LEGISLATION 2007 - NHLA WEEKLY UPDATE
Susan Fisher, Susan Fisher Consulting, NHLA Tracking Lobbyist
IN THIS ISSUE
We are officially past the half-way point in the Nevada Legislature. What does that mean? It means that from this point forward, your legislators are truly public servants as their daily pay of $138.00 has now ended. They still receive a per-diem allowance until the session ends, but few of us would work for the amount they are allocated.
April 13 is an important deadline. All bills must pass out of Committee of the House of origin. All bills, unless declared exempt by Leadership, that are not passed out of committee by midnight on Friday, April 13 will be declared dead.
With the exception of a handful of bill draft requests reserved for the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader, which lobbyists refer to as “Silver Bullets”, all the bills that were to be introduced have now been introduced and are available for review at http://www.leg.state.nv.us/74th/Reports/. You may search for a piece of legislation by the bill number (i.e., Assembly Bill 100, Senate Bill 200, etc.); by the primary sponsor (i.e., Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, Senator Bill Raggio, etc.); by text (enter a keyword) or any one of several other options.
To date over 1,100 bills have been introduced. Some will never be heard, some will die in committee or on the floor of either House. But many, many more will survive and many, many of these bills will impact your business.
TRANSIENT LODGING TAXES
TRANSIENT LODGING TAXES IN ELKO
AB163, introduced by Assemblyman Carpenter, changes the provisions concerning taxes on the rental of transient lodging in the City of Elko. This bill states that the Elko Convention and Visitors Authority would receive no less than 37.5 percent of the total revenue received by the City from the tax on the rental of transient lodging imposed by the City of Elko unless: (1) The City Council imposes an additional tax on the rental of transient lodging or increases the overall rate of taxation on the rental of transient lodging or (2)The proceeds of any additional tax or rate increase are used for something other than for the benefit of the Convention and Visitors Authority.
The Elko Convention and Visitors Authority is required to spend at least 42 percent of the revenue it receives from the tax on the rental of transient lodging to promote tourism and related activities.
TRANSIENT LODGING TAXES LIMITED TO 31 DAYS
AB378 limits applicable taxes on the rental of transient lodging to 31 days. Existing law says that you may impose various mandatory and optional taxes on the rental of transient lodging. This bill limits the application of these taxes to the first 31 days of rental by the same paying guest. This bill is being sponsored by Assemblyman Carpenter.
OCCUPANCY TAX RAISED IN DOUGLAS COUNTY
SB94 makes changes to the occupancy tax imposed on lodging in Douglas County. Currently, there is an occupancy tax of 8 percent imposed on lodging in Tahoe Township in Douglas County. This bill increases that occupancy tax to 10 percent. Also under existing law, Douglas County is authorized to impose an occupancy tax on lodging in the other portions of the County, but the taxes can not exceed 8 percent of the gross taxable rent paid for lodging. This bill increases the maximum authorized occupancy tax that may be imposed in the other portions of Douglas County to 10 percent also. There were questions from legislators on why the individual hotel/casino properties don’t build a convention center rather than increasing taxes.
PRICE GOUGING
PRICE GOUGING DURING AN EMERGENCY IS A DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICE
SB82 would create a law stating that renting, leasing or selling or offering to rent, lease or sell consumer goods and services for an unreasonable and/or unprecedented price immediately before or during a declared state of emergency constitutes a deceptive trade practice and is punishable by law. Some concerns were raised in the Senate Commerce and Labor work session about the overly broad language allowing “declaration of emergency by the President, the Governor of Nevada or the Governor of any other state.” No action taken on this bill.
PRICE GOUGING
Current law prohibits deceptive trade practices and law authorizes the Attorney General to begin criminal proceedings to enforce to enforce them. SB538 allows for further sharing of information between the Attorney General and state and federal investigative agencies under specified conditions. This bill also prohibits all monopolizing, regardless of whether it is done in a contract, combination or conspiracy and regardless of whether it is done in restraint of trade. It authorizes the Attorney General also to seek other relief, including restitution and disgorgement.
TAX DEDUCTIONS FOR EMPLOYERS
EMPLOYER TAX DEDUCTIONS FOR PROVIDING ON-SITE DAY CARE FOR EMPLOYEES
SB211 allows businesses to take state tax deductions for expenses for providing day care to the children of their employees. Current law allows for deductions from taxes for amounts paid for health insurance and health benefit plans for employees and their dependents. This bill adds additional deductions from these taxes for the amounts paid to create on-site day care. This bill also allows any unused amount of a deduction to be carried forward each calendar quarter until exhausted and requires an employer who claims a deduction to provide an explanation and appropriate documentation of the amount claimed upon the request of the Department of Taxation. The bill’s sponsor, Senator Dina Titus, suggested amending Section 2.1.(a) to broaden it to include language so that employers who provide child care at a discount or in some way subsidized would still receive the deductions. This is good for our industry and if passed, we encourage industry members to take advantage of this tax deduction while helping provide your employees with a valuable benefit. Studies show that on-site day care increases employee retention, reduces missed work days and increases moral.
EMPLOYER TAX DEDUCTIONS ON EMPLOYEE HEALTH PLANS
AB231 doubles the amount of the tax deduction an employer is allowed for payments made for health insurance or a health benefit plan for his employees.
ENERGY USE
RENEWABLE ENERGY CONTRACTS
Assemblyman Marcus Conklin, D-Las Vegas, prime sponsor of AB186, said that this bill is meant to hold renewable energy companies accountable for the economic benefits they outline in their project proposals. Conklin said the bill would “correct a mistake” and was not an attack on the solar power company Solargenix, now named Acciona Solar Power. In testimony on AB186, the Nevada AFL-CIO said Solargenix reneged on commitments to provide hundreds of jobs to Nevadans during construction of its Solar One plant in Boulder City. As written, AB186 would require a renewable energy company to detail its economic benefits, including creation of local jobs, in filings with the state Public Utilities Commission. The company would have to make every effort to fulfill those obligations or face possible fines.
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
SB437 will help to remove financial disincentives that discourage energy conservation by various public utilities that purchase natural gas for resale. This bill will also make various changes relating to the definition of “net metering system” and will create certain partial tax abatements and certain requirements regarding assessed values for real property. Current law provides certain new or expanded businesses to receive a partial abatement on various property taxes and this bill will revise the expiration dates for such partial abatements.
OTHER IMPORTANT BILLS
TIP POOLING
# # #