Senate Bill No. 16–Senator Care

 

CHAPTER..........

 

AN ACT relating to public bodies; specifying the effect of an abstention from voting by a member of certain public bodies on the necessary quorum and number of votes necessary to take action on matters; 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 241.0355 is hereby amended to read as

follows:

    241.0355  1.  A public body that is required to be composed of

elected officials only may not take action by vote unless at least a

majority of all the members of the public body vote in favor of the

action. For purposes of this [section,] subsection, a public body may

not count an abstention as a vote in favor of an action.

    2.  In a county whose population is 40,000 or more, the

provisions of subsection 4 of NRS 281.501 do not apply to a public

body that is required to be composed of elected officials only,

unless before abstaining from the vote, the member of the public

body receives and discloses the opinion of the legal counsel

authorized by law to provide legal advice to the public body that

the abstention is required pursuant to NRS 281.501. The opinion

of counsel must be in writing and set forth with specificity the

factual circumstances and analysis leading to that conclusion.

    Sec. 2.  NRS 281.501 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    281.501  1.  Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2 or 3,

a public officer may vote upon a matter if the benefit or detriment

accruing to him as a result of the decision either individually or in a

representative capacity as a member of a general business,

profession, occupation or group is not greater than that accruing to

any other member of the general business, profession, occupation or

group.

    2.  In addition to the requirements of the Code of Ethical

Standards, a public officer shall not vote upon or advocate the

passage or failure of, but may otherwise participate in the

consideration of a matter with respect to which the independence of

judgment of a reasonable person in his situation would be materially

affected by:

    (a) His acceptance of a gift or loan;

    (b) His pecuniary interest; or

    (c) His commitment in a private capacity to the interests of

others.

It must be presumed that the independence of judgment of a

reasonable person would not be materially affected by his pecuniary

interest or his commitment in a private capacity to the interests of

others where the resulting benefit or detriment accruing to him or to

the other persons whose interests to which the member is committed

in a private capacity is not greater than that accruing to any other

member of the general business, profession, occupation or group.

The presumption set forth in this subsection does not affect the

applicability of the requirements set forth in subsection 3 relating to

the disclosure of the pecuniary interest or commitment in a private

capacity to the interests of others.

    3.  A public officer or employee shall not approve, disapprove,

vote, abstain from voting or otherwise act upon any matter:

    (a) Regarding which he has accepted a gift or loan;

    (b) Which would reasonably be affected by his commitment in a

private capacity to the interest of others; or

    (c) In which he has a pecuniary interest,

without disclosing sufficient information concerning the gift, loan,

commitment or interest to inform the public of the potential effect of

the action or abstention upon the person who provided the gift or

loan, upon the person to whom he has a commitment, or upon his

interest. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 6, such a

disclosure must be made at the time the matter is considered. If the

officer or employee is a member of a body which makes decisions,

he shall make the disclosure in public to the chairman and other

members of the body. If the officer or employee is not a member of

such a body and holds an appointive office, he shall make the

disclosure to the supervisory head of his organization or, if he holds

an elective office, to the general public in the area from which he is

elected. This subsection does not require a public officer to disclose

any campaign contributions that the public officer reported pursuant

to NRS 294A.120 or 294A.125 in a timely manner.

    4.  [If] Except as otherwise provided in NRS 241.0355, if a

public officer declares to the body or committee in which the vote is

to be taken that he will abstain from voting because of the

requirements of this section, the necessary quorum to act upon and

the number of votes necessary to act upon the matter, as fixed by

any statute, ordinance or rule, is reduced as though the member

abstaining were not a member of the body or committee.

    5.  If a public officer is voting on a matter which affects public

employees, he shall make a full public disclosure of any personal

pecuniary interest which he may have in the matter.

    6.  After a member of the Legislature makes a disclosure

pursuant to subsection 3, he may file with the Director of the

Legislative Counsel Bureau a written statement of his disclosure.

The written statement must designate the matter to which the

disclosure applies. After a Legislator files a written statement

pursuant to this subsection, he is not required to disclose orally his

interest when the matter is further considered by the Legislature or

any committee thereof. A written statement of disclosure is a public

record and must be made available for inspection by the public

during the regular office hours of the Legislative Counsel Bureau.

    7.  The provisions of this section do not, under any

circumstances:

    (a) Prohibit a member of the legislative branch from requesting

or introducing a legislative measure; or

    (b) Require a member of the legislative branch to take any

particular action before or while requesting or introducing a

legislative measure.

    8.  As used in this section, “commitment in a private capacity to

the interests of others” means a commitment to a person:

    (a) Who is a member of his household;

    (b) Who is related to him by blood, adoption or marriage within

the third degree of consanguinity or affinity;

    (c) Who employs him or a member of his household;

    (d) With whom he has a substantial and continuing business

relationship; or

    (e) Any other commitment or relationship that is substantially

similar to a commitment or relationship described in this subsection.

    Sec. 3.  This act becomes effective upon passage and approval.

 

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