Establishes certain requirements relating to notices of road hazards and road closures. (BDR 35-406)

S.B. 53

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SENATE BILL NO. 53–COMMITTEE ON
GROWTH AND INFRASTRUCTURE

(ON BEHALF OF LYON COUNTY)

PREFILED NOVEMBER 19, 2024
____________

Referred to Committee on Growth and Infrastructure

SUMMARY—Establishes certain requirements relating to notices
of road hazards and road closures. (BDR 35-406)

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 highways; requiring the Department of
Transportation to create an electronic system for local
governments to report road conditions under certain
circumstances; authorizing a city, county, regional
transportation commission , the Department or any other
public authority to notify a navigation provider regarding
certain road conditions; requiring a navigation provider to
take certain actions after receiving such a notification;
revising provisions relating to the Advisory Committee on
Traffic Safety; requiring the Director of the Department to
adopt regulations; providing a civil penalty; and providing
other matters properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law regulates trade practices and other commercial activities in this 1
State. (Title 52 of NRS) Section 6 of this bill authorizes a city, county, regional 2
transportation commission, the Department of Transportation or any other public 3
authority to transmit a written or electronic notification to a navigation provider 4
concerning a current or anticipated road c ondition, such as a road closure, road 5
hazard, lane closure, construction project, accident or other road condition 6
impacting a highway under the jurisdiction of the entity providing the notification. 7
Section 6 requires a navigation provider who receives such a notification to 8
incorporate the road condition information contained within the notification into the 9
real-time data concerning traffic and road closu res that is used by the navigation 10
provider to provide turn-by-turn directions to end users of its navigation application 11
within 48 hours after receiving the notification, with certain exceptions. If a 12

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navigation provider fails to incorporate the road condition information into the real-13
time data concerning traffic and road closures used to provide turn -by-turn 14
directions to end users within the time prescribed, section 6 provides for a civil 15
penalty of $500 to be imposed against the navigation provider for each day that the 16
navigation provider fails to incorporate the road condition information until: (1) the 17
provider incorporates the road condition informatio n; or (2) the road condition 18
ceases to exist or is otherwise resolved. Additionally, section 6 authorizes a city, 19
county, regional transportation commission , the Department or any other public 20
authority, as a part of the notification sent to a navigation provider, to recommend a 21
specific route which would direct traffic around the specific road condition. A 22
navigation provider is not required to incorporate t he recommended route into the 23
data used to provide turn-by-turn directions to end users. 24
Section 6 defines a “navigation provider” as a person who operates a 25
navigation application and defines a “navigation application” as an Internet 26
website, online service or mobile application which: (1) offers turn -by-turn 27
directions in real time to an end user; and (2) incorporates real-time data concerning 28
traffic and r oad closures into the direction and navigation services provided to the 29
end user. Section 6 excludes from the definition of “navigation application” a 30
service which: (1) has less than 10,000,000 active users per month; (2) does not 31
offer direction and navigation services for end users with respect to the highways in 32
this State; or (3) does not incorporate real -time data concerning traffic and road 33
closures int o the direction and navigation services provided to an end user with 34
respect to the highways in this State. 35
Existing law creates the Department of Transportation and tasks the Director of 36
the Department with the general supervision of the construction, re construction, 37
improvement, maintenance and repair of all highways, facilities and services 38
authorized by the provisions governing highways, roads and transportation 39
facilities. (NRS 408.106, 408.195) The Director is also required to collect and 40
compile statistics and maps relating to the mileage, traffic, character and condition 41
of the highways. (NRS 408.190) Section 1 of this bill requires the Department to 42
create and maintain an electronic system which allows a qualified representative of 43
a city, county or regional transportation commission to submit to the Department 44
information relating to road conditions impacting certain highways under the 45
jurisdiction of the reporting entity for upload onto an Internet website or mobile 46
application maintained by the Department to communicate road conditions to the 47
public, including Nevada 511, if such a website or application is maintained by the 48
Department. Sections 2 and 4 of this bill require the Department to adopt 49
regulations and use funds in the Account for Systems of Providing Information to 50
the Traveling Public in the State Highway Fund, as necessary, to carry out the 51
provisions of section 1. Section 3 of this bill adds the provisions of section 1 to the 52
provisions of law which the Department, in cooperation with the Commission on 53
Tourism, is required to develop a plan to carry out. 54
Existing law creates the Advisory Committee on Traffic Safety within the 55
Department. The Advisory Committee consists of voting members and certain 56
nonvoting members who may be appointed by the Director of the Department. 57
(NRS 408.581) Section 5 of this bill requires the Director of the Department to 58
appoint to the Advisory Committee two nonvoting members who represent 59
navigation providers. 60

