AB601 - Revises provisions relating to boards, commissions, councils and similar bodies. (BDR 18-1246)

A.B. 601 - *AB601* EMERGENCY REQUEST OF ASSEMBLY MINORITY LEADER ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 601–ASSEMBLYMEMBER HAFEN MAY 30, 2025 ____________ Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to boards, commissions, councils and similar bodies. (BDR 18-1246) FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No. 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; revising the powers and duties of the Office of Nevada Boards, Commissions and Councils Standards of the Department of Business and Industry; revising and imposing various requirements and restrictions on professional and occupational licensing boards under the purview of the Office; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. Legislative Counsel’s Digest: Existing law creates the Office of Nevada Boards, Commissions and Councils 1 Standards of the Department of Business and Industry and sets forth the powers and 2 duties of the Office. (NRS 232.8413, 232.8415) Existing law provides, with certain 3 exceptions, that all professional and occupational licensing boards created by the 4 Legislature are under the purview of the Office. (NRS 232.8415) Section 10 of this 5 bill requires the Office to provide administrative services to each professional and 6 occupational licensing board under its purview, including, without limitation, 7 accounting services and information technology services. Section 10 additionally 8 authorizes a professional or occupational licensing board under the purview of the 9 Office to use the services of a hearing officer employed by the Office to adjudicate 10 a contested case before the board. Section 10 requires the Office to: (1) prescribe a 11 fee to cover the costs incurred by the Office for any service provided by the Office; 12 (2) adopt such procedures as the Office may deem appropriate for the billing or 13 collection of such fees from a professional or occupational licensing board to which 14 such a service is provided; and (3) establish procedures to provide each 15 professional and occupational licensing board which has paid such a fee a portion 16 of any money collected from those fees that is unexpended at the end of a fiscal 17 year. 18 – 2 – - *AB601* Section 10 prohibits a professional or occupational licensing board under the 19 purview of the Office from paying any compensation to a natural person or entity 20 other than the Office for a service that the Office provides, not including the 21 services of a hearing officer employed by the Office. Sections 24, 27-29, 31, 36, 22 37, 42, 48, 49, 51, 54, 56, 59, 61, 62, 64, 70, 72, 75, 76, 80, 86, 90, 95, 98, 101, 23 107, 110, 113, 116, 118, 121 and 123 of this bill make conforming changes to 24 provisions which authorize such a board to employ persons to reflect the limitation 25 on the payment of compensation for services that the Office provides. 26 Section 10 requires all money collected by the Office for the provision of 27 services to professional and occupational licensing boards under the purview of the 28 Office to be deposited in the State Treasury for credit to the Office of Nevada 29 Boards, Commissions and Councils Standards Account, which is created by section 30 11 of this bill. 31 Existing law requires the Director of the Department of Business and Industry 32 to retain the required staff to effectively administer the responsibilities of the 33 Office. (NRS 232.8413) Section 18 of this bill specifies that the Director is 34 required to retain the required staff to the extent that money is available, including, 35 without limitation, money collected from any fee imposed pursuant to section 10. 36 Section 18 also specifies that such staff may include, without limitation, executive 37 staff, administrative and clerical staff, research and analytical staff and other 38 persons deemed necessary to effectively administer the responsibilities of the 39 Office. Section 5 of this bill authorizes the Director to appoint a General Counsel 40 of the Office and deputies to the General Counsel. Additionally, section 5 41 authorizes the Director to retain an attorney other than the General Counsel or 42 deputy under certain circumstances. 43 Sections 6-8 of this bill require the Office, with certain exceptions, to 44 periodically review each board, commission, council and similar body in this State 45 within the Executive Department of the State Government and set forth procedures 46 for conducting such a review. At the conclusion of such a review, section 8 47 requires the Deputy Director of the Office to submit to the Governor his or her 48 recommendation as to whether the board, commission, council or similar body 49 should be terminated, modified, consolidated with another board, commission, 50 council or similar body or continued. Section 8 requires the Governor, if necessary, 51 to request the drafting of a legislative measure to effectuate the recommendation. 