Referred to Committee on Elections, Procedures, and Ethics
SUMMARY--Revises provisions governing elections in irrigation districts. (BDR 48-1788)
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 irrigation districts; revising provisions governing the qualifications of electors in an irrigation district; authorizing a special election at any time upon the unanimous vote of the board of directors of an irrigation 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 539.123 is hereby amended to read as follows:
539.123 1. Any person 18 years of age or [over,] older, whether a resident of the district or not, who is or has declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States is an "elector" for the purposes of this chapter and is entitled to vote at any election held pursuant to this chapter if the following conditions as to ownership of land are met:
(a) The elector must be the bona fide holder of title or evidence of title, as defined in NRS 539.020 and 539.023, to land within the district or have a contractual right to acquire title to land within the district upon payment of a fixed sum to the record titleholder.
(b) The holder of an undivided interest in land is an elector and, if his interest is community property, his spouse is an elector [whether or not] if the spouse appears of record as the owner of an interest in the acreage. If two or more persons hold undivided or community interests [,] in land, one such person may vote upon presenting the written consent of his fellow holders.
(c) A surface water right must be appurtenant to the acreage.
2. An elector is entitled to vote according to the land which he owns outright, as follows:
(a) Ten acres or less, one vote;
(b) For each additional 10 acres or a part thereof, up to and including 200 acres, one additional vote; and
(c) For each additional 100 acres or a part thereof above 200 acres, one additional vote.
The district shall issue a separate ballot for each vote which an elector is entitled to cast.
3. If two or more persons hold undivided or community interests in land, each is entitled to cast a percentage of the respective votes otherwise allowed pursuant to subsection 2 that is equal to his percentage interest in that land, except that, if pursuant to this subsection those persons are entitled to a fractional interest in a vote, that vote may only be cast by one of those persons upon presenting the written consent of his fellow holders.
4. Any elector who resides outside the district, who owns land in the district, and who is qualified to vote at district elections shall be deemed a resident of that division and precinct of the district in which the major portion of his lands are located, for the purpose of determining his place of voting and qualifications for holding office.
5. Any elector who resides within the district boundaries shall be deemed a resident of the division in which he actually resides, for the purpose of determining his qualification for voting and holding office.
6. A guardian, executor, administrator or trustee shall be deemed the holder of title or evidence of title, as prescribed in NRS 539.020 and 539.023, to the land in the state for which he is the guardian, executor, administrator or trustee, and has the right to sign petitions, vote and do all things that any elector may do pursuant to this chapter. If there is more than one guardian, executor, administrator or trustee, they must designate one of their number to sign petitions, vote and do the other things that an elector may do pursuant to this chapter.
7. Corporations , [or] partnerships or limited-liability companies holding land in the district shall be deemed persons entitled to exercise all the rights of natural persons, and the president of such a corporation, the general partner of such a partnership, the manager of such a limited-liability company, or any other person authorized in writing by the president [or vice president] of the corporation , [or] the general partner of the partnership [,] or the members of the limited-liability company, may sign any petition authorized by this chapter, and register and cast the vote of the corporation , [or] partnership or limited-liability company at any election. If a partnership has more than one general partner, the general partners must designate one of their number to sign petitions, vote and do the other things that an elector may do pursuant to this chapter. If a limited-liability company:
(a) Has more than one manager, the managers must designate one of their number to sign petitions, vote and do the other things that an elector may do pursuant to this chapter.
(b) Does not have a manager, the members must designate one of their number to sign petitions, vote and do the other things that an elector may do pursuant to this chapter.
8. Designations or written consents for the purposes of registration and voting as authorized pursuant to this section must be filed with the district not later than 14 days before the election.
Sec. 2. NRS 539.135 is hereby amended to read as follows:
539.135 The registrars shall require registrants to take the following oath in substance: I am, or have declared my intention to become, a citizen of the United States, am over the age of [21] 18 years, and am, or properly represent, under the law in pursuance of which this election is to be held, the bona fide holder of title or evidence of title, as defined in the law, to ..... acres of land within the boundaries of the ................ (name of district) and such holding is for all purposes and not simply for this election or matters connected therewith.
Sec. 3. NRS 539.137 is hereby amended to read as follows:
539.137 The registrar shall require registrants on behalf of an entity that is not a natural person to take the following oath, in substance: I am over the age of [21] 18 years, and the (position held) of (name of entity), or have been duly authorized in writing to register on behalf of (name of entity); that the entity is organized under or has qualified under the laws of Nevada to transact business therein and is the holder of title or evidence of title to ..... acres of land within the boundaries of the ................ (name of district).
