Nevada Local Government Guide

Be Involved

We are all about getting involved in multiple ways in our communities. If electoral participation is your cup of tea then in this section we found it extremely important to get informed on who is our local officials, how our local government is set up, how it works, and what we have influence over (pssst: we actually have a lot of influence in local matters). So hopefully these guides are a helpful starting point with you getting informed and involved in our local political scene.

Nevada Electronic Legislative Information System (NELIS)

NELIS Account

Step One: Create an account on the website, to begin with.

1. Email
2. Username
3. Password
4. Two Security Questions with Answers

Step 2: Log into your email provided and click on the registration link to complete registration.

Step 3: Log in using the username you created and password.

NELIS Help Page

Link to Website: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/81st2021/SessionInformation/Help

How to View Meetings and Floor Sessions

Look for the View button anywhere meetings and floor sessions are listed. This will allow you to view either the live stream of the meeting or the video of a meeting that has already occurred. If you'd prefer to watch the meetings and floor sessions via YouTube, you may do so from our YouTube channel.

You do not need to register or sign in to view meetings.

How to Register to Participate in Committee Meetings

Find the meeting you want to participate in. You can find meetings listed in several places in NELIS: the home page, the Meetings & Floor Sessions page, or by opening the Committees menu item, selecting a committee, then selecting Meetings.

Select the 'Participate' button to register. You will be taken to a form to fill in your information (much like the paper sign-in sheets we used for in-person meetings), select agenda items you are interested in, note your position on agenda items, indicate whether or not you want to speak, and tell us who you represent. If you would simply like to let the Committee know you are "in the room" as a resource, you do not have to choose the 'I want to speak' option; you also do not have to choose a specific agenda item or position.

Submit your registration. Once you complete and submit your registration, you will receive a confirmation screen, as well as an email, with the phone number and meeting ID you will need to call in to at the time of the meeting. This information is not to be shared.

Registering to participate does not guarantee you will get to speak; the amount of testimony taken and who testifies are at the discretion of the Chair.

Remote Testimony in Committee Meetings

How to Submit Written Testimony to Committees

Please note that there may be slight variations between houses and/or committees about how or when the committee prefers to receive comments. Refer to the meeting agenda for details specific to the committee.

How to Share Your Opinion on a Bill or Resolution Without Registering

Share Your Opinion with Your Legislators

Link to Website: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/Opinions/81st2021/

The Opinion Poll portion of this site contains constituent opinions for the 81st (2021) Session of the Nevada Legislature.

Throughout a legislative session, legislators review these opinions to gain perspective on how constituents in their districts feel about the legislation. Constituent names, addresses, and other personal information are NOT made public but are available to legislators so that they will know who is submitting the comment and are able to contact the constituent if they so desire. Only the opinion totals are made publicly available on this site.

Thank you for participating

Source: [1] https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Division/Research/Publications/Directory/StateOrgChart.pdf

Executive Branch for the State of Nevada

Governor

Lieutenant Governor

Secretary of State

Attorney General

State Treasurer

State Controller

NELIS Website: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/80th2019

Nevada State Legislature Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-k1jpdoDwTC475c1CX9cEA

The Legislative Process

It is one of the most important features of our judicial system.

Definition

*Act: A bill passed by both houses and signed by the Governor.

*Action: Any step of parliamentary procedure upon a proposed law or resolution.

*Amend: To alter formally by modification, deletion, or addition.

*Bill: A draft of a proposed law presented for enactment.

*Bill draft request (BDR): A bill draft request submitted to the Legislative Counsel Bureau (LCB) by a legislator, a legislative committee, an executive agency, a member of the judiciary, a local government, or other selected entities, and assigned a two‑part number: the first part, the title number of Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS); the second part, a unique sequence number for a session.

*Resolution: A one‑house resolution expresses facts, principles, opinions, and purposes of one house. A concurrent resolution expresses facts, principles, opinions, and purposes of the two houses and may authorize the creation of joint committees. A joint resolution urges federal officials to engage in an action, proposes amendments to the Nevada Constitution, or ratifies amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

*Referendum: The principle or practice of submitting a law to popular vote after the filing of a petition expressing the wish of the people to vote on such law.

*First Reading: Introduction of a bill in either house of the Legislature by giving it a number and reading it before the full house by title before it is referred to the appropriate committee.

*Second Reading: When a bill, after it has been reported from the committee, is read for the second time before the full house. Committee amendments or amendments from the floor are adopted or rejected by a simple majority vote of the members present and voting.