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THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. Chapter 408 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 1
thereto a new section to read as follows: 2
1. If the Department maintains an Internet website or mobile 3
application to communicate to the public information concerning 4
the conditions for driving on some or all of the highways in this 5
State, including, without limitation, Nevada 511 or any su ccessor 6
Internet website or application, the Department shall create and 7
maintain an electronic system which allows a qualified 8
representative of a city, county or regional transportation 9
commission to submit to the Department, for upload to the 10
Internet w ebsite or mobile application as soon as practicable, 11
information related to a current or anticipated road closure, road 12
hazard, lane closure, construction project, accident or other road 13
condition which impacts a highway: 14
(a) Under the jurisdiction of the city, county or regional 15
transportation commission; and 16
(b) For which the condition is communicated by the Internet 17
website or mobile application. 18
2. As used in this section: 19
(a) “City” means an incorporated city. 20
(b) “Qualified representative” means a person who is 21
authorized by his or her respective city, county or regional 22
transportation commission to submit information through 23
the electronic system created and maintained pursuant to 24
subsection 1. 25
(c) “Regional transportation commission” means a regional 26
transportation commission created pursuant to NRS 277A.170. 27
Sec. 2. NRS 408.557 is hereby amended to read as follows: 28
408.557 1. The Director shall adopt regulations: 29
(a) Governing the size, shape, lighting and other characteristics 30
of a sign to be erected at a location designated pursuant to 31
NRS 408.553; 32
(b) Authorizing the use of trademarks and symbols identifying 33
an individual enterprise on a sign erected at the location; 34
(c) Fixing the qualifications of a person or governmental agency 35
to erect or construct, operate, sponsor or maintain a center or sign 36
and of an enterprise to be identified on a directional or informational 37
sign; 38
(d) Fixing reasonable fees, based upon the market value as 39
determined by the Department, for: 40

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(1) Authorizing the use of trademarks and symbols 1
identifying an individual enterprise on a directional or informational 2
sign; and 3
(2) Providing: 4
(I) Information concerning commercial attractions; and 5
(II) Items designed to promote tourism in this State; and 6
(e) Otherwise necessary to carry out the provisions of NRS 7
408.551 to 408.567, inclusive [.] , and section 1 of this act. 8
2. The regulations adopted by the Director pursuant to 9
subsection 1 must be consistent with the provisions of 23 U.S.C. §§ 10
111 and 131. 11
Sec. 3. NRS 408.559 is hereby amended to read as follows: 12
408.559 The Department shall develop a plan, in cooperation 13
with the Commission on Tourism, to carry out the provisions of 14
NRS 408.551 to 408.567, inclusive [.] , and section 1 of this a ct. 15
The plan must take into consideration such factors as: 16
1. Economic development in this state. 17
2. Availability of money for the purposes of NRS 408.551 to 18
408.567, inclusive [.] , and section 1 of this act. 19
3. Population in a particular area. 20
4. Proposed highway construction. 21
5. Need for information. 22
 The Department and the Commission shall review the plan at 23
least once each year and r evise it until the provisions of NRS 24
408.551 to 408.567, inclusive, and section 1 of this act have been 25
uniformly put into effect throughout the State. 26
Sec. 4. NRS 408.567 is hereby amended to read as follows: 27
408.567 1. Money received by the Department from: 28
(a) Fees for: 29
(1) Authorizing the use of trademarks and symbols 30
identifying an individual enterprise on a directional or informational 31
sign; and 32
(2) Providing: 33
(I) Information concerning commercial attractions; and 34
(II) Items designed to promote tourism in this State; 35
(b) Participants in a telephone system established to reserve 36
accommodations for travelers; and 37
(c) Appropriations made by the Legislature for the purposes of 38
NRS 408.551 to 408.567, inclusive, and section 1 of this act, 39
 must be deposited with the State Treasurer for credit to the 40
Account for Systems of Providing Information to the Traveling 41
Public in the State Highway Fund, which is hereby created. 42
2. Money in the Account must only be used to carry out the 43
provisions of NRS 408.551 to 408.567, inclusive [.] , and section 1 44
of this act. 45

