AB133 - Revises provisions governing public financial administration. (BDR 20-537)

- 83rd Session (2025) Assembly Bill No. 133–Assemblymembers Gurr; DeLong, Gallant and Torres-Fossett CHAPTER.......... AN ACT relating to public financial administration; revising the hours the office of the county treasurer is required to be kept open; requiring certain money from the sale of property for delinquent taxes to be accounted for separately in a county general fund and used to pay for the acquisition and improvement of technology used in the office of the county treasurer; revising the contents of a notice of delinquent taxes; revising provisions relating to certain property held in trust by a county treasurer; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. Legislative Counsel’s Digest: Existing law requires, subject to certain exceptions, sheriffs, county recorders and county auditors, county clerks, county assessors and county treasurers to keep open the county office and branch offices, if any, on all days except Sundays and nonjudicial days from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and on all days except Sundays, nonjudicial days and Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Existing law also authorizes the board of county commissioners of any county to designate or authorize deviation from the days and hours, but requires each office to be kept open for not less than 40 hours during each week. (NRS 245.040) Existing law establishes that the county treasurers are tax receivers for the county. (NRS 361.475) Section 1 of this bill provides that the county office and branch offices, if any, of the county treasurer must not close earlier than 5 p.m. on any business day but may close later than 5 p.m. Existing law requires the tax receiver of a county to mail notice of delinquent taxes to certain persons. The notice of delinquency must state certain information, including that if the amount of delinquent taxes is not paid, the tax receiver will, at 5 p.m. on the first Monday in June of the current year, issue a certificate authorizing the county treasurer to hold the property. (NRS 361.5648) Section 2 of this bill provides instead that the notice of delinquency must state that if the amount of delinquent taxes is not paid, the tax receiver will, at the close of business of the tax receiver of the county on the first Monday in June of the current year, issue a certificate authorizing the county treasurer to hold the property. Existing law requires the tax receiver to make out a trustee’s certificate that describes each property on which delinquent taxes, penalties, interest and costs have not been paid. The trustee’s certificate authorizes the county treasurer to hold each property for a certain period of time. (NRS 361.570) When the time allowed by law for the redemption of a property described in the certificate has expired and no redemption has been made, the tax receiver who issued the certificate is required to execute and deliver to the county treasurer a deed of the property. Upon obtaining such a deed, the county treasurer is required to hold the property in trust until it is sold or otherwise disposed of. Existing law provides that during certain periods or not later than 5 p.m. on the third business day before the day of the sale by a county treasurer, certain persons are entitled to have the property reconveyed upon the receipt by the county treasurer of payment of the delinquent taxes and certain costs. (NRS 361.585) Section 3 of this bill provides instead that during certain periods or not later than the close of business of the county treasurer on the – 2 – - 83rd Session (2025) third business day before the day of the sale by a county treasurer, certain persons are entitled to have the property reconveyed upon the receipt by the county treasurer of payment of the delinquent taxes and certain costs. Existing law authorizes, under certain circumstances, the county treasurer to sell property held in trust because of delinquent taxes. Upon payment, the county treasurer is required, with certain exceptions, to issue a quitclaim deed to the purchaser. Existing law provides an exception to this requirement to issue a quitclaim deed under certain circumstances, if, not later than 5 p.m. on the third business day immediately preceding the day of the sale by the county treasurer, a municipality provides the county treasurer with an affidavit that meets certain requirements. (NRS 361.595) Section 4 of this bill provides instead that, under certain circumstances, the county treasurer may not issue the quitclaim deed if, not later than the close of business of the county treasurer on the third business day immediately preceding the day of the sale by the county treasurer, a municipality provides the county treasurer with an affidavit that meets certain requirements. Under existing law, if the county treasurer sells property held in trust because of delinquent taxes, the county treasurer is required to pay certain costs and taxes from the excess proceeds from the sale and then pay into the county general fund: (1) the first $300 of the excess proceeds; (2) 10 percent of the next $10,000 of the excess proceeds; and (3) the amount remaining to be held separately for a certain period of time, and if not claimed by certain persons who had a secured interest in the property, then into the county general fund. (NRS 361.610) Section 5 of this bill provides that of the amount remaining to be held separately for a certain period of time, and if not claimed, 5 percent of the total amount remaining must be accounted for separately in the county general fund pursuant to section 1.5 of this bill. The money in the account is only authorized to be used to acquire technology or improve technology used in the office of the county treasurer. Section 1.5 also requires the county treasurer to submit an annual report to the board of county commissioners by July 1 setting forth the projected expenditure of money in the account for the following fiscal year. Section 1.5 also authorizes a board of county commissioners to revert 50 percent of any balance of unexpended or unencumbered money after 3 years. Existing law sets forth certain procedures allowing a person to make a claim for the excess proceeds from the sale by the county treasurer of property held in trust because of delinquent taxes, including, without limitation, requiring certain indeterminable claims to be submitted to mediation, and if mediation is unsuccessful, then requiring the county treasurer to conduct a hearing or file an action for interpleader. (NRS 361.610) Section 5 eliminates conducting a hearing as a method for determining certain indeterminable claims, instead requiring the county treasurer to file an action for interpleader following any unsuccessful mediation. Existing law authorizes a person to enter into an agreement to locate, deliver, recover or assist in the recovery of excess proceeds by certain persons. However, if the agreement is entered into by a natural person who occupied the property as his or her primary residence at the time of the sale, any such agreement must not provide for a fee of more than 10 percent of the remaining excess proceeds due that person. (NRS 361.610) Section 5 removes the limitation that the property must