Revises provisions relating to public safety. (BDR 14-499)
Summary
AB 97 revises Nevada’s criminal justice reporting requirements by directing agencies of criminal justice and other agencies dealing with crime to submit required records and statistical information to the Central Repository through the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). The bill adds a statutory definition of NIBRS and updates chapter 179A of NRS so that the state’s crime-reporting framework is tied to that federal reporting system rather than the broader, older reference to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program policies, procedures, and definitions.
The bill also makes conforming changes to the Central Repository’s duties and related reporting provisions. It preserves existing requirements for agencies to collect and maintain records, submit criminal history and DNA-related information, and provide Uniform Crime Reports, but updates the reporting method language to NIBRS. The Central Repository’s authority to collect, analyze, disseminate, and publish crime data remains in place, along with its responsibilities related to criminal history checks for certain licensing, employment, school, and child/welfare-related contexts.
Impact
AB 97 primarily affects NRS chapter 179A, the statutes governing the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History and statewide crime data reporting. It changes the required reporting standard for law enforcement and other crime-related agencies to NIBRS, which may require agencies to align their data collection, submission systems, and internal reporting practices with that system. The bill does not appear to create new categories of records or expand who is subject to background checks, but it modernizes the reporting framework used to transmit crime data to the state repository and, indirectly, to federal crime-data systems.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It passed the Assembly 42-0 and the Senate 20-0, indicating unanimous support in both chambers. The absence of recorded committee discussion in the provided materials also suggests the measure was treated as a technical or administrative update rather than a disputed policy change.
Contention
No specific points of contention are reflected in the provided record. Because the bill updates reporting requirements for law enforcement and other agencies, any practical concerns would likely center on implementation costs, training, or system compatibility for NIBRS reporting, but those issues are not documented in the available transcripts or votes. The unanimous votes suggest there was little or no opposition to the change.