Assembly Bill No. 368

Assembly Bill No. 368-Committee on Government Affairs

April 15, 1997
____________

Referred to Committee on Government Affairs

SUMMARY--Provides county fire protection district complete control of all money raised for the district. (BDR 42-561)

FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.

Effect on the State or on Industrial Insurance: No.

EXPLANATION - Matter in italics is new; matter in brackets [ ] is material to be omitted.

AN ACT relating to county fire protection districts; providing a county fire protection district complete control of all money raised for the district; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

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

Section 1 NRS 474.150 is hereby amended to read as follows:
474.150 The directors shall organize as a board, elect a president from their number and appoint a [secretary, who shall] secretary-treasurer, who each hold office during the pleasure of the board.
Sec. 2. NRS 474.200 is hereby amended to read as follows:
474.200 1. At the time of making the levy of county taxes for that year, the boards of county commissioners shall levy the tax certified upon all property, both real and personal, subject to taxation within the boundaries of [the] a county fire district. Any tax levied on interstate or intercounty telephone lines, power lines and other public utility lines as authorized in this section must be based upon valuations as established by the Nevada tax commission pursuant to the provisions of NRS 361.315 to 361.330, inclusive.
2. When levied, the tax must be entered upon the assessment rolls and collected in the same manner as state and county taxes.
3. [When the tax is collected it must be placed in the treasury of the county in which the greater portion of the district is located, to the credit of the current expense fund of the district, and may be used only for the purpose for which it was raised.] All officers charged with the duty of collecting taxes shall collect those taxes at the time and in the same form and manner, and with like interest and penalties, as other taxes are collected. When collected, the officers shall pay the collections to the county fire protection district ordering their levy and collection. The payment of such collections must be made monthly to the secretary-treasurer of the county fire protection district and paid into the depository thereof to the credit of the county fire protection district.
4. All taxes levied pursuant to this chapter, together with interest thereon and penalties for default in payment thereof, and all costs of collection, constitute, until paid, a perpetual lien on and against the property taxed, and such a lien is on a parity with the tax lien of other general taxes.
Sec. 3. NRS 474.210 is hereby amended to read as follows:
474.210 All accounts, bills and demands against the district [shall be audited, allowed and paid] , approved for payment by the board of directors [by warrants drawn on the county treasurer. The county treasurer shall pay them in the order in which they are presented.] , must be paid by the secretary-treasurer of the county fire protection district from the money received pursuant to subsection 3 of NRS 474.200.
Sec. 4. NRS 474.460 is hereby amended to read as follows:
474.460 1. All territory in each county not included in any other fire protection district, except incorporated areas, may be organized by ordinance by the board of county commissioners of the county in which such territory lies into as many fire protection districts as necessary to provide for the prevention and extinguishment of fires in the county, until such time as such territory may be included in another fire protection district formed in accordance with the provisions of chapter 473 of NRS, or NRS 474.010 to 474.450, inclusive.
2. Each such district shall:
(a) Be a body corporate and politic;
(b) Be a political subdivision of the state; and
(c) Have perpetual existence unless dissolved as provided in this chapter.
3. Each such district may:
(a) Have and use a corporate seal;
(b) Sue and be sued, and be a party to suits, actions and proceedings;
(c) Arbitrate claims; and
(d) Contract and be contracted with.
4. The board of county commissioners of the county organizing each such district shall ex officio be the governing body of each such district. The governing body shall be known as the board of fire commissioners.
5. The chairman of the board of county commissioners shall ex officio be chairman of each such district.
6. The county clerk shall ex officio be clerk of each such district.
[7. The county treasurer shall ex officio be treasurer of each such district.]
Sec. 5. NRS 474.510 is hereby amended to read as follows:
474.510 1. The board of fire commissioners shall prepare a budget for each district organized in accordance with NRS 474.460, estimating the amount of money which will be needed to defray the expenses of the district, and to meet unforeseen fire emergencies and determine the amount of a fire protection tax sufficient, together with the revenue which will result from application of the rate to the net proceeds of minerals, to raise such sums.
2. At the time of making the levy of county taxes for the year, the board of county commissioners shall levy the tax provided by subsection 1, upon all property, both real and personal, subject to taxation within the boundaries of the district. Any tax levied on interstate or intercounty telephone lines, power lines and other public utility lines as authorized in this section must be based upon valuations established by the Nevada tax commission pursuant to the provisions of NRS 361.315 to 361.330, inclusive.
3. The amount of tax to be collected for the purposes of this section must not exceed, in any 1 year, 1 percent of the value of the property described in subsection 2 and any net proceeds of minerals derived from within the boundaries of the district.
4. If levied, the tax must be entered upon the assessment roll and collected in the same manner as state and county taxes. Taxes may be paid in four equal installments at the times specified in NRS 361.483 and the same penalties as specified in NRS 361.483 must be added for failure to pay the taxes.
5. For the purposes of NRS 474.460 to 474.550, inclusive, the [county treasurer] secretary-treasurer of the county fire protection district shall keep two separate funds for each district, one to be known as the district fire protection operating fund and one to be known as the district fire emergency fund. The sums collected to defray the expenses of any district organized pursuant to NRS 474.460 must be deposited in the district fire protection operating fund, and the sums collected to meet unforeseen emergencies must be deposited in the district fire emergency fund. The district fire emergency fund must be used solely for emergencies and must not be used for regular operating expenses and must not exceed the sum of $50,000.
Sec. 6. This act becomes effective on July 1, 1997.