218A.645 - Payment to Legislators for certain expenses during session and presession orientation; payments to committee staff for per diem allowances and travel expenses for meetings outside capital.
218A.645 Payment to Legislators for certain expenses during session and presession orientation; payments to committee staff for per diem allowances and travel expenses for meetings outside capital.
1. The per diem expense allowance and the travel and telephone expenses of Senators, Assemblymen and Assemblywomen elected or appointed and in attendance at any session or presession orientation conference of the Legislature must be allowed in the manner set forth in this section.
2. For initial travel from the Legislator’s home to Carson City, Nevada, to attend a session or presession orientation conference of the Legislature, and for return travel from Carson City, Nevada, to the Legislator’s home upon adjournment sine die of a session or termination of a presession orientation conference of the Legislature, each Senator, Assemblyman and Assemblywoman is entitled to receive:
(a) A per diem expense allowance, not to exceed the maximum rate established by the Federal Government for the Carson City area, for 1 day’s travel to and 1 day’s travel from the session or conference.
(b) Travel expenses.
3. In addition to the per diem and travel expenses authorized by subsection 2, each Senator, Assemblyman and Assemblywoman is entitled to receive a supplemental allowance which must not exceed:
(a) A total of $10,000 during each regular session of the Legislature for:
(1) The Legislator’s actual expenses in moving to and from Carson City for the session;
(2) Travel to and from the Legislator’s home or temporary residence or for traveling to and from legislative committee and subcommittee meetings or hearings or for individual travel within the State which relates to legislative business;
(3) If the Legislator rents furniture for the Legislator’s temporary residence rather than moving similar furniture from the Legislator’s home, the cost of renting that furniture not to exceed the amount that it would have cost to move the furniture to and from the Legislator’s home; and
(4) If:
(I) The Legislator’s home is more than 50 miles from Carson City; and
(II) The Legislator maintains temporary quarters in or near Carson City for which the Legislator has entered into a lease or other agreement for occupancy during a regular legislative session,
Ê the cost of such additional housing, paid at the end of each month during the legislative session, beginning the month of the first day of the legislative session and ending the month of the adjournment sine die of the legislative session, in an amount that is the fair market rent for a one bedroom unit in Carson City as published by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development prorated for the number of days of the month that the Legislator actually maintained the temporary quarters in or near Carson City. For the purposes of this subparagraph, any day before the first day of the legislative session or after the day of the adjournment sine die of the legislative session may not be counted as a day for which the Legislator actually maintained such temporary quarters; and
(b) A total of $1,200 during each special session of the Legislature for travel to and from the Legislator’s home or temporary residence or for traveling to and from legislative committee and subcommittee meetings or hearings or for individual travel within the State which relates to legislative business.
4. Each Senator, Assemblyman and Assemblywoman is entitled to receive a per diem expense allowance, not to exceed the maximum rate established by the Federal Government for the Carson City area, for each day that the Legislature is in session or in a presession orientation conference and for each day that the Legislator attends a meeting of a standing committee of which the Legislator is a member when the Legislature has adjourned for more than 4 days.
5. Each Senator, Assemblyman and Assemblywoman who maintains temporary quarters in or near Carson City for which the Legislator has entered into a lease or other agreement for continuous occupancy for the duration of a legislative session is entitled to receive a lodging allowance equal to that portion of the expense allowance which the Legislative Commission designates by rule as being allocated to lodging, for not more than 14 days in each period in which:
(a) The Legislature has adjourned until a time certain; and
(b) The Senator, Assemblyman or Assemblywoman is not entitled to a per diem expense allowance pursuant to subsection 4.
6. In addition to the per diem expense allowance authorized by subsection 4 and the lodging allowance authorized by subsection 5, each Senator, Assemblyman and Assemblywoman who maintains temporary quarters in or near Carson City for which the Legislator has entered into a lease or other agreement for continuous occupancy for the duration of a legislative session is entitled to receive a lodging allowance equal to that portion of the expense allowance which the Legislative Commission designates by rule as being allocated to lodging, for not more than 17 days in each period in which:
(a) The Legislature has adjourned for more than 4 days; and
(b) The Senator, Assemblyman or Assemblywoman must obtain temporary lodging in a location that a standing committee of which the Legislator is a member is meeting.
7. Each Senator, Assemblyman and Assemblywoman is entitled to receive a lodging allowance equal to that portion of the expense allowance which the Legislative Commission designates by rule as being allocated to lodging, for not more than 6 days in each period in which:
(a) The Legislature has adjourned for more than 4 days; and
(b) The Senator, Assemblyman or Assemblywoman must obtain temporary lodging in a location that a standing committee of which the Legislator is a member is meeting,
Ê if the Senator, Assemblyman or Assemblywoman is not entitled to the per diem expense allowance authorized by subsection 4 or the lodging allowances authorized by subsections 5 and 6.
8. Each Senator, Assemblyman and Assemblywoman is entitled to receive a telephone allowance of not more than $2,800 for the payment of tolls and charges incurred by the Legislator in the performance of official business during each regular session of the Legislature and not more than $300 during each special session of the Legislature.
9. An employee of the Legislature assigned to serve a standing committee is entitled to receive the travel expenses and per diem allowance provided for state officers and employees generally if the employee is required to attend a hearing of the committee outside Carson City.
10. Claims for per diem expense allowances authorized by subsection 4 and lodging allowances authorized by subsections 5, 6 and 7 must be paid once each week during a legislative session and upon completion of a presession orientation conference.
11. A claim for travel expenses authorized by subsection 2 or 3 must not be paid unless the Senator, Assemblyman or Assemblywoman submits a signed statement affirming:
(a) The date of the travel; and
(b) The places of departure and arrival and, if the travel is by private conveyance, the actual miles traveled. If the travel is not by private conveyance, the claim must include a receipt or other evidence of the expenditure.
12. Travel expenses authorized by subsections 2 and 3 are limited to:
(a) If the travel is by private conveyance, a rate equal to the standard mileage reimbursement rate for which a deduction is allowed for the purposes of federal income tax. If two or more Legislators travel in the same private conveyance, the Legislator who provided or arranged for providing the transportation is presumed entitled to reimbursement.
(b) If the travel is not by private conveyance, the actual amount expended.
Ê Transportation must be by the most economical means, considering total cost, time spent in transit and the availability of state-owned automobiles.
[1:200:1953; A 1955, 400] + [2:200:1953; A 1955, 400] + [3:200:1953; A 1955, 400] + [4:200:1953]—(NRS A 1957, 7; 1960, 298; 1963, 7; 1965, 257; 1967, 172; 1971, 5; 1973, 1274; 1975, 36, 1092; 1977, 106, 1061; 1979, 438, 1265, 1267; 1981, 4; 1985, 1614; 1987, 1871; 1989, 1216; 1991, 1, 5; 1995, 2240; 1997, 3067; 1999, 2189, 3505; 2005, 2387; 2007, 599)—(Substituted in revision for NRS 218.220)