NRS: CHAPTER 220 - REVISION OF STATUTES

[Rev. 6/29/2024 3:20:03 PM--2023]

CHAPTER 220 - REVISION OF STATUTES

GENERAL PROVISIONS

NRS 220.040 General powers and duties of Legislative Counsel and Legal Division regarding revision of statutes.

NRS 220.080 Recommendations regarding clarification of statutes.

NRS 220.085 Recommendations regarding elimination of obsolete or antiquated statutes.

NRS 220.090 Secretary of State to make records, books and statutes available to Legislative Counsel for inspection.

PREPARATION AND REVISION OF NEVADA REVISED STATUTES AND RELATED PUBLICATIONS

NRS 220.100 Preparation and publication of annotations and supplements to NRS.

NRS 220.105 Preparation and publication of digest of judicial opinions concerning Nevada law.

NRS 220.110 Contents of NRS.

NRS 220.120 Compilation, organization, revision and publication of NRS: Form and style; numbering and arrangement; inclusion of notes and reference materials; changes and corrections; legal effect of renumbering; resolution of nonsubstantive conflicts between multiple laws.

NRS 220.125 References in NRS to certain persons and matters to be made using respectful or appropriate language.

PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION OF NEVADA REVISED STATUTES AND RELATED PUBLICATIONS

NRS 220.130 Printing and reproduction of NRS; prices and sales; retention of master copy.

NRS 220.150 Authorized expenditures from Legislative Fund to pay for costs related to publications.

NRS 220.155 Acceptance of gifts, grants and bequests to pay for costs related to publications.

NRS 220.160 Printing and reproduction of supplements; prices and sales.

NRS 220.165 Distribution of NRS and supplements to Legislators; payment of costs.

NRS 220.167 Distribution of NRS and supplements to district, justice and municipal courts; payment of costs.

CERTIFICATION AND CITATION OF NEVADA REVISED STATUTES AS OFFICIAL CODIFIED LAW

NRS 220.170 Certification of NRS and supplements; citation of NRS as official codified version of Statutes of Nevada and prima facie evidence of law; form of citations to NRS.

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GENERAL PROVISIONS

NRS 220.040 General powers and duties of Legislative Counsel and Legal Division regarding revision of statutes. The Legislative Counsel and the Legal Division have the powers and duties prescribed in this chapter.

[Part 5:304:1951; A 1953, 388]—(NRS A 1963, 1021; 2011, 3257)

NRS 220.080 Recommendations regarding clarification of statutes. The Legislative Counsel shall, from time to time:

1. Make recommendations to the Legislature for clarification of specific statutes.

2. Call the attention of the Legislature to conflicting statutes, and such other matter as the Legislative Counsel deems necessary.

[14:304:1951]—(NRS A 1963, 1021; 2003, 814)

NRS 220.085 Recommendations regarding elimination of obsolete or antiquated statutes.

1. The Legislative Counsel and the Research Director shall work collaboratively to develop recommendations for the elimination of obsolete or antiquated provisions contained in the Nevada Revised Statutes.

2. The recommendations, if any, must be presented to the Legislative Commission on or before July 1 of each even-numbered year.

3. The Legislative Commission shall, as it deems appropriate, request the preparation of a bill draft to facilitate the recommendations.

(Added to NRS by 2003, 813)

NRS 220.090 Secretary of State to make records, books and statutes available to Legislative Counsel for inspection. The Secretary of State shall make available for inspection to the Legislative Counsel:

1. All records in the Office of the Secretary of State which are or may be of use to the Legislative Counsel.

2. Any books or statutes in the custody of the Office of the Secretary of State.

[9:304:1951]—(NRS A 1963, 1022; 1965, 952)

PREPARATION AND REVISION OF NEVADA REVISED STATUTES AND RELATED PUBLICATIONS

NRS 220.100 Preparation and publication of annotations and supplements to NRS. The Legislative Counsel shall:

1. Prepare annotations to Nevada Revised Statutes adopted by chapter 2, Statutes of Nevada 1957.

2. Keep the material in Nevada Revised Statutes and its annotations current as provided in NRS 220.160.

[Part 2:304:1951; A 1953, 388]—(NRS A 1957, 4; 1963, 1022; 1989, 247, 591, 602)

NRS 220.105 Preparation and publication of digest of judicial opinions concerning Nevada law. The Legislative Counsel may, on such terms as the Legislative Counsel deems appropriate and with the approval of the Legislative Commission, enter into a contract with any publisher for the preparation and publication of a digest of judicial opinions construing or concerning the law of this state, or for cooperation in the preparation and publication of such a digest.

