
 1.  City of South Lake Tahoe and El Dorado 15 
County (combined) ................................................................  252 16 
 2.  Placer County ............................................................  278 17 
 3.  Carson City ................................................................  -0- 18 
 4.  Douglas County .........................................................  339 19 
 5.  Washoe County ..........................................................  739 20 
 (4) During each of the calendar years 1980, 1981 and 1982, no 21 
city or county may issue building permits which authorize 22 
construction of a greater square footage of new commercial 23 
buildings within the region than were authorized within the region 24 
by building permits for commercial purposes issued by that city or 25 
county during the calendar year 1978. For the period of January 26 
through April, 1983, building permits authorizing the construction 27 
of no more than one-third the amount of that square footage may be 28 
issued by each such city or county. 29 
 The legislatures find the respective square footages of 30 
commercial buildings authorized within the region during calendar 31 
year 1978 to be as follows: 32 
 1.  City of South Lake Tahoe and El Dorado 33 
County (combined) ................................................................  64,324 34 
 2.  Placer County ............................................................  23,000 35 
 3.  Carson City ................................................................  -0- 36 
 4.  Douglas County .........................................................  57,354 37 
 5.  Washoe County ..........................................................  50,600 38 
 (5) No structure may be erected to house gaming under a 39 
nonrestricted license. 40 
 (6) No facility for the treatment of sewage may be constructed 41 
or enlarged except: 42 
 (A) To comply, as ordered by the appropriate state agency for 43 
the control of water pollution, with existing limitations of effluent 44   
 	– 17 – 
 
 
- 	*SB426* 
under the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq., and the 1 
applicable state law for control of water pollution; 2 
 (B) To accommodate development which is not prohibited or 3 
limited by this subdivision; or 4 
 (C) In the case of Douglas County Lake Tahoe Sewer Authority, 5 
to modify or otherwise alter sewage treatment facilities existing on 6 
the effective date of the amendments to this compact so that such 7 
facilities will be able to treat the total volume of effluent for which 8 
they were originally designed, which is 3.0 million gallons per day. 9 
Such modification or alteration is not a “project”; is not subject to 10 
the requirements of Article VII; and does not require a permit from 11 
the agency. Before commencing such modification or alteration, 12 
however, the Authority shall submit to the agency its report 13 
identifying any significant soil erosion problems which may be 14 
caused by such modifications or alterations and the measures which 15 
the Authority proposes to take to mitigate or avoid such problems. 16 
 The moratorium imposed by this subdivision does not apply to 17 
work done pursuant to a right vested before the effective date of the 18 
amendments to this compact. Notwithstanding the expiration date of 19 
the moratorium imposed by this subdivision, no new highway may 20 
be built or existing highway widened to accommodate additional 21 
continuous lanes for automobiles until the regional transportation 22 
plan is revised and adopted. 23 
 The moratorium imposed by this subdivision does not apply to 24 
the construction of any parking garage which has been approved by 25 
the agency prior to May 4, 1979, whether that approval was 26 
affirmative or by default. The provisions of this paragraph are not an 27 
expression of legislative intent that any such parking garage, the 28 
approval of which is the subject of litigation which was pending on 29 
the effective date of the amendments to this compact, should or 30 
should not be constructed. The provisions of this paragraph are 31 
intended solely to permit construction of such a parking garage if a 32 
judgment sustaining the agency’s approval to construct that parking 33 
garage has become final and no appeal is pending or may lawfully 34 
be taken to a higher court. 35 
 (d) Subject to the final order of any court of competent 36 
jurisdiction entered in litigation contesting the validity of an 37 
approval by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, whether that 38 
approval was affirmative or by default, if that litigation was pending 39 
on May 4, 1979, the agency and the states of California and Nevada 40 
shall recognize as a permitted and conforming use: 41 
 (1) Every structure housing gaming under a nonrestricted license 42 
which existed as a licensed gaming establishment on May 4, 1979, 43 
or whose construction was approved by the Tahoe Regional 44 
Planning Agency affirmatively or deemed approved before that date. 45   
 	– 18 – 
 
 
- 	*SB426* 
The construction or use of any structure to house gaming under a 1 
nonrestricted license not so existing or approved, or the enlargement 2 
in cubic volume of any such existing or approved structure is 3 
