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- 83rd Session (2025)
Senate Bill No. 88–Committee on Judiciary
CHAPTER..........
AN ACT relating to offenders; prohibiting the Director of the
Department of Corrections from taking certain actions
relating to certain debts upon the release of an offender from
prison; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law requires the Director of the Department of Corrections to take
certain actions upon the release of an offender from prison. (NRS 209.511) Section
1 of this bill prohibits the Director from collecting or attempting to collect any
outstanding medical debt owed by an offender to the Department upon the release
of t he offender from prison. Section 1 also: (1) prohibits the Director from
reporting information relating to any such debt to a consumer reporting agency; and
(2) authorizes the Director to continue collection efforts if the offender is returned
to the custo dy of the Department. Section 1.5 of this bill applies the amendatory
provisions of section 1 to an offender who has been released from prison by the
expiration of his or her term of sentence or by pardon or parole before July 1, 2025.
Section 1.3 of this bill makes a conforming change to refer to provisions that have
been renumbered by section 1.
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 209.511 is hereby amended to read as follows:
209.511 1. Before an offender is released from prison by
expiration of his or her term of sentence, by pardon or parole, the
Director may provide mediation services to the offender and the
family members and friends of the offender who provide emotional,
psychological and financial support to the offender.
2. As soon as practicable after an offender is authorized to
apply for enrollment in Medicaid pursuant to NRS 422.272428 or
422.27487, the Director shall complete the paperwork f or the
application if the offender may be eligible for Medicaid:
(a) Not more than 90 days before the scheduled release of the
offender pursuant to NRS 422.272428; or
(b) Immediately upon the scheduled release of the offender
pursuant to NRS 422.27487.
3. Not later than 3 months before an offender is projected to be
released from prison by expiration of his or her term of sentence, by
pardon or parole, the Director may, if space is available, provide an
eligible offender with one or more evidence -based or promising
practice reentry programs to obtain employment, including, without
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limitation, any programs which may provide bonding for an
offender entering the workplace and any organizations which may
provide employment or bonding assistance to such a person.
4. When an offender is released from prison by expiration of
his or her term of sentence, by pardon or by parole, the Director:
(a) May furnish the offender with a sum of money not to exceed
$100, the amount to be based upon the offender’s economic need as
determined by the Director;
(b) Shall give the offender notice of the provisions of chapter
179C of NRS and NRS 202.357 and 202.360;
(c) Shall require the offender to sign an acknowledgment of the
notice required in paragraph (b);
(d) Shall giv e the offender notice of the provisions of NRS
179.245 and the provisions of NRS 213.090, 213.155 or 213.157, as
applicable;
(e) Shall provide the offender with a photo identification card
issued by the Department and information and reasonable assistance
relating to acquiring a valid driver’s license or identification card to
enable the offender to obtain employment, if the offender:
(1) Requests a photo identification card;
(2) Requests such information and assistance and is eligible
to acquire a val id driver’s license or identification card from the
Department of Motor Vehicles; or
(3) Is not currently in possession of a photo identification
card;
(f) Shall provide the offender with clothing suitable for
reentering society;
(g) Shall provide the offender with the cost of transportation to
his or her place of residence anywhere within the continental United
States, or to the place of his or her conviction;
(h) If appropriate, shall release the offender to a facility for
transitional living for rel eased offenders that is licensed pursuant to
chapter 449 of NRS;
(i) Shall require the offender to submit to at least one test for
exposure to the human immunodeficiency virus;
(j) If the offender is eligible for Medicare, shall complete
enrollment application paperwork for the offender; and
(k) If the offender was receiving a prescribed medication while
in custody, shall ensure that the offender is provided with a 30 -day
supply of any such prescribed medication.
5. Upon the release of an offender, th e Director shall not
collect or attempt to collect any outstanding medical debt owed to
the Department by the offender or report information relating to
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any such debt to a consumer reporting agency. If the offender is
returned to the custody of the Department at any time, the Director
may continue efforts to collect the outstanding medical debt
during the period the offender is in the custody of the Department.
6. The Director shall not provide an offender with a photo
identification card pursuant to para graph (e) of subsection 4 unless
the photo identification card clearly indicates whether the Director:
(a) Has verified the full legal name and age of the offender by
obtaining an original or certified copy of the documents required by
the Department of M otor Vehicles pursuant to NRS 483.290 or
483.860, as applicable, furnished as proof of the full legal name and
age of an applicant for a driver’s license or identification card; or
(b) Has not verified the full legal name and age of the offender
pursuant to paragraph (a).
[6.] 7. The costs authorized or required in paragraphs (a), (e),
(f), (g), (i) and (k) of subsection 4 must be paid out of the
appropriate account within the State General Fund for the use of the
Department as other claims against the State are paid to the extent
that the costs have not been paid in accordance with subsection 5 of
NRS 209.221 and NRS 209.246.
[7.] 8. The Director is encouraged to work with the Nevada
Community Re -Entry Task Force established by the Governor
pursuant t o executive order, or its successor body, if any, to align
statewide strategies for the reentry of offenders into the community
and the implementation of those strategies.
[8.] 9. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the
existing obligation of an offender to pay restitution to a victim of
his or her crime.
10. As used in this section:
(a) “Consumer reporting agency” has the meaning ascribed to
it in NRS 686A.640.
(b) “Eligible offender” means an offender who is:
(1) Determined to be eligible for reentry programming based
on the Nevada Risk Assessment System instrument, or its successor
risk assessment tool; and
(2) Enrolled in:
(I) Programming services under a reentry program at a
correctional facility which has staff designate d to provide the
services; or
(II) A community -based program to assist offenders to
reenter the community.
[(b)] (c) “Facility for transitional living for released offenders”
has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 449.0055.
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[(c)] (d) “Photo identificat ion card” means a document which
includes the name, date of birth and a color picture of the offender.
[(d)] (e) “Promising practice reentry program” means a reentry
program that has strong quantitative and qualitative data showing
positive outcomes, but does not have sufficient research or
replication to support recognition as an evidence-based practice.
Sec. 1.3. NRS 483.860 is hereby amended to read as follows:
483.860 1. Every applicant for an identification card must
furnish proof of his or her full legal name and age by presenting:
(a) An original or certified copy of the required documents as
prescribed by regulation; or
(b) A photo identification card issued by the Department of
Corrections pursuant to NRS 209.511 which indicates that the
Director of the Department of Corrections has verified the full legal
name and age of the applicant pursuant to subsection [5] 6 of that
section.
2. The Director shall adopt regulations:
(a) Prescribing the documents an applicant may use to furnish
proof of his or her full legal name and age to the Department
pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection 1, including, without
limitation, a document issued by the Department pursuant to NRS
483.375 or 483.8605; and
(b) Setting forth criteria pursuant to which the Department will
issue or refuse to issue an identification card in accordance with this
section to a person who is a citizen of a state or a foreign country.
The criteria pursuant to which the Department shall issue or refuse
to issue an identification ca rd to a citizen of a foreign country must
be based upon the purpose for which that person is present within
the United States.
3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the
Department shall not accept a consular identification card as proof
of the age or identity of an applicant for an identification card. As
used in this subsection, “consular identification card” has the
meaning ascribed to it in NRS 232.006.
Sec. 1.5. The amendatory provisions of subsection 5 of NRS
209.511, as amended by section 1 of this act , apply to an offender
who has been released from prison before July 1, 2025, by
expiration of his or her term of sentence, by pardon or by parole.
Sec. 2. This act becomes effective on July 1, 2025.
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