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Department of Taxation seeks January timeline for Tax Commission briefings in AB11; committee hears bill with no public testimony
Summary
The Department of Taxation told the Assembly Committee on Revenue it wants to change the date it must present its proposed budget and bill draft requests to the Nevada Tax Commission from June of even‑numbered years to January of odd‑numbered years to avoid confidentiality and timing conflicts with the Governor’s office and budget process.
CARSON CITY — Shelly Hughes, executive director of the Nevada Department of Taxation, told the Assembly Committee on Revenue that Assembly Bill 11 would move the deadline for the department to present its proposed budget and proposed bill draft requests (BDRs) to the Nevada Tax Commission from June of even‑numbered years to January of odd‑numbered years.
"Assembly Bill 11 is a simple change to the timing of when the department is required to provide its proposed budget and proposed BDRs to the Nevada Tax Commission," Hughes said when she opened the department’s presentation and explained the bill’s two sections.
Hughes told the committee the current statutory deadline—cited in the hearing transcript as NRS 360.105 and a meeting conducted pursuant to NRS 361.455—creates a timing conflict because the department’s budget requests are not built by June: agency enhancement requests must be submitted by Sept. 1 of an even‑numbered year and the governor’s recommended budget remains confidential until the state‑of‑the‑state address. She also noted that bill draft requests submitted by the governor’s office are due to the Legislative Counsel Bureau by Aug. 1 and are confidential until prefiled under NRS 218D.175 and NRS 218D.580, a timing reality that makes a public June presentation impractical.
Hughes summarized the bill’s effect: section 1 would change the date for the department to report to January of every odd‑numbered year; section 2 makes the act effective on passage and approval. "This change in dates would not prevent the commission from directing the department to include an item in its budget or to pursue a BDR regarding the specific item at any of its commission meetings," Hughes said.
Committee members asked clarifying questions. Assemblymember Roth, who said she is new to the committee, asked about the original intent of the June deadline; Hughes said the provision dates to 1997 and appears tied to a historical dispute between the commission and the department’s executive director at that time. Vice Chair Considine asked what role the Nevada Tax Commission currently plays in budget or legislative processes; Hughes said the commission traditionally is not involved in day‑to‑day operations or budget decisions, though it may request that the department pursue particular policy matters that still require the governor’s approval.
Yvonne Navaras Goodson, the department’s chief deputy executive director, answered a procedural question about whether the department could instead present in closed session. She said state open‑meeting law limits that option and the department historically has not had authority to meet confidentially with the commission outside statutory exceptions such as consultations with counsel about litigation.
Hughes told the committee the department intends, if AB11 is approved, to schedule a Tax Commission meeting in the two‑week period before the start of the legislative session so that the commission receives the report both before session and in compliance with the State Budget Act.
The committee took no formal votes on AB11. The department presented its materials, there were no members of the public who registered support, opposition or neutral testimony either in Carson City or on the phone, and Hughes waived closing remarks before the committee closed the hearing on the bill.
