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- 83rd Session (2025)
Assembly Bill No. 600–Committee on
Legislative Operations and Elections
CHAPTER..........
AN ACT relating to the Legislative Department; clarifying that
proceeds of sales of certain items approved by the Director of
the Legislative Counsel Bureau must be deposited in the
Legislative Fund; clarifying that t he organization of the
Nevada Revised Statutes into titles by the Legislative
Counsel does not constitute a legislative determination for
certain constitutional purposes; placing a certain parcel of
land under the exclusive supervision and control of the
Legislature, contingent upon its purchase; and providing
other matters properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law: (1) creates the Legislative Fund as a special revenue fund for the
use of the Legislative Department of the State Government; (2) provides that
money in the Legislative Fund does not revert to the State General Fund; and (3)
requires money to be paid out of the Legislative Fund only on claims approved by
the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau or his or her des ignee. (NRS
218A.150) Existing law further provides that when various items or services
provided at the expense of the Legislative Fund are sold, the proceeds from such
sales are deposited in the Legislative Fund. (NRS 218F.410-218F.440) Section 2 of
this bill clarifies that proceeds from the sales of food or other items in the
Legislative Building or any building maintained for the use of the Legislature or the
Legislative Counsel Bureau must be similarly deposited in the Legislative Fund.
Section 1 of this bill makes a conforming change relating to the petty cash account
of the Legislative Counsel Bureau to account for the clarification made by
section 2.
Existing law reserves the powers and duties relating to the revision of statutes
and the compilation, organization, revision and publication of the Nevada Revised
Statutes to the Legislative Counsel and the Legal Division of the Legislative
Counsel Bureau. (Chapter 220 of NRS) Specifically, the Legislative Counsel is: (1)
required to classify and arrange the entire body of statute laws in logical order
throughout the volumes of the Nevada Revised Statutes to enable subjects of a
kindred nature to be pl aced under one general head; and (2) authorized to create
new titles, chapters and sections of the Nevada Revised Statutes as may be required
to effectuate the orderly and logical arrangement of the statutes. (NRS 220.120)
In prior opinions, the Nevada Su preme Court has recognized that, based on the
separation-of-powers provision in the Nevada Constitution, each state office,
agency, court or other entity “must have a primary connection to and derive its
power to act from one of the three branches of Nevad a government.” ( Comm’n on
Ethics v. Hardy , 125 Nev. 285, 298, 212 P.3d 1098, 1107 (2009); Whitehead v.
Nev. Comm’n on Jud. Discipline , 110 Nev. 128, 159, 906 P.2d 230, 249 (1994);
Galloway v. Truesdell , 83 Nev. 13, 19, 422 P.2d 237, 241 (1967) (“The
Constitution of the State of Nevada distributes governmental powers into the
Legislative, Executive and Judicial departments; and each department is separate
from the others.”). However, in a recent opinion, the Nevada Supreme Court
erroneously construed the Legislative Counsel’s decisions in organizing the Nevada
Revised Statutes by title, distinguished by subject, as required by law, to be a
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decision by the Legislature which “indicated its understanding” that certain
agencies of the Executive Department of the State Government fall outside “the
three departments of state government.” ( Nev. Policy Research Institute, Inc. v.
Miller, 140 Nev. Adv. Op. 69, 558 P.3d 319, 327 (2024))
Section 3 of this bill provides that each state office, agency, court or other
entity must have a primary connection to and be part of one of the three
departments of the State Government, and no state office, agency, court or other
entity is created, exists or functions outside of the three departments of the State
Government. Section 3 also: (1) clarifies that the Legislative Counsel’s decisions in
organizing the Nevada Revised Statutes to effectuate the orderly and logical
arrangement of the statutes and to classify the body of statute law by subject matter,
as required by law, is not a decision by the Legislature as to which department of
the State Government any state office, agency, court or other entity is located or to
exclude any state office, agency, court or other entity from the three departments of
the State Government; and (2) prohibits construing the organization of the Nevada
Revised Statutes in such a manner.
Existing law reserves to the Legislature the supervision and control of the
property of the Legislative Department and requires title to such property to be held
in the name of the Legislature of the State of Nevada. (NRS 331.135) Contingent
upon the completion of the purchase of a certain parcel of land in Carson City,
section 4 of this bill includes the parcel among the prop erty for which supervision
and control is reserved to the Legislature.