52 Section 12 of this bill requires a professional or occupational licensing board 53 under the purview of the Office to provide notice to the Deputy Director if the 54 board intends to request that any person or governmental entity submit to the 55 Legislative Counsel a request for the drafting of a legislative measure on behalf of 56 the board. 57 Section 13 of this bill: (1) requires the Office to maintain an Internet website 58 through which each professional and occupational licensing board under the 59 purview of the Office may post information; and (2) prohibits such a board from 60 posting information on any other Internet website. Sections 22, 38-40, 43-46, 52, 61 55, 57, 58, 65, 68, 78, 79, 81-85, 102, 103, 105, 108, 113, 116 and 117 of this bill 62 eliminate the authority of professional and occupational licensing boards under the 63 purview of the Office to maintain or post information to any Internet website other 64 than that described in section 13. 65 Section 14 of this bill authorizes the Office to have access to, inspect, copy and 66 subpoena various records and use the information obtained to resolve matters 67 relating to its duties. 68 Section 15 of this bill requires each professional and occupational licensing 69 board under the purview of the Office to, each year, elect from its members a 70 President, a Vice President and a Secretary. Sections 23, 25, 26, 30, 32-35, 37, 41, 71 47, 50, 53, 60, 63, 66, 69, 71, 73, 74, 77, 87-89, 91-94, 96, 97, 99, 100, 104, 106, 72 109, 111, 112, 114, 115, 119, 120, 122 and 124 of this bill revise provisions 73 – 3 – - *AB601* governing the election of officers of a board to conform to the requirements of 74 section 15. 75 Section 16 of this bill authorizes: (1) a professional or occupational licensing 76 board under the purview of the Office to apply for and accept gifts, grants, 77 contributions or other money from any source to carry out the duties of the board; 78 and (2) the Office to provide administrative support to such a board concerning 79 grants to help ensure accountability and maximize opportunities for funding. 80 Section 19 of this bill removes the Commission on Postsecondary Education of 81 the Employment Security Division of the Department of Employment, Training and 82 Rehabilitation from the purview of the Office. (NRS 232.8415) 83 Section 20 of this bill requires the Office of Minority Health and Equity of the 84 Department of Health and Human Services, rather that the Director of the 85 Department of Business and Industry, to provide staff assistance to the Nevada 86 Commission on Minority Affairs. (NRS 232.864) 87 Existing law authorizes the Governor to remove any member of a board, 88 commission or similar body appointed by the Governor for malfeasance or 89 nonfeasance in the performance of his or her duties. (NRS 232A.030) Section 21 of 90 this bill similarly authorizes the Governor to remove for those reasons any person 91 employed by a professional or occupational licensing board as an executive director 92 or executive secretary or in a position with duties similar to that of an executive 93 director or executive secretary. 94 Section 17 of this bill makes a conforming change to apply the definitions 95 applicable to provisions governing the Department of Business and Industry to the 96 provisions of sections 2-16. 97 THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Chapter 232 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 1 thereto the provisions set forth as sections 2 to 16, inclusive, of this 2 act. 3 Sec. 2. As used in NRS 232.8413 and 232.8415 and sections 4 2 to 16, inclusive, of this act, unless the context otherwise requires, 5 the words and terms defined in sections 3 and 4 of this act have 6 the meanings ascribed to them in those sections. 7 Sec. 3. “Deputy Director” means the Deputy Director of the 8 Office. 9 Sec. 4. “Office” means the Office of Nevada Boards, 10 Commissions and Councils Standards of the Department created 11 by NRS 232.8413. 12 Sec. 5. 1. The Director may appoint a General Counsel of 13 the Office and as many deputies to the General Counsel as the 14 Director deems necessary to carry out the duties and functions of 15 the Office. 16 2. The General Counsel and each deputy appointed pursuant 17 to subsection 1: 18 (a) Are in the unclassified service of the State. 19 (b) Must be attorneys in good standing licensed and admitted 20 to practice law in this State. 