prohibited. 4 
 (2) Every other nonrestricted gaming establishment whose use 5 
was seasonal and whose license was issued before May 4, 1979, for 6 
the same season and for the number and type of games and slot 7 
machines on which taxes or fees were paid in the calendar year 8 
1978. 9 
 (3) Gaming conducted pursuant to a restricted gaming license 10 
issued before May 4, 1979, to the extent permitted by that license on 11 
that date. 12 
 The area within any structure housing gaming under a 13 
nonrestricted license which may be open to public use (as distinct 14 
from that devoted to the private use of guests and exclusive of any 15 
parking area) is limited to the area existing or approved for public 16 
use on May 4, 1979. Within these limits, any external modification 17 
of the structure which requires a permit from a local government 18 
also requires approval from the agency. The agency shall not permit 19 
restaurants, convention facilities, showrooms or other public areas 20 
to be constructed elsewhere in the region outside the structure in 21 
order to replace areas existing or approved for public use on May 4, 22 
1979. 23 
 (e) Any structure housing licensed gaming may be rebuilt or 24 
replaced to a size not to exceed the cubic volume, height and land 25 
coverage existing or approved on May 4, 1979, without the review 26 
or approval of the agency or any planning or regulatory authority of 27 
the State of Nevada whose review or approval would be required for 28 
a new structure. 29 
 (f) The following provisions apply to any internal or external 30 
modification, remodeling, change in use, or repair of a structure 31 
housing gaming under a nonrestricted license which is not 32 
prohibited by Article VI (d): 33 
 (1) The agency’s review of an external modification of the 34 
structure which requires a permit from a local government is limited 35 
to determining whether the external modification will do any of the 36 
following: 37 
 (A) Enlarge the cubic volume of the structure; 38 
 (B) Increase the total square footage of area open to or approved 39 
for public use on May 4, 1979; 40 
 (C) Convert an area devoted to the private use of guests to an 41 
area open to public use; 42 
 (D) Increase the public area open to public use which is used for 43 
gaming beyond the limits contained in paragraph (3); and 44   
 	– 19 – 
 
 
- 	*SB426* 
 (E) Conflict with or be subject to the provisions of any of the 1 
agency’s ordinances that are generally applicable throughout the 2 
region. 3 
 The agency shall make this determination within 60 days after the 4 
proposal is delivered to the agency in compliance with the agency’s 5 
rules or regulations governing such delivery unless the applicant has 6 
agreed to an extension of this time limit. If an external modification 7 
is determined to have any of the effects enumerated in 8 
subparagraphs (A) through (C), it is prohibited. If an external 9 
modification is determined to have any of the effects enumerated in 10 
subparagraph (D) or (E), it is subject to the applicable provisions of 11 
this compact. If an external modification is determined to have no 12 
such effect, it is not subject to the provisions of this compact. 13 
 (2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), internal modification, 14 
remodeling, change in use or repair of a structure housing gaming 15 
under a nonrestricted license is not a project and does not require the 16 
review or approval of the agency. 17 
 (3) Internal modification, remodeling, change in use or repair of 18 
areas open to public use within a structure housing gaming under a 19 
nonrestricted license which alone or in combination with any other 20 
such modification, remodeling, change in use or repair will increase 21 
the total portion of those areas which is actually used for gaming by 22 
more than the product of the total base area, as defined below, in 23 
square feet existing on or approved before August 4, 1980, 24 
multiplied by 15 percent constitutes a project and is subject to all of 25 
the provisions of this compact relating to projects. For purposes of 26 
this paragraph and the determination required by Article VI (g), base 27 
area means all of the area within a structure housing gaming under a 28 
nonrestricted license which may be open to public use, whether or 29 
not gaming is actually conducted or carried on in that area, except 30 
retail stores, convention centers and meeting rooms, administrative 31 
offices, kitchens, maintenance and storage areas, rest rooms, 32 
engineering and mechanical rooms, accounting rooms and counting 33 
rooms. 34 
 (g) In order to administer and enforce the provisions of 35 
paragraphs (d), (e) and (f) the State of Nevada, through its 36 
appropriate planning or regulatory agency, shall require the owner 37 
or licensee of a structure housing gaming under a nonrestricted 38 
license to provide: 39 
 (1) Documents containing sufficient information for the Nevada 40 
agency to establish the following relative to the structure: 41 
 (A) The location of its external walls; 42 
 (B) Its total cubic volume; 43   
 	– 20 – 
 
 
- 	*SB426* 
 (C) Within its external walls, the area in square feet open or 1 
approved for public use and the area in square feet devoted to or 2 