(Added to NRS by 1989, 247)

NRS 220.110 Contents of NRS. Nevada Revised Statutes shall contain:

1. The Constitution of the United States.

2. The Constitution of the State of Nevada.

3. The laws of this state of general application.

4. A full and accurate index of the statute laws.

5. Such annotations, historical notes and other information as the Legislative Counsel deems appropriate to include.

[Part 2:304:1951; A 1953, 388]—(NRS A 1963, 1022; 1969, 12; 2021, 220)

1. In preparing the annotations and keeping Nevada Revised Statutes current, the Legislative Counsel is authorized:

(a) To adopt such system of numbering as the Legislative Counsel deems practical.

(b) To cause the revision to be published in a number of volumes deemed convenient.

2. The pages of Nevada Revised Statutes must conform in size and printing style to the pages of the Statutes of Nevada, and roman style type must be used.

3. The Legislative Counsel shall classify and arrange the entire body of statute laws in logical order throughout the volumes, the arrangement to be such as will enable subjects of a kindred nature to be placed under one general head, with necessary cross references.

4. Notes of decisions of the Supreme Court, historical references and other material must be printed and arranged in such manner as the Legislative Counsel finds will promote the usefulness thereof.

5. The Legislative Counsel in keeping Nevada Revised Statutes current shall not alter the sense, meaning or effect of any legislative act, but may renumber sections and parts of sections thereof, change the wording of headnotes, rearrange sections, change reference numbers or words to agree with renumbered chapters or sections, substitute the word “chapter” for “article” and the like, substitute figures for written words and vice versa, change capitalization for the purpose of uniformity, correct inaccurate references to the titles of officers, the names of departments or other agencies of the State, local governments, or the Federal Government, and such other name changes as are necessary to be consistent with the laws of this state and correct manifest clerical or typographical errors.

6. The Legislative Counsel may:

(a) Create new titles, chapters and sections of Nevada Revised Statutes, or otherwise revise the title, chapter and sectional organization of Nevada Revised Statutes, all as may be required from time to time, to effectuate the orderly and logical arrangement of the statutes. Any new titles, chapters, sections and organizational revisions have the same force and effect as the 58 titles originally enacted and designated as the Nevada Revised Statutes pursuant to chapter 2, Statutes of Nevada 1957.

(b) Add, revise, move or remove nonsubstantive definitions in titles, chapters and sections of Nevada Revised Statutes to effectuate the orderly and logical arrangement of the statutes, improve readability or reduce repetitious or lengthy words or phrases.

7. If the Legislative Counsel renumbers any section of Nevada Revised Statutes because the section has been moved, divided or combined with another section during the reorganization of the statutes or for any other reason, the citation to the previously assigned number in any legal document, publication, signage or in any other place shall be deemed to have the same meaning and legal effect as if the citation were to the new number, regardless of how long it has been since the new number was assigned and regardless of any revisions made to the section after the assignment of the new number, unless another intent is otherwise specified.

8. The Legislative Counsel shall assign NRS numbers to such new permanent and general laws enacted at any regular or special session.

9. The Legislative Counsel shall resolve all nonsubstantive conflicts between multiple laws enacted at any regular or special session as if made by a single enactment. If multiple amendments to a single section of NRS are made during a regular or special session, such amendments are all effective and must be compiled in a manner that is consistent with the intent of the Legislature as determined by the Legislative Counsel.

10. The Legislative Counsel shall substitute the name of any agency, officer or instrumentality of the State or of a political subdivision whose name is changed by law or to which powers, duties and responsibilities have been transferred by law, for the name which the agency, officer or instrumentality previously used or which was previously vested with the same powers and charged with the same duties and responsibilities.

[3:304:1951; A 1953, 388]—(NRS A 1963, 1022; 1965, 1459; 1989, 248; 2003, 327, 2093; 2009, 483; 2011, 3257)

NRS 220.125 References in NRS to certain persons and matters to be made using respectful or appropriate language.

1. The Legislative Counsel shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that persons with physical, mental or cognitive disabilities are referred to in Nevada Revised Statutes using language that is commonly viewed as respectful and sentence structure that refers to the person before referring to his or her disability as follows:

(a) Words and terms that are preferred for use in Nevada Revised Statutes include, without limitation, “persons with disabilities,” “persons with mental illness,” “persons with developmental disabilities,” “persons with intellectual disabilities” and other words and terms that are structured in a similar manner.

(b) Words and terms that are not preferred for use in Nevada Revised Statutes include, without limitation, “disabled,” “handicapped,” “mentally disabled,” “mentally ill,” “mentally retarded” and other words and terms that tend to equate the disability with the person.

2. The Legislative Counsel shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that terms related to persons affected by addictive disorders are referred to in Nevada Revised Statutes using language that is commonly viewed as respectful and sentence structure that refers to the person before referring to his or her disorder as follows:

(a) Words and terms that are preferred for use in Nevada Revised Statutes include, without limitation, “addictive disorder,” “persons with addictive disorders,” “person with an addictive disorder,” “person with an addictive disorder related to gambling” and “substance use disorder.”

