Senate Bill No. 494-Committee on Taxation

439

AN ACT relating to taxation; revising the provisions of Assembly Bill No. 291 of this session to change the provisions governing the imposition of a tax on transient lodging for [Approved July 16, 1997]thereto.

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

Sec. 19. Chapter 268 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto the provisions set forth as sections 20 and 21 of this act.

Sec. 20. 1. In a county whose population is 400,000 or more, the governing body of a city that owns a municipal water system may, if requested by a water authority, impose an excise tax on the use of water in an amount sufficient to ensure the payment, wholly or in part, of obligations incurred by the water authority to acquire, establish, construct, improve or equip, or any combination thereof, a water facility. The tax must be imposed by ordinance on customers of the municipal water system that are capable of using or benefiting from the water facility financed, wholly or in part, with the proceeds of the tax.

2. An excise tax imposed pursuant to subsection 1 must be levied at different rates for different classes of customers and must take into account differences in the amount of water used or estimated to be used and the size of the connection.

3. The ordinance imposing the tax must provide:

(a) The rate or rates of the tax, which must not exceed one-quarter of 1 percent of the monthly water bill of customers of all residential classes and 5 percent of the monthly water bill of customers of all commercial classes and any other class;

(b) The procedure for collection of the tax;

(c) The duration of the tax; and

(d) The rate of interest that will be charged on late payments.

4. Late payments of the tax must bear interest at a rate not exceeding 1 percent per month, or fraction thereof. The tax due is a perpetual lien against the property served by the water on whose use the tax is imposed until the tax and any interest that may accrue thereon are paid. Collection of the tax may be enforced in any manner authorized by law for the collection of unpaid water bills. In addition to all other methods available to enforce payment of the tax, the city, by ordinance, may provide that it will be collected in the same manner as delinquent taxes are collected pursuant to NRS 268.043 for sewerage charges.

5. Subject to the provisions of this subsection, the governing body of the city may reduce the amount of the tax imposed pursuant to this section as the obligations of the city and the water authority allow. No ordinance imposing a tax which is enacted pursuant to this section may be repealed or amended or otherwise directly or indirectly modified in such a manner as to impair any outstanding bonds or other obligations which are payable from or secured by a pledge of a tax enacted pursuant to this section until those bonds or other obligations have been discharged in full.

6. The governing body of the city shall review the necessity for the continued imposition of the tax authorized pursuant to this section at least once every 10 years.

7. As used in this section:

(a) "Water facility" means a facility pertaining to a water system for the collection, transportation, treatment, purification and distribution of water, including, without limitation, springs, wells, ponds, lakes, water rights, other raw water sources, basin cribs, dams, spillways, retarding basins, detention basins, reservoirs, towers and other storage facilities, pumping plants, infiltration galleries, filtration plants, purification systems, other water treatment facilities, waterworks plants, pumping stations, gauging stations, ventilating facilities, stream gauges, rain gauges, valves, standpipes, connections, hydrants, conduits, flumes, sluices, canals, channels, ditches, pipes, lines, laterals, service pipes, force mains, submains, siphons, other water transmission and distribution mains, engines, boilers, pumps, meters, apparatus, tools, equipment, fixtures, structures, buildings and other facilities for the acquisition, transportation, treatment, purification and distribution of untreated water or potable water for domestic, commercial and industrial use and irrigation, or any combination thereof.

(b) "Water authority" means a water authority organized as a public agency or entity created by cooperative agreement pursuant to chapter 277 of NRS whose members at the time of formation include the three largest retail water purveyors in the county and which is responsible for the acquisition, treatment and delivery of water and water resources on a wholesale basis to utilities, governmental agencies and entities and other large customers.

Sec. 21. 1. In a county whose population is 100,000 or more but less than 400,000, the governing body of an incorporated city within the county that has created a district pursuant to NRS 268.781 may by ordinance impose within that district a tax at the rate of not more than 1 percent of the gross receipts from the rental of transient lodging throughout the district.

2. A tax imposed pursuant to this section may be imposed in addition to all other taxes imposed on the revenue from the rental of transient lodging.

3. Collection of the tax imposed pursuant to this section must not commence earlier than the first day of the second calendar month after adoption of the ordinance imposing the tax.

4. The proceeds of the tax and any applicable penalty or interest must be retained by the city and used for the payment of principal and interest on notes, bonds or other obligations issued by the city to fund the acquisition, establishment, construction or expansion of one or more railroad grade separation projects.

5. A tax imposed by this section must be collected and enforced in the same manner as provided for the collection of the tax imposed by NRS 268.096.

Sec. 21.5. NRS 268.0968 is hereby amended to read as follows:

268.0968 1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 268.801 to 268.808, inclusive, a city located in a county whose population is 400,000 or more shall not impose a new tax on the rental of transient lodging or increase the rate of an existing tax on the rental of transient lodging after March 25, 1991.

