Enacts provisions strengthening certain protections for certain activities under the First Amendment. (BDR 19-136)
AB197 creates new confidentiality protections for personal information that identifies a person as a donor, member, or volunteer of a nonprofit organization. It requires governmental entities to keep that information confidential, bars them from requiring nonprofits or individuals to provide it, and prohibits public release or disclosure of such information, subject to a series of exceptions. The bill also prevents governmental entities from requiring current or prospective contractors or grantees to disclose lists of nonprofit organizations they have supported or served.
The bill amends Nevada public records law to make this category of information nonpublic and adds related protections in the Secretary of State’s nonprofit filing requirements. It also limits how the Attorney General may use information collected during audits or investigations of charitable corporations and corporations for public benefit, and it preserves confidentiality for donor-identifying information collected in those contexts. The bill includes civil remedies for people harmed by violations, including injunctive relief, attorney’s fees, actual or statutory damages, and enhanced damages for reckless or willful violations. It takes effect July 1, 2027.
AB197 would modify Nevada’s public records and nonprofit-administration statutes by carving out donor, member, and volunteer identifying information from disclosure requirements and by restricting state and local agencies’ ability to collect, release, or demand that information. It directly amends NRS 239.010, adds new confidentiality provisions to Chapter 239B, creates a new rule for Secretary of State filings under Chapter 75, and narrows the use of information gathered by the Attorney General under NRS 82.536. The practical effect is to shield nonprofit association and donor data from public access and many government requests, while preserving disclosure where required by federal law, court process, ethics rules, certain licensing or regulatory filings, and other enumerated exceptions.
The bill appears to have broad bipartisan support and was enacted with overwhelming final passage votes in both chambers, including 41-1 in the Assembly and 21-0 in the Senate. The available record shows no committee transcript debate, but the vote totals suggest general agreement with the bill’s privacy and First Amendment-related protections. The caption also frames the measure as strengthening protections for certain activities under the First Amendment, which is consistent with the strong support it received.
The main policy tension in AB197 is between donor and association privacy on one hand, and government transparency, regulatory oversight, and investigative access on the other. The bill addresses that tension by creating broad confidentiality rules but preserving exceptions for required disclosures, law-enforcement and civil investigations, court orders, ethics matters, and certain regulatory filings. Potentially sensitive points include the limits on asking contractors and grantees for nonprofit support lists, the restriction on collecting donor-identifying information in Secretary of State filings, and the civil liability provisions that allow damages against governmental entities or employees who knowingly or negligently violate the act.