have been occupied by a natural person as his or her primary residence at the time of sale and instead applies the 10 percent cap to the fee of: (1) any natural person; and (2) certain persons who are otherwise authorized by power of attorney, assignment or any other legal instrument by another person to file a claim with and collect from the county treasurer any property owed to the person. – 3 – - 83rd Session (2025) EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. NRS 245.040 is hereby amended to read as follows: 245.040 1. Sheriffs, county recorders and county auditors, county clerks, county assessors and county treasurers shall keep an office at the county seat of their county which, except as otherwise provided in subsections 3 and 4, must be kept open on all days except Sundays and nonjudicial days from 9 a.m. to 12 m., and on all days except Sundays, nonjudicial days and Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. for the transaction of public business, but nothing contained in this subsection interferes with a duty now required of a public officer under the election laws of this State. County clerks shall keep their offices open on all election days during the hours when the polls are open for voting but may, with the consent of the district judge of the county, close their offices for all purposes except election business and the issuance of marriage licenses on any day on which the primary or general election is held. 2. [Notwithstanding] Except as otherwise provided in subsection 5 and notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 1, the board of county commissioners of any county may, by an order regularly made and entered in the records of its proceedings, designate the days and hours during which the offices of the sheriff, county recorder and county auditor, county clerk, county assessor and county treasurer must be kept open for the transaction of public business. An order so made and entered must require each office to be kept open for not less than 40 hours during each week, and must not prevent the county clerk from closing his or her office for all purposes except election business and the issuance of marriage licenses on primary and general election days as provided in subsection 1. 3. The board of county commissioners may authorize a county officer to rent, equip and operate, at public expense, one or more branch offices in the county. The branch office may be kept open for the transaction of public business on the days and during the hours specified in subsections 1 and 2 or on such days and during such hours as determined by the board. The provisions of this subsection do not preempt any other statutory provisions which require certain duties to be performed at the county seat. 4. Any county office may deviate from the hours of operation required pursuant to this section if the board of county – 4 – - 83rd Session (2025) commissioners approves the plan for the deviation submitted by the office, except that no such deviation may conflict with the election laws of this State. Such a plan must be fiscally neutral or result in cost savings. 5. The board of county commissioners of any county shall not designate or approve the county office or branch offices, if any, of the county treasurer to close earlier than 5 p.m. for the transaction of business on any business day. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the offices from closing later than 5 p.m. 6. A county officer who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor, and if an officer mentioned in subsection 1 absents himself or herself from office, except: (a) When called away from his or her office by official duties; (b) When expressly permitted so to do by the board of county commissioners or a majority of the members thereof in writing; or (c) When he or she makes provision to leave his or her office open for the transaction of public business on the days and during the hours prescribed by this section and in charge of a deputy qualified to act in the county officer’s absence,  there must be withheld from the county officer’s monthly salary that proportion thereof as the number of days of absence bears to the number of days of the month in which the absence occurs. The money must be withheld from payment of salary to the officer for the next succeeding month by order of the board of county commissioners, but such an order must not be made without first giving the officer affected reasonable notice and an opportunity to appear before the board and defend the charge against him or her. Sec. 1.5. Chapter 249 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a new section to read as follows: 1. Any money received by the county treasurer pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection 4 of NRS 361.610 must be accounted for separately in the county general fund. 2. Money in the account: (a) May only be used to acquire technology for or improve the technology used in the office of the county treasurer, including, without limitation, the payment of any costs associated with acquiring or improving technology for converting or archiving records, purchasing hardware or software, maintaining the technology, training employees in the operation of the technology and contracting for professional services relating to the technology; and – 5 – - 83rd Session (2025) (b) Must not be used to replace or supplant any money available from other sources to acquire technology for or improve technology used in the office of the county treasurer. 3. Any money remaining in the account at the end of a fiscal year does not revert to the county general fund, and the balance in the account must be carried forward to the next fiscal year. 4. The money in the account must be invested as other county funds are invested. All interest earned on the deposit or investment of the money in the account, after deducting any applicable charges, must be credited to the account. Claims against the account must be paid as other claims against the county are paid. 5. On or before July 1 of each year, the county treasurer shall submit a report to the board of county commissioners setting forth the projected expenditure of money in the account for the following fiscal year. 6. Fifty percent of any balance of unexpended or unencumbered money remaining in the account after 3 years shall be deemed dormant and subject to transfer at the discretion of and order by a board of county commissioners pursuant to NRS 354.150. Sec. 2. NRS 361.5648 is hereby amended to read as follows: 361.5648 1. Within 30 days after the first Monday in March of each year, with respect to each property on which the tax is delinquent, the tax receiver of the county shall mail notice of the delinquency by first-class mail to: (a) The owner or owners of the property; (b) The person or persons listed as the taxpayer or taxpayers on the tax rolls, at their last known addresses, if the names and addresses are known; (c) Each holder of a recorded security interest if the holder has made a request in writing to the tax receiver for the notice, which identifies the secured property by the parcel number assigned to it in accordance with the provisions of NRS 361.189; and (d) Each assignee of a tax lien [Text truncated for display. Full text available on LegiScan.]