approved for the private use of guests on May 4, 1979; 3 
 (D) The amount of surface area of land under the structure; and 4 
 (E) The base area as defined in paragraph (f)(3) in square feet 5 
existing on or approved before August 4, 1980. 6 
 (2) An informational report whenever any internal modification, 7 
remodeling, change in use, or repair will increase the total portion of 8 
the areas open to public use which is used for gaming. 9 
 The Nevada agency shall transmit this information to the Tahoe 10 
Regional Planning Agency. 11 
 (h) Gaming conducted pursuant to a restricted gaming license is 12 
exempt from review by the agency if it is incidental to the primary 13 
use of the premises. 14 
 (i) The provisions of subdivisions (d) and (e) are intended only 15 
to limit gaming and related activities as conducted within a gaming 16 
establishment, or construction designed to permit the enlargement of 17 
such activities, and not to limit any other use of property zoned for 18 
commercial use or the accommodation of tourists, as approved by 19 
the agency. 20 
 (j) Legal actions arising out of or alleging a violation of the 21 
provisions of this compact, of the regional plan or of an ordinance or 22 
regulation of the agency or of a permit or a condition of a permit 23 
issued by the agency are governed by the following provisions: 24 
 (1) This subdivision applies to: 25 
 (A) Actions arising out of activities directly undertaken by the 26 
agency. 27 
 (B) Actions arising out of the issuance to a person of a lease, 28 
permit, license or other entitlement for use by the agency. 29 
 (C) Actions arising out of any other act or failure to act by any 30 
person or public agency. 31 
 Such legal actions may be filed and the provisions of this 32 
subdivision apply equally in the appropriate courts of California and 33 
Nevada and of the United States. 34 
 (2) Venue lies: 35 
 (A) If a civil or criminal action challenges an activity by the 36 
agency or any person which is undertaken or to be undertaken upon 37 
a parcel of real property, in the state or federal judicial district where 38 
the real property is situated. 39 
 (B) If an action challenges an activity which does not involve a 40 
specific parcel of land (such as an action challenging an ordinance 41 
of the agency), in any state or federal court having jurisdiction 42 
within the region. 43 
 (3) Any aggrieved person may file an action in an appropriate 44 
court of the State of California or Nevada or of the United States 45   
 	– 21 – 
 
 
- 	*SB426* 
alleging noncompliance with the provisions of this compact or with 1 
an ordinance or regulation of the agency. In the case of 2 
governmental agencies, “aggrieved person” means the Tahoe 3 
Regional Planning Agency or any state, federal or local agency. In 4 
the case of any person other than a governmental agency who 5 
challenges an action of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, 6 
“aggrieved person” means any person who has appeared, either in 7 
person, through an authorized representative, or in writing, before 8 
the agency at an appropriate administrative hearing to register 9 
objection to the action which is being challenged, or who had good 10 
cause for not making such an appearance. 11 
 (4) A legal action arising out of the adoption or amendment of 12 
the regional plan or of any ordinance or regulation of the agency, or 13 
out of the granting or denial of any permit, shall be commenced 14 
within 60 days after final action by the agency. All other legal 15 
actions shall be commenced within 65 days after discovery of the 16 
cause of action. 17 
 (5) In any legal action filed pursuant to this subdivision which 18 
challenges an adjudicatory act or decision of the agency to approve 19 
or disapprove a project, the scope of judicial inquiry shall extend 20 
only to whether there was prejudicial abuse of discretion. Prejudicial 21 
abuse of discretion is established if the agency has not proceeded in 22 
a manner required by law or if the act or decision of the agency was 23 
not supported by substantial evidence in light of the whole record. 24 
In making such a determination the court shall not exercise its 25 
independent judgment on evidence but shall only determine whether 26 
the act or decision was supported by substantial evidence in light of 27 
the whole record. In any legal action filed pursuant to this 28 
subdivision which challenges a legislative act or decision of the 29 
agency (such as the adoption of the regional plan and the enactment 30 
of implementing ordinances), the scope of the judicial inquiry shall 31 
extend only to the questions of whether the act or decision has been 32 
arbitrary, capricious or lacking substantial evidentiary support or 33 
whether the agency has failed to proceed in a manner required by 34 
law. 35 
 (6) In addition to the provisions of paragraph (5) relating to 36 
judicial inquiry: 37 
 (A) When adopting or amending a regional plan, the agency 38 
shall act in accordance with the requirements of the compact and the 39 
implementing ordinances, rules and regulations, and a party 40 
challenging the regional plan has the burden of showing that the 41 
regional plan is not in conformance with those requirements. 42 
 (B) When taking an action or making a decision, the agency 43 