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 218F.220 is hereby amended to read as
follows:
218F.220 1. A petty cash account of the Legislative Counsel
Bureau is hereby created:
(a) For each building in which offices of employees of the
Legislative Counsel Bureau are located; and
(b) In any division approved for the sale of food, souvenirs or
other items pursuant to NRS 218F.430,
in the sum of not more than $1,000 each for the minor expenses
of the Legislative Counsel Bureau.
2. Each account must be kept in the custody of an employee
designated by the Director and must be replenished periodically
from the Legislative Fund upon approval of expenditures and
submission of vouchers or other documents to indicate payment.
Sec. 2. NRS 218F.430 is hereby amended to read as follows:
218F.430 1. The Director may approve the purchase and sale
of food, souvenirs of the Nevada Legislature and of the State of
Nevada and other items in the Legislative Building or any building
maintained for the use of the Legislature or the Legislative Counsel
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Bureau. Such souvenirs may include, without limitation, souvenir
wine. The Director shall fix reasonable fees for the items which
must in th e aggregate at least cover the cost to the Legislative
Counsel Bureau of purchasing and selling the items.
2. The money received from the sale of food, souvenirs and
other items must be deposited in a revolving account in the
Legislative Fund. The money in the revolving account must be used
to purchase additional food, souvenirs or other items for sale and
pay any other expenses related to the sale of food, souvenirs and
other items deemed appropriate by the Director. The balance in the
revolving account not exceeding $150,000 must not be reverted to
the Legislative Fund at the end of the fiscal year.
Sec. 3. The preliminary chapter of NRS is hereby amended by
adding thereto a new section to read as follows:
1. Each state office, agency, court or other entity must have a
primary connection to and be part of one of the three departments
of the State Government, and no state office, agency, court or
other entity is created, exists or functions outside of the three
departments of the State Government pursuant to Section 1 of
Article 3 of the Nevada Constitution.
2. The exercise of the Legislative Counsel’s duties as
prescribed in chapter 220 of NRS r elating to the compilation,
organization, revision and publication of the Nevada Revised
Statutes is performed in the interest of effectuating the orderly and
logical arrangement of the statutes and shall not be construed as a
decision by the Legislature a s to which department of the State
Government any state office, agency, court or other entity is
located or to exclude any state office, agency, court or other entity
from the three departments of the State Government pursuant to
Section 1 of Article 3 of the Nevada Constitution.
3. To effectuate the orderly and logical arrangement of the
statutes, to classify and arrange the entire body of statute law in
logical order and place subjects of a kindred nature under one
general head and to avoid any individu al title becoming unwieldy
in length, statutes relating to the various state offices, agencies or
other entities of the Executive Department of the State
Government are codified in numerous titles of NRS , including,
without limitation, titles 7 to 12, incl usive, 14, 16, 18, 19 and 22 to
58, inclusive, of NRS, and distinguished by subject matter, and the
organization of the titles of the Nevada Revised Statutes by subject
matter shall not be construed as a decision by the Legislature to
exclude any of those state offices, agencies or other entities from
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the Executive Department of the State Government pursuant to
Section 1 of Article 3 of the Nevada Constitution.
Sec. 4. NRS 331.135 is hereby amended to read as follows:
331.135 1. The Legislature reserves the supervision and
control, both during and between legislative sessions, of:
(a) The entire Legislative Building, including its chambers,
offices and other rooms, and its furnishings and equipment.
(b) A portion of the parcel of land bounded on the west by
Carson Street, on the south by Fifth Street, on the east by a portion
of the abandoned Fall and Plaza Streets, and on the north by the
sidewalk along the south fence of the capitol grounds, situ ated in a
portion of the Capitol Complex, as shown on the Record of Survey
Map No. 297, Official Records of Carson City, Nevada, File No.
3043, section 17, T. 15 N., R. 20 E., M.D.M., more particularly
described as follows:
Beginning at the southwest cor ner of block 36, Sears,
Thompson and Sears Division, as shown on that record of
survey;
Thence N 895232 E, a distance of 443.93 feet;
Thence N 001215 E, a distance of 302.14 feet;
Thence N 44 4745 W, a distance of 327.16 feet to the
east side of an existing sidewalk;
Thence N 00 1426 E, along that sidewalk, a distance of
173.16 feet, more or less, to the north line of a sidewalk;
Thence N 894745 W, along that sidewalk, a distance of
212.50 feet, to the east right-of-way line of Carson Street;
Thence S 00 1308 W, along that line, a distance of
709.40 feet, more or less, to the true point of beginning.