*Third Reading: When a bill, reprinted with any adopted amendments, is debated by the full house on another day after the second reading. It may be passed, rejected, or further amended, in which case final action on the newly amended version is taken on a later day. If the bill is passed, it is sent to the other house; it is sent to the Governor if passed in identical form by both houses.

Nevada's Legislative Process

Initial Step by the Author

Idea and Drafting

• Sources of ideas for legislation include state and local governments, elected officials, businesses, organizations, and citizens. Requests for drafting may be made by legislators, legislative committees, the governor, state agencies, and local governments. A staff attorney for the legislature prepares a formal draft of a bill.

Track Your Bill Checklist

*Is the legislation an Assembly, Senate, or Joint Resolution. Assembly Bills will be introduced in the Assembly first, then move to the Senate. Senate Bills will be introduced in the Senate first, then move to the Assembly.

*Joint Committee: A committee comprised of one standing committee of the Senate and one standing committee of the Assembly for joint consideration of measures.

Court System

Nevada's voters elect the State's justices and judges, who are nonpartisan. Supreme Court justices, district court judges, and justices of the peace serve six-year terms, except that some first-term district court judges serve four-year terms. The city charter or a city ordinance fixes the term of office of a municipal judge. In 1996, the voters disapproved a proposed constitutional amendment that would have established term limits for Nevada's justices and judges.

Source: https://64.161.36.133/Division/Research/Publications/PandPReport/26-NCS.pdf

Supreme Court

Term: 6 years; Term Limits: None

Justices are elected to six-year terms in nonpartisan elections. The governor fills vacancies by appointment. [1]The Supreme Court is composed of a Chief Justice and six associate justices. The Chief Justice is the administrative head of the court system, with authority to divide the work of the Supreme Court among the justices, assign district judges to assist in other judicial districts or to special functions, and assign retired judges or justices to appropriate temporary duty.

The Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction in all civil cases arising in district court and in questions of law in criminal cases within the original jurisdiction of the district courts. In 1997, the Legislature authorized the Supreme Court to hear and decide cases in panels of three justices. The full Court must consider any case in which two members of a panel make such a request.

Source: https://ballotpedia.org/Nevada_Supreme_Court

Court of Appeals

Term: 2 years; Must be re-elected after initial term appointment by governor

Senate Joint Resolution No. 14 of the 76th Session (File No. 47, Statutes of Nevada 2013) was approved for the second consecutive time by the 2013 Legislature and was submitted to the voters at the 2014 General Election. With voter approval, an intermediate Court of Appeals was established in Nevada. Article 6 of the Nevada Constitution was amended, creating a Court of Appeals consisting of three judges.

The Nevada Supreme Court assigns the types of district court decisions to be heard by the Court of Appeals and also determines when a Court of Appeals decision may be reviewed by the Nevada Supreme Court. Senate Bill 463 (Chapter 343, Statutes of Nevada 2013), a companion measure, covered implementation of the court of appeals and took effect upon ratification of the constitutional amendment by the voters.

District Courts

Length of Term: 6 years

The district courts have original jurisdiction over all matters excluded from the jurisdiction of the justice and municipal courts, and appellate jurisdiction in cases arising from those courts. Nevada's district courts also have jurisdiction over juvenile justice. In Clark and Washoe Counties, the Legislature has established family courts, which are divisions of the district courts. Those counties may levy an ad valorem tax on all taxable property in the county for the support of the family court. The 2015 Legislature, through the passage of Assembly Bill 435 (Chapter 221, Statutes of Nevada), increased the number of judicial districts from 10 to 11. The new Eleventh Judicial District is comprised of the Counties of Lander, Mineral, and Pershing. The Legislature sets the number of judges serving each district. The Second Judicial District (Washoe County) and the Eighth Judicial District (Clark County) has the largest number of judges.

Justice Courts

Nevada's justice courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. They handle civil matters not exceeding $15,000 in damages, evictions, misdemeanors, small claims, traffic cases, and other matters. This monetary limit was increased to $15,000 from $10,000 in A.B.66, (Chapter 200, Statutes of Nevada 2015). Justice courts also determine whether probable cause exists for felony and gross misdemeanor cases to be bound over to the district court. There must be one justice court in each of the townships into which the board of county commissioners has divided the county and at least one justice of the peace in each justice court. The Legislature establishes the number of justices in a township according to its population.

Municipal Courts

Municipal courts are also courts of limited jurisdiction. They handle violations of city ordinances, proceedings to abate a nuisance within a city, actions for collection of city taxes or assessments up to $2,500, and similar matters. Each of Nevada's cities must have a municipal court, except that the governing body of a city may provide that the justice of the peace is the ex officio municipal judge, with the consent of the county commission and the justice of the peace.