shall act in accordance with the requirements of the compact and the 44 
regional plan, including the implementing ordinances, rules and 45   
 	– 22 – 
 
 
- 	*SB426* 
regulations, and a party challenging the action or decision has the 1 
burden of showing that the act or decision is not in conformance 2 
with those requirements. 3 
 (7) The provisions of this subdivision do not apply to any legal 4 
proceeding pending on the date when this subdivision becomes 5 
effective. Any such legal proceeding shall be conducted and 6 
concluded under the provisions of law which were applicable prior 7 
to the effective date of this subdivision. 8 
 (8) The security required for the issuance of a temporary 9 
restraining order or preliminary injunction based upon an alleged 10 
violation of this compact or any ordinance, plan, rule or regulation 11 
adopted pursuant thereto is governed by the rule or statute 12 
applicable to the court in which the action is brought, unless the 13 
action is brought by a public agency or political subdivision to 14 
enforce its own rules, regulations and ordinances in which case no 15 
security shall be required. 16 
 (k) The agency shall monitor activities in the region and may 17 
bring enforcement actions in the region to ensure compliance with 18 
the regional plan and adopted ordinances, rules, regulations and 19 
policies. If it is found that the regional plan, or ordinances, rules, 20 
regulations and policies are not being enforced by a local 21 
jurisdiction, the agency may bring action in a court of competent 22 
jurisdiction to ensure compliance. 23 
 (l) Any person who violates any provision of this compact or of 24 
any ordinance or regulation of the agency or of any condition of 25 
approval imposed by the agency is subject to a civil penalty not to 26 
exceed $5,000. Any such person is subject to an additional civil 27 
penalty not to exceed $5,000 per day, for each day on which such a 28 
violation persists. In imposing the penalties authorized by this 29 
subdivision, the court shall consider the nature of the violation and 30 
shall impose a greater penalty if it was willful or resulted from gross 31 
negligence than if it resulted from inadvertence or simple 32 
negligence. 33 
 (m) The agency is hereby empowered to initiate, negotiate and 34 
participate in contracts and agreements among the local 35 
governmental authorities of the region, or any other 36 
intergovernmental contracts or agreements authorized by state or 37 
federal law. 38 
 (n) Each intergovernmental contract or agreement shall provide 39 
for its own funding and staffing, but this shall not preclude financial 40 
contributions from the local authorities concerned or from 41 
supplementary sources. 42 
 (o) Every record of the agency, whether public or not, shall be 43 
open for examination to the Legislature and Controller of the State 44 
of California and the legislative auditor of the State of Nevada. 45   
 	– 23 – 
 
 
- 	*SB426* 
 (p) Approval by the agency of any project expires 3 years after 1 
the date of final action by the agency or the effective date of the 2 
amendments to this compact, whichever is later, unless construction 3 
is begun within that time and diligently pursued thereafter, or the 4 
use or activity has commenced. In computing the 3-year period any 5 
period of time during which the project is the subject of a legal 6 
action which delays or renders impossible the diligent pursuit of that 7 
project shall not be counted. Any license, permit or certificate issued 8 
by the agency which has an expiration date shall be extended by that 9 
period of time during which the project is the subject of such legal 10 
action as provided in this subdivision. 11 
 (q) The governing body shall maintain a current list of real 12 
property known to be available for exchange with the United States 13 
or with other owners of real property in order to facilitate exchanges 14 
of real property by owners of real property in the region. 15 
 16 
ARTICLE VII. Environmental Impact Statements 17 
 18 
 (a) The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency when acting upon 19 
matters that have a significant effect on the environment shall: 20 
 (1) Utilize a systematic, interdisciplinary approach which will 21 
insure the integrated use of the natural and social sciences and the 22 
environmental design arts in planning and in decision making which 23 
may have an impact on man’s environment; 24 
 (2) Prepare and consider a detailed environmental impact 25 
statement before deciding to approve or carry out any project. The 26 
detailed environmental impact statement shall include the following: 27 
 (A) The significant environmental impacts of the proposed 28 
project; 29 
 (B) Any significant adverse environmental effects which cannot 30 
be avoided should the project be implemented; 31 
 (C) Alternatives to the proposed project; 32 
 (D) Mitigation measures which must be implemented to assure 33 
meeting standards of the region; 34 
 (E) The relationship between local short-term uses of man’s 35 
environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term 36 
productivity; 37 
 (F) Any significant irreversible and irretrievable commitments 38 
of resources which would be involved in the proposed project 39 