21 – 4 – - *AB601* (c) Except as otherwise provided in NRS 7.065, shall not 1 engage in the private practice of law. 2 3. The Director may retain an attorney other than the 3 General Counsel or a deputy appointed pursuant to subsection 1 if 4 the Director determines that it is impracticable, uneconomical or 5 could constitute a conflict of interest for the legal service to be 6 rendered by the General Counsel or a deputy. 7 Sec. 6. 1. The Office shall periodically conduct a review of 8 each board, commission, council and similar body in this State 9 within the Executive Department of the State Government which 10 is not provided for in the Nevada Constitution or established by an 11 executive order of the Governor to determine whether the board, 12 commission, council or similar body should be terminated, 13 modified, consolidated with another board, commission, council or 14 similar body or continued. 15 2. A review conducted pursuant to subsection 1 must include, 16 without limitation: 17 (a) An evaluation of the: 18 (1) Effectiveness and relevance of the board, commission, 19 council or similar body. 20 (2) Usefulness and performance of the board, commission, 21 council or similar body. 22 (3) Cost and resource utilization of the board, commission, 23 council or similar body. 24 (4) Amount and quality of stakeholder and public 25 engagement of the board, commission, council or similar body. 26 (b) A comparative analysis between the board, commission, 27 council or similar body and other comparable boards, 28 commissions, councils or similar bodies. 29 3. A board, commission, council or similar body shall 30 cooperate with the Office in the conducting of a review pursuant 31 to subsection 1 and shall submit to the Office, upon request, any 32 information the Office deems necessary for the conducting of the 33 review. 34 4. A board, commission, council or similar body subject to a 35 review by the Office has the burden of proving that its continuing 36 existence is justified. 37 Sec. 7. The Office shall establish a schedule for conducting 38 reviews pursuant to section 6 of this act. The schedule must ensure 39 that any board, commission, council or similar body that is 40 scheduled to terminate on a particular date is reviewed before that 41 date. 42 Sec. 8. At the conclusion of a review conducted pursuant to 43 section 6 of this act, the Deputy Director shall submit to the 44 Governor a recommendation as to whether the board, commission, 45 – 5 – - *AB601* council or similar body should be terminated, modified, 1 consolidated with another board, commission, council or similar 2 body or continued. The Governor shall, if necessary, request the 3 drafting of a legislative measure pursuant to NRS 218D.175 to 4 effectuate the recommendation. 5 Sec. 9. 1. The Office may, by regulation, establish 6 procedures and requirements relating to the appointment of 7 members to a professional or occupational licensing board under 8 the purview of the Office pursuant to NRS 232.8415. 9 2. The Office shall require any professional or occupational 10 licensing board under the purview of the Office pursuant to NRS 11 232.8415, before entering into a contract of any kind, to submit 12 the contract to and obtain the approval of the Office. 13 Sec. 10. 1. The Office shall provide to each professional 14 and occupational licensing board under its purview pursuant to 15 NRS 232.8415 administrative services, including, without 16 limitation: 17 (a) Accounting services; and 18 (b) Information technology services. 19 2. A professional or occupational licensing board under the 20 purview of the Office pursuant to NRS 232.8415 may use the 21 services of a hearing officer employed by the Office to adjudicate a 22 contested case before the board. 23 3. The Office shall, by regulation: 24 (a) Prescribe a fee to cover the costs incurred by the Office for 25 any service provided by the Office pursuant to subsection 1 or 2; 26 (b) Adopt such procedures as the Office may deem appropriate 27 for the billing or collection of such fees from a professional or 28 occupational licensing board to which such a service is provided; 29 and 30 (c) Establish procedures to provide to each professional and 31 occupational licensing board which has paid a fee prescribed 32 pursuant to paragraph (a) a portion of any money in the Account 33 that is unexpended at the end of a fiscal year. 34 4. A professional or occupational licensing board under the 35 purview of the Office pursuant to NRS 232.8415 may not pay any 36 compensation to a natural person or entity other than the Office 37 for a service that the Office provides pursuant to subsection 1. 38 5. Any money the Office receives pursuant to this section 39 must be deposited in the State [Text truncated for display. Full text available on LegiScan.]