Sec. 4. NRS 539.188 is hereby amended to read as follows:
539.188 [1.] For the purposes of NRS 539.237, 539.240, 539.243, 539.297, 539.380, 539.397, 539.410, 539.417, 539.433, 539.465, 539.545, 539.557, 539.577, 539.587 and 539.690, a special election may be held [only if] at any time upon the unanimous vote of the board of directors of an irrigation district . [determines, by a unanimous vote, that an emergency exists.
2. The determination made by the board is conclusive unless it is shown that the board acted with fraud or a gross abuse of discretion. An action to challenge the determination made by the board must be commenced within 15 days after the board's determination is final.
3. As used in this section, "emergency" means any unexpected occurrence or combination of occurrences which requires immediate action by the board of directors to prevent or mitigate a substantial financial loss to the district or to enable the board to provide an essential service to the residents of the district.]
Sec. 5. NRS 539.553 is hereby amended to read as follows:
539.553 In any election to approve any bond issue, contract or other proposal which would subject the lands in any district to the repayment of an obligation to be incurred for capital purposes, the following procedure must be followed:
1. The secretary of the district shall prepare from the book of assessments a list of all electors qualified by an ownership of land which meets the conditions prescribed in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subsection 1 of NRS 539.123, showing the number of acres listed to each such elector, or the percentage interest in acreage held by each elector who holds an undivided interest in land.
2. At the time and place appointed for the election, the list must be open for inspection. If both spouses vote with respect to acreage in which their interest is community property, the number of votes attributed to that acreage must be divided equally between them. If one holder of an undivided interest votes with the consent of his fellow holders, the entire acreage must be attributed to him.
3. An elector is entitled to vote on the proposal according to the land which he owns outright, as follows:
(a) Ten acres or less, one vote;
(b) For each additional 10 acres or a part thereof, up to and including 200 acres, one additional vote; and
(c) For each additional 100 acres or a part thereof above 200 acres, one additional vote.
The district shall issue a separate ballot for each vote which an elector is entitled to cast.
4. If two or more persons hold undivided or community interests in land, each is entitled to cast a percentage of the respective votes otherwise allowed pursuant to subsection 3 that is equal to his percentage interest in that land, except that, if pursuant to this subsection those persons are entitled to a fractional interest in a vote, that vote may only be cast by one of those persons upon presenting the written consent of his fellow holders.
5. A guardian, executor, administrator or trustee shall be deemed the holder of title or evidence of title to the land in the state for which he is the guardian, executor, administrator or trustee, and has the right to vote pursuant to this section. If there is more than one guardian, executor, administrator or trustee, they must designate one of their number to vote pursuant to this section.
6. Corporations , [or] partnerships or limited-liability companies holding land in the district shall be deemed persons entitled to exercise all the rights of natural persons, and the president of such a corporation, the general partner of such a partnership, the manager of such a limited-liability company, or any other person authorized in writing by the president [or vice president] of the corporation , [or] the general partner of the partnership [,] or the members of the limited-liability company, may cast the vote of the corporation , [or] partnership or limited-liability company pursuant to this section. If a partnership has more than one general partner, the general partners must designate one of their number to cast the vote of the partnership pursuant to this section. If a limited-liability company:
(a) Has more than one manager, the managers must designate one of their number to cast the vote of the limited-liability company pursuant to this section.
(b) Does not have a manager, the members must designate one of their number to cast the vote of the limited-liability company pursuant to this section.
7. Designations or written consents for the purposes of voting as authorized pursuant to this section must be filed with the district not later than 14 days before the election.
8. At the end of the time appointed for voting, the secretary of the district shall determine the total number of votes cast approving the proposal and shall declare it passed if the proposal is approved by a majority of the votes cast.
9. If the proposal is not so approved, it is rejected and the result must be entered of record.
10. No informalities in conducting the election invalidate the result if the election is fairly conducted and the result can be clearly ascertained.
11. For the purposes of this section, eligibility to vote and the number of acres listed to each elector must be determined from the current book of assessments. The board may by regulation permit holders of real property in the district to establish eligibility to vote by providing proof of acquisition of an interest in real property in the district since the last assessment roll was closed.