should it be implemented; and 40 
 (G) The growth-inducing impact of the proposed project; 41 
 (3) Study, develop and describe appropriate alternatives to 42 
recommended courses of action for any project which involves 43 
unresolved conflicts concerning alternative uses of available 44 
resources; 45   
 	– 24 – 
 
 
- 	*SB426* 
 (4) Make available to states, counties, municipalities, 1 
institutions and individuals, advice and information useful in 2 
restoring, maintaining and enhancing the quality of the region’s 3 
environment; and 4 
 (5) Initiate and utilize ecological information in the planning 5 
and development of resource-oriented projects. 6 
 (b) Prior to completing an environmental impact statement, the 7 
agency shall consult with and obtain the comments of any federal, 8 
state or local agency which has jurisdiction by law or special 9 
expertise with respect to any environmental impact involved. Copies 10 
of such statement and the comments and views of the appropriate 11 
federal, state and local agencies which are authorized to develop and 12 
enforce environmental standards shall be made available to the 13 
public and shall accompany the project through the review 14 
processes. The public shall be consulted during the environmental 15 
impact statement process and views shall be solicited during a 16 
public comment period not to be less than 60 days. 17 
 (c) Any environmental impact statement required pursuant to 18 
this article need not repeat in its entirety any information or data 19 
which is relevant to such a statement and is a matter of public record 20 
or is generally available to the public, such as information contained 21 
in an environmental impact report prepared pursuant to the 22 
California Environmental Quality Act or a federal environmental 23 
impact statement prepared pursuant to the National Environmental 24 
Policy Act of 1969. However, such information or data shall be 25 
briefly described in the environmental impact statement and its 26 
relationship to the environmental impact statement shall be 27 
indicated. 28 
 In addition, any person may submit information relative to a 29 
proposed project which may be included, in whole or in part, in any 30 
environmental impact statement required by this article. 31 
 (d) In addition to the written findings specified by agency 32 
ordinance to implement the regional plan, the agency shall make 33 
either of the following written findings before approving a project 34 
for which an environmental impact statement was prepared: 35 
 (1) Changes or alterations have been required in or incorporated 36 
into such project which avoid or reduce the significant adverse 37 
environmental effects to a less than significant level; or 38 
 (2) Specific considerations, such as economic, social or 39 
technical, make infeasible the mitigation measures or project 40 
alternatives discussed in the environmental impact statement on the 41 
project. 42 
 A separate written finding shall be made for each significant 43 
effect identified in the environmental impact statement on the 44   
 	– 25 – 
 
 
- 	*SB426* 
project. All written findings must be supported by substantial 1 
evidence in the record. 2 
 (e) The agency may charge and collect a reasonable fee from 3 
any person proposing a project subject to the provisions of this 4 
compact in order to recover the estimated costs incurred by the 5 
agency in preparing an environmental impact statement under this 6 
article. 7 
 (f) The agency shall adopt by ordinance a list of classes of 8 
projects which the agency has determined will not have a significant 9 
effect on the environment and therefore will be exempt from the 10 
requirement for the preparation of an environmental impact 11 
statement under this article. Prior to adopting the list, the agency 12 
shall make a written finding supported by substantial evidence in the 13 
record that each class of projects will not have a significant effect on 14 
the environment. 15 
 16 
ARTICLE VIII. Finances 17 
 18 
 (a) On or before September 30 of each calendar year the agency 19 
shall establish the amount of money necessary to support its 20 
activities for the next succeeding fiscal year commencing July 1 of 21 
the following year. The agency shall apportion $75,000 of this 22 
amount among the counties within the region on the same ratio to 23 
the total sum required as the full cash valuation of taxable property 24 
within the region in each county bears to the total full cash valuation 25 
of taxable property within the region. In addition, each county 26 
within the region in California shall pay $18,750 to the agency and 27 
each county within the region in Nevada, including Carson City, 28 
shall pay $12,500 to the agency, from any funds available therefor. 29 
The State of California and the State of Nevada may pay to the 30 
agency by July 1 of each year any additional sums necessary to 31 
support the operations of the agency pursuant to this compact. If 32 
additional funds are required, the agency shall make a request for 33 
the funds to the states of California and Nevada. Requests for state 34 
funds must be apportioned two-thirds from California and one-third 35 
from Nevada. Money appropriated shall be paid within 30 days. 36 
