SB383 - Revises provisions governing juvenile justice. (BDR 5-947)

S.B. 383 - *SB383* SENATE BILL NO. 383–SENATOR OHRENSCHALL MARCH 17, 2025 ____________ Referred to Committee on Judiciary SUMMARY—Revises provisions governing juvenile justice. (BDR 5-947) 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 juvenile justice; revising provisions relating to community service ordered for a child who is subject to the jurisdiction of the juvenile court; revising provisions relating to the driving privileges of certain children who are adjudicated delinquent or in need of supervision; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. Legislative Counsel’s Digest: In general, existing law authorizes a juvenile court to order a child who is 1 subject to the jurisdiction of the juvenile court or the parent or guardian of such a 2 child, or both, to perform community service. (NRS 62E.180) Existing law defines 3 “community service” for the purposes of any such order to include certain public 4 service, work on public projects, supervised work for the benefit of the community 5 or any other work required by the juvenile court. (NRS 62A.060) Section 1 of this 6 bill revises the definition of community service to mean a community-based 7 activity that: (1) facilitates civic engagement, facilitates or enhances connections 8 between the child and his or her community, provides training in life skills or 9 increases the employability of a child; and (2) is designed to achieve certain goals. 10 Under existing law, if a juvenile court orders a child, parent or guardian to 11 perform community service, the community service must be performed for and 12 under the supervising authority of certain public entities or a private nonprofit 13 corporation. (NRS 62E.190) Section 2 of this bill adds a program for which the 14 primary purpose is to build job skills and increase employability to the list of 15 entities under whose supervisory authority a child, parent or guardian is authorized 16 to perform community service. 17 Existing law authorizes or requires the juvenile court to suspend or delay the 18 issuance of the driver’s license of a child who is adjudicated delinquent or in need 19 of supervision under certain circumstances. Under existing law, if a child is already 20 the subject of such an order, the juvenile court must order the additional suspension 21 or delay to apply consecutively with the previous order. (NRS 62E.440, 62E.630, 22 62E.650, 62E.690) Sections 4-7 of this bill remove this requirement. 23 – 2 – - *SB383* Among other penalties, existing law requires a juvenile court to order a child 24 who is adjudicated to be in need of supervision because the child is a habitual truant 25 to pay a fine or perform community service, or both. (NRS 62E.430) Section 3 of 26 this bill: (1) removes the requirement that the court order the child to pay a fine the 27 first time the child is adjudicated to be in need of supervision; and (2) authorizes 28 the juvenile court to order the child to perform an additional 10 hours of 29 community service for a combined total not to exceed 20 hours in lieu of all or part 30 of the fine ordered by the court. 31 THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. NRS 62A.060 is hereby amended to read as 1 follows: 2 62A.060 [1.] “Community service” means [community 3 service] a community-based activity that: 4 1. Facilitates civic engagement, facilitates or enhances 5 connections between the child and his or her community, provides 6 training in life skills or increases the employability of the child 7 through basic job training; 8 2. Is designed to: 9 (a) Encourage the development of empathy for victims of 10 crimes; 11 (b) Repair harm done to victims and the community by giving 12 back to victims and the community; 13 (c) Facilitate the development of critical thinking and problem 14 solving skills; 15 (d) Facilitate the development of a deeper understanding of 16 community problems; 17 (e) Provide the child with a better understanding of how to 18 make constructive changes; 19 (f) Assist the child with gaining a sense of individual 20 effectiveness; 21 (g) Facilitate the development in the child of a personal stake 22 in the well-being of the community; or 23 (h) Provide the child with a better understanding of the need 24 for involvement in the community in a way that affects positive 25 change; and 26 3. Is performed in accordance with NRS 62E.190. 27 [2. The term includes, but is not limited to, public service, 28 work on public projects, supervised work for the benefit of the 29 community or any other work required by the juvenile court.] 