Bill would restore public disclosure of mineral net-proceeds data collected by taxation

Assembly Bill 277 would amend Nevada law to make data the Department of Taxation collects on the tax on net proceeds of minerals public so the Division of Minerals can continue publishing an annual mineral-production report.

Assemblyman Richard DeLong, the bill sponsor, said the Division of Minerals has long published the report and that the change is necessary because Taxation’s recent legal review concluded the net-proceeds data are confidential under current statute. “This bill proposes to add a fifteenth [exemption exception] which would make the data it collects on the net proceeds of mineral available to the public,” DeLong said.

Shelley Hughes, executive director of the Department of Taxation, told the committee that a deputy attorney general reviewed prior publications and determined they did not fall under existing confidentiality exemptions, prompting Taxation to stop publishing the bulletin. “Our deputy attorney general had reviewed what we were publishing and told us we were, in violation of NRS 360.255,” Hughes said.

Supporters included the Nevada Mining Association, Nevada Mineral Exploration Coalition and the Vegas Chamber, all of which said the mineral production bulletin has been published for decades and is important for transparency and industry oversight. Rob Ghiglieri, administrator for the Division of Minerals, said the division maintains good working relations with Taxation but that not being able to point to underlying data undermines the division’s ability to answer public and media inquiries.

The Nevada Taxpayers Association described the bill as aligning with tax-policy principles of transparency. Taxation staff said they remain neutral and that internal reports are ready to publish once statutory authority is clarified. The committee closed the hearing after testimony and invitations to answer follow-up questions from Taxation staff.