 (b) The agency may fix and collect reasonable fees for any 37 
services rendered by it. 38 
 (c) The agency shall submit an itemized budget to the states for 39 
review with any request for state funds, shall be strictly accountable 40 
to any county in the region and the states for all funds paid by them 41 
to the agency and shall be strictly accountable to all participating 42 
bodies for all receipts and disbursement. 43 
 (d) The agency is authorized to receive gifts, donations, 44 
subventions, grants, and other financial aids and funds; but the 45   
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agency may not own land except as provided in subdivision (i) of 1 
Article III. 2 
 (e) The agency shall not obligate itself beyond the moneys due 3 
under this article for its support from the several counties and the 4 
states for the current fiscal year, plus any moneys on hand or 5 
irrevocably pledged to its support from other sources. No obligation 6 
contracted by the agency shall bind either of the party states or any 7 
political subdivision thereof. 8 
 9 
ARTICLE IX. Transportation District 10 
 11 
 (a) The Tahoe transportation district is hereby established as a 12 
special purpose district. The boundaries of the district are 13 
coterminous with those of the region. 14 
 (b) The business of the district shall be managed by a board of 15 
directors consisting of: 16 
 (1) One member of the county board of supervisors of each of 17 
the counties of El Dorado and Placer who must be appointed by his 18 
respective board of supervisors; 19 
 (2) One member of the city council of the City of South Lake 20 
Tahoe who must be appointed by the city council; 21 
 (3) One member each of the board of county commissioners of 22 
Douglas County and of Washoe County who must be appointed by 23 
his respective board of county commissioners; 24 
 (4) One member of the board of supervisors of Carson City who 25 
must be appointed by the board of supervisors; 26 
 (5) One member of the South Shore Transportation Management 27 
Association or its successor organization who must be appointed by 28 
the association or its successor organization; 29 
 (6) One member of the North Shore Transportation Management 30 
Association or its successor organization who must be appointed by 31 
the association or its successor organization; 32 
 (7) One member of each local transportation district in the 33 
region that is authorized by the State of Nevada or the State of 34 
California who must be appointed by his respective transportation 35 
district; 36 
 (8) One member appointed by a majority of the other voting 37 
directors who represents a public or private transportation system 38 
operating in the region; 39 
 (9) The director of the California Department of Transportation; 40 
and 41 
 (10) The director of the department of transportation of the State 42 
of Nevada. 43 
 Any entity that appoints a member to the board of directors, the 44 
director of the California Department of Transportation or the 45   
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director of the department of transportation of the State of Nevada 1 
may designate an alternate. 2 
 (c) Before a local transportation district appoints a member to 3 
the board of directors pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (b), 4 
the local transportation district must enter into a written agreement 5 
with the Tahoe transportation district that sets forth the 6 
responsibilities of the districts for the establishment of policies and 7 
the management of financial matters, including, but not limited to, 8 
the distribution of revenue among the districts. 9 
 (d) The directors of the California Department of Transportation 10 
and the department of transportation of the State of Nevada, or their 11 
designated alternates, serve as nonvoting directors, but shall provide 12 
technical and professional advice to the district as necessary and 13 
appropriate. 14 
 (e) The vote of a majority of the directors must agree to take 15 
action. If a majority of votes in favor of an action are not cast, an 16 
action of rejection shall be deemed to have been taken. 17 
 (f) The Tahoe transportation district may by resolution establish 18 
procedures for the adoption of its budgets, the appropriation of its 19 
money and the carrying on of its other financial activities. These 20 
procedures must conform insofar as is practicable to the procedures 21 
for financial administration of the State of California or the State of 22 
Nevada or one or more of the local governments in the region. 23 
 (g) The Tahoe transportation district may in accordance with the 24 
adopted transportation plan: 25 
 (1) Own and operate a public transportation system to the 26 
exclusion of all other publicly owned transportation systems in the 27 
region. 28 
 (2) Own and operate support facilities for public and private 29 
systems of transportation, including, but not limited to, parking lots, 30 
terminals, facilities for maintenance, devices for the collection of 31 
revenue and other related equipment. 32 
 (3) Acquire or agree to operate upon mutually agreeable terms 33 
any publicly or privately owned transportation system or facility 34 
within the region. 35 
 (4) Hire the employees of existing public transportation systems 36 