2. [A] Except as otherwise provided in section 21 of this act, a city located in a county whose population is 100,000 or more but less than 400,000 shall not impose a new tax on the rental of transient lodging or increase the rate of an existing tax on the rental of transient lodging after March 25, 1991.

3. The legislature hereby declares that the limitation imposed by subsection 2 will not be repealed or amended except to allow the imposition of an increase in such a tax for [the] :

(a) The promotion of tourism [or for the] ;

(b) The construction or operation of tourism facilities by a convention and visitors authority [.] ; or

(c) The acquisition, establishment, construction or expansion of one or more railroad grade separation projects.

Sec. 24. 1. The board of county commissioners of Washoe County may by ordinance, but not as in a case of emergency, impose a tax upon the retailers at the rate of not more than one-eighth of 1 percent of the gross receipts of any retailer from the sale of all tangible personal property sold at retail, or stored, used or otherwise consumed in the county if [the board:

(a) Imposes] :

(a) The city of Reno imposes a tax on the rental of transient lodging pursuant to section [19] 21 of this act in the maximum amount allowed by that section; and

(b) [Receives] The board receives a written commitment from one or more other sources for the expenditure of not less than one-half of the total cost of a project for the acquisition, establishment, construction or expansion of railroad grade separation projects in Washoe County.

2. An ordinance enacted pursuant to subsection 1 may not become effective before a question concerning the imposition of the tax is approved by a two-thirds majority of the members of the board of county commissioners.

3. An ordinance enacted pursuant to subsection 1 must specify the date on which the tax must first be imposed which must occur on the first day of the first month of the next calendar quarter that is at least 60 days after the date on which a two-thirds majority of the board of county commissioners approved the question.

4. An ordinance enacted pursuant to subsection 1 must include provisions in substance as follows:

(a) Provisions substantially identical to those contained in chapter 374 of NRS, insofar as applicable.

(b) A provision that all amendments to chapter 374 of NRS after the date of enactment of the ordinance, not inconsistent with this section, automatically become a part of an ordinance enacted pursuant to subsection 1.

(c) A provision stating the specific purpose for which the proceeds of the tax must be expended.

(d) A provision that the county shall contract before the effective date of the ordinance with the department of taxation to perform all functions incident to the administration or operation of the tax in the county.

(e) A provision that exempts from the tax the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use or other consumption in a county of, tangible personal property used for the performance of a written contract:

(1) Entered into on or before the effective date of the tax; or

(2) For the construction of an improvement to real property for which a binding bid was submitted before the effective date of the tax if the bid was afterward accepted,

if under the terms of the contract or bid the contract price or bid amount cannot be adjusted to reflect the imposition of the tax.

5. No ordinance imposing a tax which is enacted pursuant to subsection 1 may be repealed or amended or otherwise directly or indirectly modified in such a manner as to impair any outstanding bonds or other obligations which are payable from or secured by a pledge of a tax enacted pursuant to subsection 1 until those bonds or other obligations have been discharged in full.

6. All fees, taxes, interest and penalties imposed and all amounts of tax required to be paid to the county pursuant to this section must be paid to the department of taxation in the form of remittances payable to the department of taxation.

7. The department of taxation shall deposit the payments with the state treasurer for credit to the sales and use tax account in the state general fund.

8. The state controller, acting upon the collection data furnished by the department of taxation, shall monthly:

(a) Transfer from the sales and use tax account to the appropriate account in the state general fund a percentage of all fees, taxes, interest and penalties collected pursuant to this section during the preceding month as compensation to the state for the cost of collecting the taxes. The percentage to be transferred pursuant to this paragraph must be the same percentage as the percentage of proceeds transferred pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection 3 of NRS 374.785 but the percentage must be applied to the proceeds collected pursuant to this section only.

(b) Determine for the county an amount of money equal to any fees, taxes, interest and penalties collected in or for the county pursuant to this section during the preceding month, less the amount transferred to the state general fund pursuant to paragraph (a).

(c) Transfer the amount determined for the county to the intergovernmental fund and remit the money to the county treasurer.

9. The county treasurer shall deposit the money received pursuant to subsection 8 in the county treasury for credit to a fund to be known as the railroad grade separation projects fund. The railroad grade separation projects fund must be accounted for as a separate fund and not as a part of any other fund.

10. The money in the railroad grade separation projects fund, including interest and any other income from the fund must only be expended by the board of county commissioners for the payment of principal and interest on notes, bonds or other securities issued to provide money for the cost of the acquisition, establishment, construction or expansion of one or more railroad grade separation projects.

AN ACT relating to taxation; authorizing counties to impose sales and use taxes for infrastructure; authorizing certain cities to impose a tax on the rental of transient lodging for railroad grade separation projects under certain circumstances; authorizing certain cities and the Las Vegas Valley Water District to impose an excise tax on the use of water facilities; requiring the legislative auditor to conduct a performance audit of the Southern Nevada Water Authority; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.