30 Sec. 2. NRS 62E.190 is hereby amended to read as follows: 31 62E.190 1. If the juvenile court orders a child or the parent or 32 guardian of the child, or both, to perform community service 33 pursuant to the provisions of this title, the child or parent or 34 – 3 – - *SB383* guardian of the child, or both, must perform the community service 1 for and under the supervising authority of [a] : 2 (a) A county, city, town or other political subdivision or agency 3 of the State of Nevada [or a] ; 4 (b) A charitable organization that renders service to the 5 community or its residents, including, [but not limited to: 6 (a)] without limitation: 7 (1) A public organization that works on public projects; 8 [(b)] (2) A public agency that works on projects to eradicate 9 graffiti; or 10 [(c)] (3) A private nonprofit organization that performs other 11 community service [.] ; or 12 (c) A program for which the primary purpose is to build job 13 skills and increase the employability of the child. 14 2. The person or entity who supervises the community service 15 shall make such reports to the juvenile court as the juvenile court 16 may require. 17 Sec. 3. NRS 62E.430 is hereby amended to read as follows: 18 62E.430 1. [If] Except as otherwise provided in subsection 19 2, if a child is adjudicated to be in need of supervision because the 20 child is a habitual truant, the juvenile court shall: 21 (a) The first time the child is adjudicated to be in need of 22 supervision because the child is a habitual truant: 23 (1) Order [: 24 (I) The] the child to [pay a fine of not more than $100 or, 25 if the parent or guardian of the child knowingly induced the child to 26 be a habitual truant, order the parent or guardian to pay the fine; or 27 (II) The child to] perform not less than 8 hours but not 28 more than 16 hours of community service; and 29 (2) If the child is 14 years of age or older, order the 30 suspension of the driver’s license of the child for at least 30 days but 31 not more than 6 months. If the child does not possess a driver’s 32 license, the juvenile court shall prohibit the child from applying for 33 a driver’s license for 30 days: 34 (I) Immediately following the date of the order if the child 35 is eligible to apply for a driver’s license; or 36 (II) After the date the child becomes eligible to apply for 37 a driver’s license if the child is not eligible to apply for a driver’s 38 license. 39 (b) The second or any subsequent time the child is adjudicated 40 to be in need of supervision because the child is a habitual truant: 41 (1) Order: 42 (I) The child to pay a fine of not more than $200 or, if the 43 parent or guardian of the child knowingly induced the child to be a 44 habitual truant, order the parent or guardian to pay the fine; 45 – 4 – - *SB383* (II) The child to perform not more than 10 hours of 1 community service; or 2 (III) Compliance with the requirements set forth in both 3 sub-subparagraphs (I) and (II); and 4 (2) If the child is 14 years of age or older, order the 5 suspension of the driver’s license of the child for at least 60 days but 6 not more than 1 year. If the child does not possess a driver’s license, 7 the juvenile court shall prohibit the child from applying for a 8 driver’s license for 60 days: 9 (I) Immediately following the date of the order if the child 10 is eligible to apply for a driver’s license; or 11 (II) After the date the child becomes eligible to apply for 12 a driver’s license if the child is not eligible to apply for a driver’s 13 license. 14 2. The juvenile court may, in lieu of all or part of a fine 15 ordered pursuant to this section, order the child to perform not 16 more than 10 additional hours of community service. The 17 combined total of community service ordered by the juvenile court 18 each time a child is adjudicated to be in need of supervision must 19 not exceed 20 hours. 20 3. The juvenile court may suspend the payment of a fine 21 ordered pursuant to [paragraph (a) of subsection 1] this section if 22 [the] : 23 (a) The child attends school for 60 consecutive school days, or 24 its equivalent in a school district operating under an alternative 25 schedule authorized pursuant to NRS 388.090, after the imposition 26 of the fine, or has a valid excuse acceptable to the child’s teacher or 27 the principal for any absence from school within that period [. 28 3. The juvenile court may suspend the payment of a fine 29 ordered pursuant to this section if the] ; or 30 (b) The parent or guardian of a child is ordered to pay a fine by 31 another court of competent jurisdiction in a case relating to or 32 arising out of the same circumstances that caused the juvenile court 33 to adjudicate the child in need of supervision. 