that are acquired by the district without loss of benefits to the 37 
employees, bargain collectively with employee organizations, and 38 
extend pension and other collateral benefits to employees. 39 
 (5) Contract with private companies to provide supplementary 40 
transportation or provide any of the services needed in operating a 41 
system of transportation for the region. 42 
 (6) Contract with local governments in the region to operate 43 
transportation facilities or provide any of the services necessary to 44 
operate a system of transportation for the region. 45   
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 (7) Fix the rates and charges for transportation services provided 1 
pursuant to this subdivision. 2 
 (8) Issue revenue bonds and other evidence of indebtedness and 3 
make other financial arrangements appropriate for developing and 4 
operating a public transportation system. 5 
 (9) By resolution, determine and propose for adoption a tax for 6 
the purpose of obtaining services of the district. The tax proposed 7 
must be general and of uniform operation throughout the region, and 8 
may not be graduated in any way, except for a sales and use tax. If a 9 
sales and use tax is approved by the voters as provided in this 10 
paragraph, it may be administered by the states of California and 11 
Nevada respectively in accordance with the laws that apply within 12 
their respective jurisdictions and must not exceed a rate of 1 percent 13 
of the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold 14 
in the district. The district is prohibited from imposing any other tax 15 
measured by gross or net receipts on business, an ad valorem tax, a 16 
tax or charge that is assessed against people or vehicles as they enter 17 
or leave the region, and any tax, direct or indirect, on gaming tables 18 
and devices. Any such proposition must be submitted to the voters 19 
of the district and shall become effective upon approval of the voters 20 
voting on the proposition who reside in the State of California in 21 
accordance with the laws that apply within that state and approval of 22 
the voters voting on the proposition who reside in the State of 23 
Nevada in accordance with the laws that apply within that state. The 24 
revenues from any such tax must be used for the service for which it 25 
was imposed, and for no other purpose. 26 
 (10) Provide service from inside the region to convenient 27 
airport, railroad and interstate bus terminals without regard to the 28 
boundaries of the region. 29 
 (h) There is hereby imposed a transit surcharge on the per 30 
night rental of transient lodging in the amount of $4.00 within the 31 
region in California. The surcharge must be collected by the 32 
operator of the transient lodging and remitted to the county where 33 
the transient lodging is located. Each county shall distribute all 34 
proceeds of the surcharge to the Tahoe transportation district. The 35 
proceeds of all transit surcharges received by the Tahoe 36 
transportation district pursuant to this paragraph must be used by 37 
the district to support transportation in the region. 38 
Notwithstanding the provisions of this paragraph, the board of 39 
directors of the Tahoe transportation district may waive up to 40 
$4.00 of the transit surcharge imposed pursuant to this paragraph 41 
within a county if the board of county commissioners of that 42 
county imposes a comparable surcharge for transportation in the 43 
region. As used in this paragraph, “transient lodging” means any 44   
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transient lodging that is subject to the transient occupancy tax 1 
pursuant to applicable California law. 2 
 (i) There is hereby imposed a transit surcharge on the per 3 
night rental of transient lodging in the amount of $4.25 within the 4 
region in Nevada. The surcharge must be collected by the operator 5 
of the transient lodging and remitted to the county where the 6 
transient lodging is located. Each county shall distribute all 7 
proceeds of the surcharge to the Tahoe transportation district. Of 8 
the proceeds received from a county pursuant to this paragraph, 9 
the Tahoe transportation district shall distribute $0.25 of the per 10 
night surcharge to the Tahoe Science Advisory Council to support 11 
its activities within the region. The remainder of all transit 12 
surcharges received by the Tahoe transportation district pursuant 13 
to this paragraph must be used by the district to support 14 
transportation in the region. The board of directors of the Tahoe 15 
transportation district may waive up to $4.00 of the transit 16 
surcharge imposed pursuant to this section within a county if the 17 
board of county commissioners of that county imposes a 18 
comparable surcharge for transportation in the region. If any 19 
such waiver is granted, the $0.25 surcharge for the benefit of the 20 
Tahoe Science Advisory Council must still be imposed, remitted 21 
and distributed, as otherwise required in this paragraph. As used 22 
in this paragraph, “transient lodging” means any transient 23 
lodging that is subject to the taxes imposed on the rental of 24 
transient lodging pursuant to applicable Nevada law. 25 
 (j) The Lake Tahoe Basin Scenic Byway Corridor Recreation 26 
