We discussed SB256 in the last two weeks' Advocate (3/22 and 3/15), and how it would make several changes to landlord/tenant law that are of concern for property managers and homeowners.

YOU CAN HELP US FIGHT! Two ways:

• Take action and encourage others to take action at https://stopsb256.com
• Continue to express your opposition to SB256 on the legislative website by visiting https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/Opinions/80th2019/ and selecting SB256.

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SB230, introduced by Senator Mo Denis at NVR's request, would make several changes to NRS 645 (details in the 2/22 Advocate). The work session for the bill was held in Senate Commerce and Labor on March 29. Senator Denis presented an amendment that NVR, the Department of Business and Industry and the Real Estate Division have worked together to make sure this measure can be implemented as intended. The amendment would:

• Require the Commission to establish regulation setting forth the conditions and limitations under which a licensee may advertise under a nickname;
• Remove the requirement for an applicant who intends to use a nickname to include the nickname in the application and for the license to show the nickname;
• Clarify prelicensing requirements to require at least 120 hours of education, including at least 15 hours on contracts and 15 hours of agency;
• CE requirements to be at least 36 hours.

The bill passed out of committee with the amendment.

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SB199, which we discussed in a previous Advocate, was heard in Senate Commerce and Labor on March 29. The intent of this bill is to make sure new owners are aware of property taxes due, as some issues have surfaced when property taxes are due once a year, but quarterly payments are being made. When someone purchases a property in the middle of a fiscal year, they may or may not know that quarterly payments are due. During discussions with stakeholders, it was also discovered that having the proper address for mailing the notices was a problem. The sponsor of the bill brought forward an amendment that would change the bill in such a way that it would now have the following effects:

• Require the county assessor or county recorder, within 30 days, to provide to the county treasurer information relating to the purchase of residential property, including the owner name and mailing address;
• Require the county treasurer, at least monthly, mail to each new owner of residential property which has property taxes owed a notification that includes a disclosure of property taxes due and a publicly available internet website and any other form of contact information for the county treasurer's office where current property tax information can be accessed;
• Require escrow agents and agencies as well as title agents and escrow officers that administer an escrow transaction with a residential real property transaction to provide written notice to the purchaser, no later than by the close of escrow, of the amount of any taxes known at the close of escrow that must be paid by the purchaser;
• Require the purchaser of a home or an improved or unimproved lot, in written document separate from the sales agreement, acknowledge the correct mailing address where the property tax statements and notices need to be sent; and,
• Require the Real Estate Division to adopt regulations regarding the format and contents of the form.

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SB266 is a bill intended to clean up some unintended consequences from a bill passed last session that automatically seals the case when the eviction is denied or dismissed, or when the landlord fails to submit the necessary affidavit in the allotted time. The goal of the bill was to make sure a tenant was not penalized when looking for new housing when he/she prevailed in an eviction action.

One unintended consequence was that the automatic sealing of the case took away the ability for the landlord to appeal the decision without unsealing the case. SB266 would provide that the automatic sealing of the case does not occur until 10 judicial days after the decision - 10 days being the timeframe a landlord can file an appeal with the court. The bill would also prevent notices of surrender from being made public.

The measure was heard in Assembly Judiciary on March 20, and passed out of committee as amended on March 22.

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Introduced on March 20, SB395 has a number of provisions regarding tow trucks and towing of vehicles. There are three proposed provisions of interest for REALTORS®. First, the requirement to notify local law enforcement orally if a property owner directed the towing of a vehicle from the property without consent of the vehicle's owner is only required if the tow operator has not already done so. Additionally, current law provides that the costs of towing and storage of such a vehicle must be borne by the vehicle's owner. This bill would add the cost of the disposition of the vehicle to those costs to be paid by the vehicle's owner. Finally, if the tow operator and the property owner agree that the vehicle is likely to be ultimately disposed of as an abandoned vehicle and the estimated disposition of the vehicle is less than the estimated cost for towing, storage and disposition of that vehicle, the tow operator and property owner would be able to enter into an agreement where the property owner makes a voluntary payment to the tow operator. Such a payment would not reduce the amount of the costs incurred that are to be borne by the vehicle's owner, and would not be a condition for the towing of the vehicle.

The measure has been scheduled for a hearing on April 4 in Senate Growth and Infrastructure.

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The 80th Session of the Nevada Legislature began on February 4, 2019. March 29 is day 54 of the 120-day session.

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• • Continue to Oppose Egregious Changes to Landlord/Tenant Law
• • Real Estate Licensing
• • Agents Not Responsible to Notify Buyers of Property Tax Due
• • Sealing of Eviction Cases
• • Nonconsensual Towing of Vehicles
• • 2019 Session by the Numbers
• • Sign Up to Receive Calls to Action

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Association Corporate Investors

For more information, please contact:

• Nevada REALTORS® President Keith Lynam
• Nevada REALTORS® Legislative Chairman Kevin Sigstad
• Nevada REALTORS® CEO Teresa McKee