(b) Words and terms that are not preferred for use in Nevada Revised Statutes include, without limitation, “addict,” “alcoholic,” “alcohol abuse,” “alcohol abuser,” “alcohol and drug abuser,” “drug abuse,” “drug addict,” “problem gambler,” “substance abuse” and “substance abuser.”

3. The Legislative Counsel shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that terms related to persons with mental illness are referred to in Nevada Revised Statutes using language that is commonly viewed as respectful and sentence structure that refers to the person before referring to his or her illness as follows:

(a) Words and terms that are preferred for use in Nevada Revised Statutes include, without limitation, “persons with mental illness” and other words and terms that are structured in a similar manner.

(b) Words and terms that are not preferred for use in Nevada Revised Statutes include, without limitation, “insane” and “insanity.”

4. The Legislative Counsel shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that terms related to persons who are deaf or hard of hearing are referred to in Nevada Revised Statutes using language that is commonly viewed as respectful and sentence structure that refers to the person before referring to his or her condition. Words and terms that are not preferred for use in Nevada Revised Statutes include, without limitation, “deaf and dumb.”

5. The Legislative Counsel shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that:

(a) Terms related to persons living with the human immunodeficiency virus are referred to in Nevada Revised Statutes using language that is commonly viewed as respectful and sentence structure that refers to the person before referring to the human immunodeficiency virus as follows:

(1) Words and terms that are preferred for use in Nevada Revised Statutes include, without limitation, “person living with the human immunodeficiency virus” and “person diagnosed with the human immunodeficiency virus.”

(2) Words and terms that are not preferred for use in Nevada Revised Statutes include, without limitation, “HIV positive” and “human immunodeficiency virus positive.”

(b) The human immunodeficiency virus is referred to in Nevada Revised Statutes using language that refers only to the human immunodeficiency virus or HIV rather than using duplicative references to both the human immunodeficiency virus or HIV and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, acquired immune deficiency syndrome or AIDS.

(c) Duplicative references to both communicable diseases and the human immunodeficiency virus or HIV are not used in Nevada Revised Statutes.

(Added to NRS by 2007, 906; A 2011, 2600; 2017, 2831; 2019, 1943; 2021, 576, 3194)

PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION OF NEVADA REVISED STATUTES AND RELATED PUBLICATIONS

NRS 220.130 Printing and reproduction of NRS; prices and sales; retention of master copy.

1. Upon completion of Nevada Revised Statutes, the Legislative Counsel shall have it printed, lithoprinted or reproduced by any other process by the State Printing Office and may create or cause to be created reproductions of Nevada Revised Statutes, alone or in combination with any other legal publications, on electronic discs or any other available medium. The Legislative Commission shall determine the number of copies which must be printed or reproduced of each page of each volume of Nevada Revised Statutes with annotations.

2. Upon completion of the final printing or other reproduction, the separate volumes must be bound as required in this chapter and retained by the Legislative Counsel for safekeeping and disposition. The Legislative Counsel shall sell each set, and may sell individual volumes, discs, parts or pages when available, at a price to be set by the Legislative Commission as near as possible to the cost of preparing, printing and binding or other reproduction, and all proceeds of sales must be deposited in the Legislative Fund.

3. A master copy of Nevada Revised Statutes must be kept in the office of the Legislative Counsel, and the master copy must not be removed from the office except in the custody of the Legislative Counsel.

[4:304:1951; A 1953, 388] + [7:304:1951; A 1953, 388]—(NRS A 1957, 4, 544; 1959, 609; 1963, 1023; 1965, 1460; 1967, 90; 1969, 1523; 1971, 1547; 1973, 1119, 1461; 1985, 463; 1989, 248, 591, 602; 1993, 1536; 1995, 1110; 1997, 16; 2005, 1081)

NRS 220.150 Authorized expenditures from Legislative Fund to pay for costs related to publications. Money in the Legislative Fund may be expended for:

1. Payment of the costs of printing, reproduction, binding and mailing of Nevada Revised Statutes with annotations, supplements thereto and other publications authorized by the Legislative Commission.

2. The purchase and maintenance of necessary equipment and the purchase of supplies connected with such publications.

3. The payment of salaries, payroll costs and contract services of personnel directly connected with such publications.

[4.5:304:1951; added 1955, 405]—(NRS A 1957, 544; 1959, 609; 1963, 1023; 1965, 1461; 1971, 1547; 1973, 1119; 1989, 249, 591, 603)

NRS 220.155 Acceptance of gifts, grants and bequests to pay for costs related to publications. The Legislative Commission may accept gifts, grants and bequests of moneys from any public or private source, which moneys shall be deposited in the Legislative Fund and used for the purposes of NRS 220.150.