Safety Zone is hereby created in the region, consisting of any 27 
portion of U.S. Highway 50, California State Route 28, Nevada 28 
State Route 28 and Nevada State Route 431 that is located in the 29 
region and directly connected to a recreational destination or that 30 
has otherwise been designated as a scenic byway. The Tahoe 31 
transportation district may enter into an agreement with one or 32 
more local governments in the region to provide parking 33 
enforcement within the Safety Zone. If the district enters into such 34 
an agreement, the Tahoe transportation district may enter into a 35 
contract with a private company to provide such parking 36 
enforcement services but such a contract must not order, mandate 37 
or require the issuance of a certain number of parking citations or 38 
otherwise base a payment to the private company on the number 39 
of parking citations issued by the private company. 40 
 (k) Any board of county commissioners of a county in the 41 
region may, upon any publicly owned property or right-of-way, 42 
construct, acquire, install, equip, maintain, operate and regulate 43 
parking facilities or parking spaces for use by the general public. 44 
Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, such facilities or 45   
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- 	*SB426* 
spaces must be owned and operated by the county or its agents. 1 
The board of county commissioners may enter into a contract, 2 
lease or other arrangement with the Tahoe transportation district 3 
for the district to operate the parking facilities or parking spaces 4 
on behalf of the county. The board of county commissioners may 5 
fix and charge reasonable fees for the use of any such parking 6 
facility or parking space. The proceeds of the fees for the use of 7 
any parking facility or parking space that is along California State 8 
Route 28 or Nevada State Route 28 and is connected to any 9 
recreational trail must be used to administer parking management 10 
programs and operate and maintain parking facilities or 11 
associated facilities, including, without limitation, sanitation, 12 
signage, recreational trails and public transit. 13 
 (l) The legislatures of the states of California and Nevada may, 14 
by substantively identical enactments, amend this article. 15 
 16 
ARTICLE X. Miscellaneous 17 
 18 
 (a) It is intended that the provisions of this compact shall be 19 
reasonably and liberally construed to effectuate the purposes 20 
thereof. Except as provided in subdivision (c), the provisions of this 21 
compact shall be severable and if any phrase, clause, sentence or 22 
provision of this compact is declared to be contrary to the 23 
constitution of any participating state or of the United States or the 24 
applicability thereof to any government, agency, person or 25 
circumstance is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of this 26 
compact and the applicability thereof to any government, agency, 27 
person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby. If this compact 28 
shall be held contrary to the constitution of any state participating 29 
therein, the compact shall remain in full force and effect as to the 30 
remaining state and in full force and effect as to the state affected as 31 
to all severable matters. 32 
 (b) The agency shall have such additional powers and duties as 33 
may hereafter be delegated or imposed upon it from time to time by 34 
the action of the Legislature of either state concurred in by the 35 
Legislature of the other. 36 
 (c) A state party to this compact may withdraw therefrom by 37 
enacting a statute repealing the compact. Notice of withdrawal shall 38 
be communicated officially and in writing to the Governor of the 39 
other state and to the agency administrators. This provision is not 40 
severable, and if it is held to be unconstitutional or invalid, no other 41 
provision of this compact shall be binding upon the State of Nevada 42 
or the State of California. 43   
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 (d) No provision of this compact shall have any effect upon the 1 
allocation, distribution or storage of interstate waters or upon any 2 
appropriative water right. 3 
 Sec. 2.  1. The Secretary of State shall transmit a certified 4 
copy of this act to the Governor of the State of California and two 5 
certified copies of this Act to the Secretary of State of the State of 6 
California for delivery to the respective houses of its Legislature.  7 
 2. The Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau shall 8 
transmit copies of this act to the Vice President of the United States 9 
as presiding officer of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of 10 
Representatives and each member of the Nevada Congressional 11 
Delegation. 12 
 Sec. 3.  1. This section and section 2 of this act become 13 
effective upon passage and approval. 14 
 2. Section 1 of this act becomes effective upon the 15 
proclamation by the Governor of this State of the enactment by the 16 
State of California of amendments that are substantially identical 17 
amendments to the Tahoe Regional Planning Compact contained in 18 
section 1 of this act. 19 
 
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