Revises provisions relating to legislative affairs. (BDR 17-1251)
Summary
AB 600 makes several changes to laws governing the Nevada Legislature and the Legislative Counsel Bureau. First, it clarifies that money received from the sale of food, souvenirs, and other approved items in the Legislative Building or other legislative facilities must be deposited into the Legislative Fund, and it makes a related conforming change to petty cash accounts used by the Bureau.
The bill also adds a new statutory declaration about the structure of state government, stating that every state office, agency, court, or other entity must be connected to one of the three constitutional branches and that the Legislative Counsel’s organization of the Nevada Revised Statutes by subject matter is not a legislative determination about whether an entity belongs to the executive branch or is outside the three branches. Finally, it expands the list of property under the Legislature’s supervision and control to include a specified Carson City parcel, but only after the purchase of that parcel is completed.
Impact
AB 600 primarily affects statutes in the legislative administration and state government organization chapters of Nevada law. It amends provisions governing the Legislative Fund and revolving sales accounts, clarifies how proceeds from legislative sales are handled, and updates the petty cash framework for legislative offices. It also adds a new interpretive rule in the preliminary chapters of NRS to limit how the codification of statutes may be used in constitutional separation-of-powers arguments. In addition, it amends the Legislature’s property-control statute to include a new Carson City parcel once acquired, thereby extending legislative supervision and control over that land.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial in the recorded votes. It passed the Assembly unanimously, 42-0, and the Senate unanimously, 21-0. The absence of committee transcripts limits insight into debate, but the final vote pattern suggests general agreement with the bill’s administrative and clarifying purposes.
Contention
The main substantive point of contention reflected in the bill text is constitutional and institutional rather than fiscal: section 3 responds to a Nevada Supreme Court decision by expressly stating that the Legislative Counsel’s organization of the Nevada Revised Statutes should not be treated as a legislative judgment about branch placement or as support for excluding any entity from the three branches of government. That provision appears designed to correct or limit judicial interpretation, which could be the most likely area of legal or separation-of-powers concern. The property provision is also contingent on a future land purchase, but no recorded opposition appears in the vote history.