(Added to NRS by 1963, 12; A 1963, 1008; 1973, 1120)

NRS 220.160 Printing and reproduction of supplements; prices and sales.

1. Upon the completion of Nevada Revised Statutes with annotations, the Legislative Counsel shall prepare and have printed or reproduced such replacement and supplementary pages for such laws and annotations as may, from time to time, be necessary and may create or cause to be created reproductions of the replacement and supplementary pages, alone or in combination with any other legal publications, on electronic discs or any other available medium. In any event, the Legislative Counsel shall prepare replacement and supplementary pages made necessary by a regular or special session as soon as possible after each such session.

2. The intent of this section is that Nevada Revised Statutes be kept current insofar as may be possible. To that end, the provisions of this chapter, and in particular NRS 220.120, apply to the preparation and printing or reproduction of such replacement and supplementary pages.

3. Prices must be set by the Legislative Commission as near as possible to the cost of preparing, printing and reproduction. All money received for the sale of such replacement and supplementary pages must be deposited to the credit of the Legislative Fund.

[12:304:1951; A 1953, 388]—(NRS A 1957, 5; 1963, 1024; 1965, 1461; 1971, 1548; 1973, 1120; 1989, 249, 591, 603; 1995, 1110; 2011, 3258)

NRS 220.165 Distribution of NRS and supplements to Legislators; payment of costs. The Legislative Counsel shall provide:

1. A complete set of Nevada Revised Statutes with annotations to each person who becomes a Legislator upon payment by the Legislator to the Legislative Counsel Bureau of the sum of $50; and

2. Sets of replacement or supplementary pages, as issued, without charge, to each Legislator during the Legislator’s term of office if the Legislator has acquired a set of Nevada Revised Statutes pursuant to subsection 1.

(Added to NRS by 1967, 1256; A 1973, 2; 1989, 249, 592, 604; 2011, 3258)

NRS 220.167 Distribution of NRS and supplements to district, justice and municipal courts; payment of costs.

1. Each board of county commissioners shall provide a complete set of Nevada Revised Statutes with annotations to each district court or department thereof and each justice court or department thereof regularly established in the county, and shall provide corresponding sets of replacement or supplementary pages as issued.

2. The governing body of each city shall similarly provide for each department of its municipal court.

3. If a justice of the peace is ex officio municipal judge, the county and city shall share equally the cost for his or her court.

(Added to NRS by 1977, 484; A 1979, 508; 1989, 250, 592, 604)

CERTIFICATION AND CITATION OF NEVADA REVISED STATUTES AS OFFICIAL CODIFIED LAW

NRS 220.170 Certification of NRS and supplements; citation of NRS as official codified version of Statutes of Nevada and prima facie evidence of law; form of citations to NRS.

1. The master copy of Nevada Revised Statutes, as printed and bound in accordance with NRS 220.130, must contain a certificate of the Director of the Statute Revision Commission that the Director has compared each section thereof with the original section of the enrolled bill by which Nevada Revised Statutes was adopted and enacted, and that the sections in the published edition are correctly copied. All other printed and bound copies of Nevada Revised Statutes must contain a copy of the certificate.

2. Each set of replacement or supplementary pages, prepared in accordance with NRS 220.160 and published before January 1, 1963, for inclusion in the master copy of Nevada Revised Statutes, must be accompanied by a certificate of the Director of the Statute Revision Commission, and each set published after January 1, 1963, by a certificate of the Legislative Counsel, that such person has compared each section thereof with the original section of the enrolled bill, and that, with the exception of the changes authorized by law, the sections set forth in the replacement or supplementary pages are correctly copied. All other sets of replacement or supplementary pages must be accompanied by a copy of the certificate. All such certificates must be inserted in the bound copies of Nevada Revised Statutes in chronological order immediately following the initial certificate of the Director.

3. Copies of Nevada Revised Statutes, as printed, published, revised, supplemented and certified in accordance with this chapter, constitute the official codified version of Statutes of Nevada and may be cited as prima facie evidence of the law in all of the courts of this state. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, that evidence may be rebutted by proof that the statutes cited differ from the official Statutes of Nevada. That evidence may not be rebutted by proof that the statutes differ from the official Statutes of Nevada in a manner authorized pursuant to NRS 220.120.

4. Nevada Revised Statutes and its component parts may be cited as follows:

(a) Nevada Revised Statutes: NRS

(b) A title: title 00 of NRS

(d) A section: NRS 000.000

[13:304:1951; A 1953, 388]—(NRS A 1957, 5; 1963, 1024; 1967, 35; 1989, 1167; 2003, 328)