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Sec. 5. NRS 408.581 is hereby amended to read as follows: 1
408.581 1. The Advisory Committee on Traffic Safety is 2
hereby created in the Department. The Advisory Committee consists 3
of the following voting members: 4
(a) The Director of the Department of Transportation or his or 5
her designee; 6
(b) The Dir ector of the Department of Health and Human 7
Services or his or her designee; 8
(c) The Director of the Department of Motor Vehicles or his or 9
her designee; 10
(d) The Director of the Department of Public Safety or his or her 11
designee; 12
(e) The Superintendent of Public Instruction or his or her 13
designee; 14
(f) One member who is a representative of the Department of 15
Transportation, appointed by the Director of the Department of 16
Transportation; 17
(g) One member who is a representative of the Department of 18
Public Safety, appointed by the Director of the Department of Public 19
Safety; 20
(h) One member appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly who 21
is a member of the Assembly Standing Committee on Growth and 22
Infrastructure during the current or immediately preceding regul ar 23
session; 24
(i) One member appointed by the Majority Leader of the Senate 25
who is a member of the Senate Standing Committee on Growth and 26
Infrastructure during the current or immediately preceding regular 27
session; 28
(j) One member who is a representative of the Administrative 29
Office of the Courts, appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme 30
Court of Nevada; 31
(k) One member who represents tribal governments in Nevada, 32
appointed by the Inter -Tribal Council of Nevada, Inc., or its 33
successor organization; 34
(l) Two members who are full - or part-time faculty members in 35
the Nevada System of Higher Education and have expertise in 36
traffic safety or trauma care, appointed by the Director of the 37
Department of Transportation; 38
(m) One member appointed by each metropolitan planning 39
organization to represent the appointing organization; 40
(n) One member appointed by the Nevada Association of 41
Counties; 42
(o) One member appointed by the Nevada League of Cities; and 43
(p) One member who represents local law enforcement agencies, 44
appointed by the Nevada Sheriffs’ and Chiefs’ Association. 45

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2. The Director of the Department of Transportation shall 1
appoint as nonvoting members of the Advisory Committee two 2
members who represent navigation providers. 3
3. The Director of the Department of Transportation may 4
appoint as nonvoting members of the Advisory Committee such 5
other persons as the Director deems appropriate. 6
[3.] 4. The term of office of each member appointed to the 7
Advisory Committee is 2 years. Such members may b e reappointed 8
for additional terms of 2 years in the same manner as the original 9
appointments. Any vacancy occurring in the appointed voting 10
membership of the Advisory Committee must be filled in the same 11
manner as the original appointment not later than 3 0 days after the 12
vacancy occurs. 13
[4.] 5. The members of the Advisory Committee shall elect 14
from their voting membership a Chair and a Vice Chair. The term of 15
office of the Chair and the Vice Chair is 2 years. If a vacancy occurs 16
in the office of Chair or Vice Chair, the members of the Advisory 17
Committee shall elect a Chair or Vice Chair, as applicable, from 18
among its voting members to serve for the remainder of the 19
unexpired term. 20
[5.] 6. The Advisory Committee shall meet at least once each 21
calendar qua rter and may meet at such further times as deemed 22
necessary by the Chair. 23
[6.] 7. A majority of the voting members of the Advisory 24
Committee constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business. If a 25
quorum is present, the affirmative vote of a majority of the voting 26
members of the Advisory Committee present is sufficient for any 27
official action taken by the Advisory Committee. 28
[7.] 8. Each member of the Advisory Committee serves 29
without compensation and is not entitled to receive a per diem 30
allowance or travel expenses. 31
[8.] 9. The Department shall provide administrative support to 32
the Advisory Committee. 33
[9.] 10. The Advisory Committee shall review, study and make 34
recommendations regarding: 35
(a) Evidence-based best practices for reducing or preventing 36
deaths and injuries related to motor vehicle crashes on roadways in 37
this State; 38
(b) Data on motor vehicle crashes resulting in death or serious 39
bodily injury in this State, including, without limit ation, factors that 40
cause such crashes and measures known to prevent such crashes; 41
(c) Policies intended to reduce or prevent deaths and injuries 42
related to motor vehicle crashes on roadways in this State; and 43
(d) Any other matter submitted by the Chair. 44