34 4. The community service ordered pursuant to this section must 35 be performed at the child’s school of attendance, if practicable. 36 Sec. 4. NRS 62E.440 is hereby amended to read as follows: 37 62E.440 1. If a child is adjudicated to be in need of 38 supervision because the child has committed an offense related to 39 tobacco, the juvenile court may: 40 (a) The first time the child is adjudicated to be in need of 41 supervision because the child has committed an offense related to 42 tobacco, order the child to: 43 (1) Pay a fine of $25; and 44 – 5 – - *SB383* (2) Attend and complete a tobacco awareness and cessation 1 program. 2 (b) The second time the child is adjudicated to be in need of 3 supervision because the child has committed an offense related to 4 tobacco, order the child to: 5 (1) Pay a fine of $50; and 6 (2) Attend and complete a tobacco awareness and cessation 7 program. 8 (c) The third or any subsequent time the child is adjudicated to 9 be in need of supervision because the child has committed an 10 offense related to tobacco, order: 11 (1) The child to pay a fine of $75; 12 (2) The child to attend and complete a tobacco awareness 13 and cessation program; and 14 (3) That the driver’s license of the child be suspended for at 15 least 30 days but not more than 90 days or, if the child does not 16 possess a driver’s license, prohibit the child from receiving a 17 driver’s license for at least 30 days but not more than 90 days: 18 (I) Immediately following the date of the order, if the 19 child is eligible to receive a driver’s license. 20 (II) After the date the child becomes eligible to apply for 21 a driver’s license, if the child is not eligible to receive a license on 22 the date of the order. 23 2. If the juvenile court orders a child to pay a fine pursuant to 24 this section and the child willfully fails to pay the fine, the juvenile 25 court may order that the driver’s license of the child be suspended 26 for at least 30 days but not more than 90 days or, if the child does 27 not possess a driver’s license, prohibit the child from receiving a 28 driver’s license for at least 30 days but not more than 90 days: 29 (a) Immediately following the date of the order, if the child is 30 eligible to receive a driver’s license. 31 (b) After the date the child becomes eligible to apply for a 32 driver’s license, if the child is not eligible to receive a license on the 33 date of the order. 34  If the child is already the subject of a court order suspending or 35 delaying the issuance of the driver’s license of the child, the juvenile 36 court [shall] may order the additional suspension or delay, as 37 appropriate, to apply consecutively with the previous order. 38 3. If the juvenile court suspends the driver’s license of a child 39 pursuant to this section, the juvenile court may order the Department 40 of Motor Vehicles to issue a restricted driver’s license pursuant to 41 NRS 483.490 permitting the child to drive a motor vehicle: 42 (a) To and from work or in the course of his or her work, or 43 both; 44 (b) To and from school; or 45 – 6 – - *SB383* (c) To acquire supplies of medicine or food or receive regularly 1 scheduled medical care for himself, herself or a member of his or 2 her immediate family. 3 Sec. 5. NRS 62E.630 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4 62E.630 1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, if a 5 child is adjudicated delinquent for the unlawful act of using, 6 possessing, selling or distributing a controlled substance, or 7 purchasing, consuming or possessing an alcoholic beverage in 8 violation of NRS 202.020, the juvenile court shall: 9 (a) If the child possesses a driver’s license, issue an order 10 suspending the driver’s license of the child for at least 90 days but 11 not more than 2 years; or 12 (b) If the child does not possess a driver’s license and the child 13 is or will be eligible to receive a driver’s license within the 2 years 14 immediately following the date of the order, issue an order 15 prohibiting the child from receiving a driver’s license for a period 16 specified by the juvenile court which must be at least 90 days but 17 not more than 2 years: 18 (1) Immediately following the date of the order, if the child 19 is eligible to receive a driver’s license; or 20 (2) After the date the child will be eligible to receive a 21 driver’s license, if the child is not eligible to receive a driver’s 22 license on the date of the order. 23 2. If the child is already the subject of a court order suspending 24 or delaying the issuance of the driver’s license of the [Text truncated for display. Full text available on LegiScan.]