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Assembly committee hears bill to remove sunset on Nye County public-safety sales tax
Summary
Assembly Bill 69 would remove the expiration provision for Nye County’s 2007-authorized sales and use tax dedicated to police and fire services, preserving roughly $4–5 million a year that county officials and first responders say funds personnel, equipment and communications.
CARSON CITY — The Assembly Committee on Revenue heard testimony on Assembly Bill 69, which would remove the 2007 statute’s expiration provision that authorizes Nye County to levy a sales and use tax dedicated to funding police and fire services.
Mark Fiorentino, attorney for Nye County, told the committee the bill does not create a new tax or increase rates; it would simply remove the current expiration provision so the county may continue collecting the tax after the current statutory authorization expires in 2027. “It doesn’t create any new taxes. It doesn’t increase any existing taxes. It just removes the expiration date so they can continue to collect and utilize the tax,” Fiorentino said.
Scott Lewis, director of emergency management and fire chief for the Town of Pahrump, described the sales-tax revenue as “an absolute public safety game changer” for a county with roughly an 18,000-square-mile rural footprint. Lewis said the revenue supports volunteer recruitment and retention, equipment, training, communications interoperability and positions in the Pahrump population center. He warned that loss of the funding would force reductions in personnel and the use of older equipment less suited to local conditions.
Sheriff Joe McGill, the elected sheriff of Nye County, told the committee the tax funds roughly 15 positions in his department and has paid for prior purchases the county otherwise could not afford, including body-worn cameras and their replacement contracts and a $2.2 million equipment purchase. “If it weren’t for this revenue, we would have 15 less individuals working in our department,” McGill said.
Helen Bay, Nye County comptroller, told the committee the tax generates a little less than $5 million a year and that public safety represents about 30 percent of the county’s general fund operating budget. Bay said the county’s operating budget is roughly $54 million annually and that other traditional revenue sources such as mining and grants have declined; she said the county has also faced higher salary costs to remain competitive with neighboring jurisdictions.
Supporters who testified included elected county officials (Chairman Ron Boskovich and Commissioner Ian Bain), representatives of local unions and firefighters’ associations, the Professional Firefighters of Nevada and off-site union callers. Several union and public-safety witnesses described the impact on response capacity if the county lost funds now dedicated to public-safety staffing and equipment.
Neutral testimony came from Joanie Eastley, vice chair of the Tonopah Town Board, which supported the act generally but urged amendments to improve local participation in spending decisions and to clarify statutory language the town said has caused disagreements about eligible uses. Eastley told the committee she had not seen the partnership or written policy language the statute requires and asked for clearer procedures for rural communities.
No committee vote on AB 69 was taken at the hearing; presenters said they are open to drafting clarifying amendments. The committee closed the hearing after taking support, opposition and neutral testimony.