Containing 5.68 acres, more or less.
(c) The entire parcel of land bounded on the north by Fifth
Street, on the south by Sixth Street, on the east by Stewart Street
and on the west by Plaza Street, also described as blocks 2 and 3,
Pierson and Goodridge Addition; and that portion of Fall Street
between Fifth Street and Sixth Street abandoned by Carson City on
April 26, 1990, Meeting Agenda Item 9 M-89/90-10. Also the entire
parcel of land bounded on the north by the south boundary line of
block 2, Pierson and Goodridge Addition, on the south by Se venth
Street, on the east by Stewart Street and on the west by Fall Street,
and further described as block 7, Pierson and Goodridge Addition.
(d) The entire parcel of land bounded on the north by Sixth
Street, on the south by Seventh Street, on the east by Fall Street, and
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on the west by Plaza Street, also described as block 6, Pierson and
Goodridge Addition.
(e) The entire parcel of land bounded on the north by Fourth
Street, on the west by Stewart Street, on the south by Fifth Street,
and on the east by the abandoned right-of-way of Valley Street, also
described as block 39 of Sears, Thompson and Sears Division of
Carson City; and the west 30.00 feet of the abandoned right -of-way
of Valley Street abutting block 39 of Sears, Thompson and Sears
Division. Excepting therefrom that portion of Stewart and Fifth
Streets deeded to the State of Nevada through its Department of
Transportation as recorded in book 283, page 208, of Deeds, Carson
City, Nevada.
(f) The entire parcel of land bounded on the north by Th ird
Street, on the west by Stewart Street, on the south by Fourth Street,
and on the east by Valley Street, also described as block 22 of Sears,
Thompson and Sears Division of Carson City; and the land occupied
by the state printing warehouse in block 21 o f Sears, Thompson and
Sears Division of Carson City; and the abandoned right -of-way of
Fourth Street between block 22 of Sears, Thompson and Sears
Division and block 39 of Sears, Thompson and Sears Division of
Carson City. Excepting therefrom that portion of Stewart Street
deeded to the State of Nevada through its Department of
Transportation as recorded in book 283, page 208, of Deeds, Carson
City, Nevada.
(g) The entire area of land bounded on the west by Fall Street,
on the south by Fifth Street, on the east by Stewart Street and on the
north by the northern edge of the sidewalk along the northern side of
the parking garage, also described as block 38 and a portion of block
23 of Sears, Thompson and Sears Division of Carson City
(including the portion o f Fourth Street abandoned on December 5,
1989).
(h) The entire parcel of land bounded on the west by South
Carson Street, on the south by East Sixth Street and on the east by
South Plaza Street, also described as Carson City parcel number
004-061-02, and also described as lots 5 through 10, inclusive, in
block 4 of Pierson and Goodridge Addition of Carson City,
together with all that portion of the vacated and abandoned alley
adjacent to those lots and vacated by resolution of the Carson City
Board of Trustees dated February 11, 1936, as recorded in book 6,
page 358, of the Official Records of the Board of Trustees.
(i) The following Clark County parcel numbers:
(1) 177-03-311-005;
(2) 177-03-410-006;
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(3) 177-03-410-008;
(4) 177-03-410-011; and
(5) 177-03-410-014.
[(i)] (j) Any other property acqu ired for the use of the
Legislature or its staff.
Title to the property described in this subsection must be held in
the name of the Legislature of the State of Nevada.
2. The Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau:
(a) Shall provide an individual office for each Legislator whose
position as an officer or as a chair of a committee does not otherwise
entitle the Legislator to occupy an assigned office.
(b) May assign the use of space in the Legislative Building or
other legislative facilities or on the legislative grounds in such a
manner as the Legislative Commission prescribes.
3. The Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau shall cause
the Legislative Building, chambers and grounds and other legislative
facilities to be kept in good repair, c lean, orderly and presentable as
befits public property and the dignity of the Legislature. For this
purpose he or she may, in addition to the general power of the
Director to employ or contract for the services of personnel, contract
with any private enterprise or governmental agency for the provision
of appropriate services.
Sec. 5. 1. This section and sections 1, 2 and 3 of this act
become effective upon passage and approval.
2. Section 4 of this act becomes effective upon the date that the
purchase of the parcel of land described in paragraph (h) of
subsection 1 of NRS 331.135, as amended by section 4 of this act, is
completed.
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