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[10.] 11. The Advisory Committee shall prepare and submit to 1
the Governor and to the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau 2
for transmittal to the Legislature an annual report concerning the 3
activities of the Advisory Committee that addresses, with out 4
limitation, any issue reviewed or studied and any recommendations 5
made by the Advisory Committee pursuant to subsection [9.] 10. 6
[11.] 12. The Advisory Committee may establish such working 7
groups, task forces and similar entities from within or outsi de its 8
membership as necessary to address specific issues or otherwise to 9
assist in its work. 10
[12.] 13. As used in this section [,“metropolitan] : 11
(a) “Metropolitan planning organization” means an entity that 12
has been designated as a metropolitan planning organization 13
pursuant to 23 U.S.C. § 134 and 49 U.S.C. § 5303. 14
(b) “Navigation provider” has the meaning ascribed to it in 15
section 6 of this act. 16
Sec. 6. Chapter 597 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 17
thereto a new section to read as follows: 18
1. A city, county, regional transportation commission, the 19
Department of Transportation or any other public authority may, 20
at any time, transmit a written or electronic notification to a 21
navigation provider regarding a current or anticipated road 22
closure, road hazard, lane closure, construction pr oject, accident 23
or other road condition which impacts a highway in this State 24
under the jurisdiction of the city, county, regional transportation 25
commission, Department of Transportation or other public 26
authority. If the navigation provider has appointed a registered 27
agent located in this State, the notification must be transmitted to 28
the registered agent, unless the navigation provider posts on its 29
Internet website or within the navigation application an 30
alternative method of providing the notification. 31
2. A city, county, regional transportation commission , the 32
Department of Transportation or any other public authority may 33
include in a notification transmitted pursuant to subsection 1 34
information concerning the route recommended by the city, 35
county, regio nal transportation commission , Department of 36
Transportation or other public authority for directing traffic 37
around the road condition. A navigation provider is not required 38
to incorporate a recommended route which is included in a 39
notification pursuant to this subsection into the real -time traffic 40
and road closure data used to provide turn -by-turn directions in 41
real time to an end user of the navigation application. 42
3. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 2 and 4, a 43
navigation provider who receives a notification transmitted 44
pursuant to subsection 1 shall incorporate the information 45

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contained in the notification regarding the existence of a road 1
condition into the navigation application not later than: 2
(a) Forty-eight hours after the notification i s received by the 3
navigation provider; or 4
(b) The time at which the road condition contained in the 5
notification occurs, if the road condition does not occur until more 6
than 48 hours after the notification was received. 7
4. A navigation provider is not r equired to incorporate the 8
information contained in the notification regarding the existence 9
of a road condition into the navigation application pursuant to 10
subsection 3 if the road condition resolves before the time by 11
which the navigation provider would be required to incorporate 12
the information pursuant to subsection 3. 13
5. A navigation provider who violates subsection 3 remains in 14
violation of that subsection until: 15
(a) The navigation provider incorporates the information 16
contained in the notification regarding the existence of a road 17
condition into the navigation application; or 18
(b) The road condition contained in the notification ceases to 19
exist or is otherwise resolved. 20
6. A navigation provider who violates the provisions of 21
subsection 3 is subject to a civil penalty of $500 per day of the 22
violation, and each day’s continuance of the violation constitutes a 23
separate and distinct violation. 24
7. As used in this section: 25
(a) “City” means an incorporated city. 26
(b) “Highway” means any street, r oad, alley, thoroughfare or 27
way of any kind, paved or unpaved, which is used or open to the 28
use of the public for the purpose of vehicular travel. 29
(c) “Navigation application”: 30
(1) Means an Internet website, online service or mobile 31
application which: 32
(I) Offers turn-by-turn directions in real time to an end 33
user; and 34
(II) Incorporates real -time data concerning traffic and 35
road closures into the direction and navigation services provided 36
to the end user. 37
(2) Does not include a service which: 38
(I) Has less than 10,000,000 active users per month; 39
(II) Does not offer direction and navigation services for 40
end users with respect to the highways in this State; or 41
(III) Does not incorporate real -time data concerning 42
traffic and road closures into the direction and navigation services 43
provided to the end user with respect to the highways in this State. 44

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(d) “Navigation provider” means a person who operates a 1
navigation application. 2
(e) “Public authority” means a state or local governmental 3
agency that maintains a highway or to which a highway is 4
dedicated. 5
(f) “Regional transportation commission” means a regional 6
transportation commission created pursuant to NRS 277A.170. 7
Sec. 7. 1. This section becomes effective upon passage and 8
approval. 9
2. Sections 1 to 6, inclusive, of this act become effective: 10
(a) Upon passage and approval for the purpose of adopting any 11
regulations and performing any other preparatory administrative 12
tasks that are necessary to carry out the provisions of this act; and 13
(b) On October 1, 2025, for all other purposes. 14

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