MINERAL COUNTY POWER SYSTEM ACT OF 1929

[Rev. 6/29/2024 7:35:14 PM--2023]

Chapter 139, Statutes of Nevada 1929

AN ACT authorizing and empowering the Board of County Commissioners of Mineral County, Nevada, to sell or lease that certain property commonly known as and called the Mineral County Power System, providing the method of making such sale and the minimum offer authorized to be accepted, prohibiting said Commissioners in the management of said Power System from engaging in any business other prohibiting said Commissioners from using any of the proceeds from the management of said Power System for any use other than the purchase of power, the payment of interest on bonds and redemption of bonds, and the actual operating and maintenance expense of said system, authorizing the commissioners to sell certain property, authorizing the County Commissioners to transfer surplus proceeds to the General Fund of Mineral County, and other matters properly connected therewith or appertaining thereto.

(Ch. 139, Stats. 1929 p. 178; A—Ch. 104, Stats. 1939 p. 108; Ch. 127, Stats. 1941 p. 295; Ch. 266, Stats. 1969 p. 471)

[Approved: March 26, 1929]

(Leadlines for sections have been supplied by the Legislative Counsel of the State of Nevada)

The People of the State of Nevada, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. Sale or lease of property of System to public utility; resolution calling for election.

1. The Board of County Commissioners of Mineral County, Nevada, may sell or lease, after open negotiation with one or more qualified public utilities authorized to serve consumers within the State of Nevada under the jurisdiction of the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, as the Board may deem best, and subject to the approval of the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, all or any part of the property belonging to Mineral County known as and commonly called the Mineral County Power System, consisting of power lines, stations, machinery, equipment, and all other property used in and for the system and necessary for the use and operation thereof. The sale or lease must be made in the manner following:

2. The Board of County Commissioners may, by resolution passed and entered in the minutes, authorize the sale or lease of the Mineral County Power System or any part thereof at a price negotiated by the Board, subject to the approval of the sale or lease by a majority of the registered voters voting at a special, primary or general election or a special election.

(Ch. 139, Stats. 1929 p. 178; A—Ch. 89, Stats. 1931 p. 146; Ch. 353, Stats. 1963 p. 761; Ch. 266, Stats. 1969 p. 469; Ch. 345, Stats. 1993 p. 1105)

Sec. 1.5. Procedure for election concerning sale or lease of System; effect of results.

1. Whenever the Board of County Commissioners of Mineral County, Nevada, proposes to sell or lease the Mineral County Power System by a resolution passed and entered in the minutes, the proposal for the approval of the sale or lease must be submitted to the registered voters of Mineral County at a special election or the next primary or general election.

2. The election officers of Mineral County who are charged with the duty of providing for and conducting elections as set forth in NRS 293.217 shall follow the procedure set forth in that section and shall provide printed ballots for the use of the voters entitled to vote at the election. There must be printed on all ballots:

(a) Instructions respecting the manner of marking the ballots.

(b) A statement of the proposal to be voted upon.

3. If a special election is called for the purpose of approving the sale or lease of the Mineral County Power System, and immediately upon receipt by the County Clerk of a certified copy of the resolution of the Board of County Commissioners of Mineral County authorizing such sale or lease, and fixing a date for the election, the County Clerk shall publish a notice of special election in a newspaper of general circulation in Mineral County once a week for 2 successive weeks with the date of the last publication being at least 15 days before the election. If no such newspaper is published in Mineral County, publication may be made in a newspaper of general circulation published in the nearest Nevada county. The notice must contain:

(a) The date of the election.

(b) The location of the polling places.

(d) A statement of the proposal to be voted upon.

4. The County Clerk shall forward to each Justice of the Peace within the county one written or printed notice for each precinct or voting district. Each Justice of the Peace to whom the notice is delivered shall post the notice in a public place in each precinct or voting district in his or her township or district at least 15 days before the date of the special election.

5. The election officers of Mineral County who are charged with the duty of providing for and conducting the election shall provide one ballot box at each polling place for the purpose of the election. If the approval election is held in conjunction with a primary or general election, the same single ballot box must be used at each polling place.

6. Every citizen of the United States 21 years of age or over who has resided in the state 6 months, in the county 30 days, and in the precinct 10 days next preceding the election is entitled to vote at the election, if he or she has complied with the registration laws of this state.

7. Immediately after the closing of the polls the election officers shall proceed to canvass the ballots. The results disclosed by the canvass must be certified by the election officers to the Board of County Commissioners.

8. If a majority of the ballots cast are in favor of the sale or lease as proposed by the Board of County Commissioners of Mineral County of the Mineral County Power System, the proposal to sell or lease the Mineral County Power System is approved and the proper officers of Mineral County may complete the sale or lease of the Mineral County Power System.

9. If a majority of the ballots are against the sale or lease of the Mineral County Power System, the proposal to sell or lease the Mineral County Power System fails, the proper officers of the Mineral County Power System shall proceed no further with the sale or lease of the Mineral County Power System, and all acts or agreements theretofore made by the Board of County Commissioners in relation to the sale or lease are void.

10. Where not specifically provided for in this act, the general election laws of the State of Nevada govern where applicable.

(Added—Ch. 353, Stats. 1963 p. 762; A—Ch. 266, Stats. 1969 p. 469; Ch. 345, Stats. 1993 p. 1105)

Sec. 2. Disposition of money received from sale or lease of System. All money received by the Board of County Commissioners of Mineral County for the sale or lease of the Mineral County Power System shall be deposited in the Mineral County Light and Power Bond Redemption Fund of Mineral County, to be used as provided by law, until all of the bonds and the interest thereon have been fully paid, and any sum remaining in such fund after redemption of the bonds and the interest thereon same shall be transferred to the general fund of the County and used as other general funds.

(Ch. 139, Stats. 1929 p. 178; A—Ch. 266, Stats. 1969 p. 471)

Sec. 3. Commissioners managing System prohibited from engaging in business other than sale or distribution of electrical energy. Said Commissioners of Mineral County in the operation, maintenance, and management of said Mineral County Power System, shall not transact or engage in any business of any kind or nature other than the sale or distribution of electric energy to consumers.

(Added—Ch. 104, Stats. 1939 p. 108)

Sec. 4. Employees entrusted with money to furnish bond. All employees of said System from and after May 1, 1939, who are entrusted with the handling or collection of money belonging to said System shall, before entering upon the duties of their office, furnish a bond in the amount of at least five thousand ($5,000) dollars, conditioned upon the faithful performance of their duties; provided, said bond shall be approved by the Board of County Commissioners before such employees enter upon the duties of their offices, and shall be filed with the County Clerk and Treasurer for safekeeping.

(Added—Ch. 104, Stats. 1939 p. 108)

Sec. 5. Restrictions on use of revenues of System; transfer of surplus to general fund. Said Commissioners in the management and operation of said Power System are directed to use the proceeds from said Power System for the purchase of power and the setting aside of a suitable reserve for operating and maintenance expenses; any surplus proceeds may be transferred to the general fund of Mineral County by order of said Commissioners.

(Added—Ch. 104, Stats. 1939 p. 109; A—Ch. 127, Stats. 1941 p. 295)

Sec. 6. Sale of surplus equipment; price. Said Commissioners in the operation of said System are authorized to sell any and all equipment owned by said Power System that in their discretion is not needed for such operation and in their discretion should be sold; provided, the selling price of any such equipment that may hereafter be sold in compliance with the provisions of this section shall be not less than actual cost of such equipment.

(Added—Ch. 104, Stats. 1939 p. 109)