Senate Bill No. 347-Committee on Government Affairs
(On Behalf of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor)
May 2, 1997
____________
Referred to Committee on Government Affairs
SUMMARY--Makes various changes relating to office of lieutenant governor. (BDR 18-398)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.
Effect on the State or on Industrial Insurance: Yes.
EXPLANATION - Matter in italics is new; matter in brackets [ ] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to the office of lieutenant governor; specifying the circumstances in which and the requirements pursuant to which the lieutenant governor becomes the acting governor; increasing the number of legislative measures that the lieutenant governor may request for preparation; 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 Chapter 223 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a new section to read as follows:
1. Except as otherwise provided in section 17 of article 5 of the constitution of the State of Nevada and NRS 223.080, and subject to the limitations set forth in subsections 2 and 3, if the governor:
(a) Is impeached;
(b) Is removed from office;
(c) Dies;
(d) Resigns; or
(e) Is unable to discharge the duties of the office of governor,
the lieutenant governor is the acting governor and possesses all of the powers and duties of the office of governor.
2. A lieutenant governor who becomes the acting governor pursuant to paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) of subsection 1 serves as the acting governor until a successor to the office of governor is elected at the next general election and is qualified.
3. A lieutenant governor who becomes the acting governor pursuant to paragraph (e) of subsection 1 serves as the acting governor until a successor to the office of governor is elected at the next general election and is qualified or until the governor is able to discharge the duties of the office of governor, whichever occurs first.
4. If a lieutenant governor who is serving as the acting governor vacates the office of governor, succession of office must proceed in the manner set forth in section 17 of article 5 of the constitution of the State of Nevada and NRS 223.080.
5. For the purposes of this section, a governor shall be deemed to be unable to discharge the duties of the office of governor if a majority of a panel of three physicians appointed pursuant to subsection 6 determines that the governor suffers from a physical or mental incapacity that:
(a) Renders him unfit to perform the duties of the office of governor; and
(b) Is likely to be permanent in nature.
6. If the lieutenant governor or any other person believes that the governor is unable to discharge the duties of the office of governor, he may request that the attorney general, secretary of state, state treasurer and state controller appoint a panel of three physicians licensed to practice medicine in the State of Nevada to determine whether the governor suffers from a physical or mental incapacity that renders him unfit to perform the duties of the office of governor and is likely to be permanent in nature. If a request is made pursuant to this subsection, the attorney general, secretary of state, state treasurer and state controller shall, by majority vote, determine whether the request has merit. If the attorney general, secretary of state, state treasurer and state controller determine that the request has merit, they shall, by majority vote, appoint the three physicians who will serve on the panel to determine if the governor suffers from such a mental or physical incapacity.
Sec. 2. NRS 218.241 is hereby amended to read as follows:
218.241 1. [Upon] Except as otherwise provided by specific statute, upon request made within the time allowed and within limits established by the legislature by concurrent resolution, the legislative counsel shall advise any agency or officer of the executive branch of the state government, and shall advise any county or city, as to the preparation of measures to be submitted to the legislature.
2. To ensure the greatest possible equity in the handling of requests, drafting must proceed as follows:
(a) Requests for legislative measures from each agency or officer of the executive branch of the state government or from a county or city must, insofar as is possible, be acted upon in the order in which they are received, unless a different priority is designated by the requester.
(b) As soon as an agency or officer of the executive branch of the state government has requested 10 legislative measures for any session the legislative counsel may request the agency or officer to designate the priority for each succeeding request.
(c) Within 2 weeks after the commencement of a regular session of the legislature, any county or city which has requested the preparation of more than one legislative measure for that session shall submit to the legislative counsel a list which designates the order of priority for each request.
The priority designated pursuant to this subsection must guide the legislative counsel in acting upon the requests of the respective agencies and officers of the executive branch of the state government to ensure each agency and officer, and each county and city, as nearly as is possible, an equal rank.
Sec. 3. NRS 218.245 is hereby amended to read as follows:
218.245 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 2 and 5, the legislative counsel and the legal division of the legislative counsel bureau shall not prepare or assist in the preparation of proposed legislation for any agency or officer of the executive branch of the state government or for a county or city before a regular session of the legislature unless the request is approved by the governor or a designated member of his staff, or the governing body of the county or city, and transmitted to the legislative counsel before September 1 preceding the convening of the session.
2. A request for proposed legislation may be submitted to the legislative counsel by the board of regents of the University of Nevada, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state controller or state treasurer without the approval of the governor or a designated member of his staff. The lieutenant governor shall not request the preparation of more than four legislative measures pursuant to this subsection for a regular session of the legislature.
3. After November 1, preceding a legislative session, the legislative counsel and the legal division of the legislative counsel bureau shall give full priority to the preparation of proposed legislation requested by members of the legislature.
4. The legislative counsel and the legal division of the legislative counsel bureau shall not prepare or assist in the preparation of any proposed legislation during any regular session of the legislature except upon the request of a member of the legislature or the personal written request of the governor.
5. An agency or officer of the executive branch of the state government or a county or city, shall not request a legislator to have legislation drafted on its behalf. The legislative commission, when the legislature is not in session, or a standing committee which has jurisdiction of the subject matter when the legislature is in session, may, if it finds that exceptional circumstances so warrant, authorize the drafting of legislation requested after the time limited by subsection 1.