(On Behalf of the Nevada District Attorneys Association)
April 28, 1997
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Referred to Committee on Finance
SUMMARY--Creates advisory council for prosecuting attorneys. (BDR 19-664)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.
Effect on the State or on Industrial Insurance: Contains Appropriation not included in Executive Budget.
EXPLANATION - Matter in italics is new; matter in brackets [ ] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to prosecuting attorneys; creating the advisory council for prosecuting attorneys; prescribing its powers and duties; making an appropriation; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
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Section 1 Title 19 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a new chapter to consist of the provisions set forth as sections 2 to 10, inclusive, of this act.
Sec. 2 As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the words and terms defined in sections 3 and 4 of this act have the meanings ascribed to them in those sections.
Sec. 3 "Council" means the advisory council for prosecuting attorneys.
Sec. 4 "Prosecutor" means:
1. The attorney general;
2. The district attorney of a county;
3. The city attorney of an incorporated city; or
4. Any deputy attorney or other attorney or person employed by the attorney general or a district attorney or city attorney.
Sec. 5 1. The advisory council for prosecuting attorneys, consisting of seven members, is hereby created. The council consists of:
(a) The attorney general who serves as an ex officio member of the council;
(b) Three members who are district attorneys appointed by the governing body of the Nevada District Attorneys Association;
(c) Two members who are city attorneys of incorporated cities appointed by the governing body of the Nevada League of Cities; and
(d) One member who is employed as a peace officer by a law enforcement agency in this state appointed by the governor.
If the Nevada District Attorneys Association or Nevada League of Cities ceases to exist, the appointment required by this subsection must be made by its successor organization or, if there is no successor organization, by the governor.
2. The members of the council shall elect a chairman and vice chairman by a majority vote. After the initial election, the chairman and vice chairman shall hold office for a term of 1 year beginning on July 1 of each year. If a vacancy occurs in the chairmanship, the members of the council shall elect a chairman from among its members for the remainder of the unexpired term.
3. After the initial terms, each member of the council who is appointed serves for a term of 4 years unless a member vacates the public office which qualified him for appointment to the council. A member of the council who vacates his public office continues to serve on the council until his replacement on the council is appointed. A member may be reappointed.
4. A vacancy on the council must be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
5. Each member of the council:
(a) Serves without compensation; and
(b) While engaged in the business of the council, is entitled to receive the per diem allowance and travel expenses provided for state officers and employees generally.
6. Each member of the council who is an officer or employee of the state or a local government must be relieved from his duties without loss of his regular compensation so that he may prepare for and attend meetings of the council and perform any work necessary to carry out the duties of the council in the most timely manner practicable. A state agency or local government shall not require an officer or employee who is a member of the council to make up the time he is absent from work to carry out his duties as a member, and shall not require the member to take annual vacation or compensatory time for the absence.
Sec. 6 1. The members of the council shall meet at least quarterly and at the times and places specified by a call of the chairman or a majority of the members of the council.
2. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, a member of the council may designate in writing a person to represent him at a meeting of the council. A representative designated pursuant to this subsection who attends the meeting of the council for which he is designated:
(a) Shall be deemed to be a member of the council for the purpose of determining a quorum at the meeting; and
(b) May vote on any matter which is voted on by the regular members of the committee at the meeting.
3. The attorney general may designate a representative to serve in his place on the council or to attend a meeting of the council in his place.
4. Four members of the council constitute a quorum, and a quorum may exercise all the power and authority conferred on the council.
5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, county ordinance or city charter, a member of the council:
(a) Is not disqualified from holding a public office or from public employment; and
(b) Does not forfeit any such public office or employment,
because of his membership on the council.
Sec. 7 1. Upon the approval of all its members, the council shall appoint an executive director. The executive director is in the unclassified service of the state and serves at the pleasure of the council. The executive director must be:
(a) An attorney licensed to practice law in this state; and
(b) Appointed on the basis of:
(1) His professional ability and experience in conducting or supervising criminal and civil prosecutions in this state; and
(2) His understanding of criminal law, evidence and the rules and procedures of the courts of this state.
2. The executive director shall:
(a) Carry out the policies of and duties assigned to him by the council;
(b) Prepare and administer the budget of the council; and
(c) Act as the nonvoting recording secretary for the council.
Sec. 8 The council shall:
1. Develop and carry out a program for training and assisting prosecutors in conducting criminal and civil prosecutions in this state;
2. Coordinate the development of policies for conducting criminal and civil prosecutions in this state;
3. Coordinate the development of proposed legislation for submission to the legislature; and
4. Authorize the payment of expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of sections 2 to 10, inclusive, of this act.
Sec. 9 1. The council may apply for any available grants and accept any gifts, grants, appropriations or donations to assist the council in carrying out its duties pursuant to the provisions of sections 2 to 10, inclusive, of this act.
2. Any money received by the council must be deposited in the account for the advisory council for prosecuting attorneys created pursuant to section 10 of this act.
Sec. 10 1. The account for the advisory council for prosecuting attorneys is hereby created in the state general fund. The council shall administer the fund.
2. The money in the account must only be used only to carry out the provisions of sections 2 to 10, inclusive, of this act, and pay the expenses incurred by the council in the discharge of its duties, including:
(a) The payment of expenses for the preparation of motions and briefs and for clerical or legal assistance that is provided to a prosecutor for a criminal or civil prosecution in this state; and
(b) Reimbursement for any extraordinary or unanticipated expenses incurred by a prosecutor as a result of conducting a criminal or civil prosecution in this state, including any expenses related to the appointment of a special prosecutor for that prosecution.
3. All claims against the account must be paid as other claims against the state are paid.
4. The money in the account remains in the account and does not revert to the state general fund at the end of any fiscal year.
Sec. 11 As soon as practicable after October 1, 1997, the members of the advisory council for prosecuting attorneys created pursuant to section 5 of this act who are appointed, must be appointed to initial terms as follows:
1. One member who is appointed by the governing body of the Nevada District Attorneys Association and the member who is appointed by the governor, to terms that expire on July 1, 1999;
2. One member who is appointed by the governing body of the Nevada District Attorneys Association and one member who is appointed by the governing body of the Nevada League of Cities, to terms that expire on July 1, 2000; and
3. One member who is appointed by the governing body of the Nevada District Attorneys Association and one member who is appointed by the governing body of the Nevada League of Cities, to terms that expire on July 1, 2001.
Sec. 12 There is hereby appropriated from the state general fund to the account for the advisory council for prosecuting attorneys created pursuant to section 10 of this act, the sum of $200,000 to carry out the provisions of sections 2 to 10, inclusive, of this act.