CLARK COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA ITEM
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Clark County Clerk |
Recommendation:
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Introduce an ordinance to amend Title 2, Chapters 32.025, 32.20, and 34.010, to accord with recent legislation and existing Nevada law related to the fees chargeable by the county clerk for the issuance of marriage licenses and certificate of marriages and the fees chargeable by the commissioner of civil marriages for the solemnization of marriages; to amend the purposes for which the clerk’s technology fee may be used; and providing for other matters properly related thereto; and to set a public hearing. (For possible action)
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FISCAL IMPACT:
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BACKGROUND:
This proposed Ordinance seeks to make several amendments to the Clark County Code resulting from the enactment of Assembly Bill 397 and Senate Bill 177, which were approved by the Nevada Legislature during the 2021 Legislative Session.
AB397 amended the statutes governing the purposes for which the money in the account for the technology in the office in the county clerk may be used. Section 1 of this proposed Ordinance makes changes to CCC 2.32.025 to conform to those amendments.
Section 2 of this proposed Ordinance makes clarifying changes to Title 2 regarding the mandatory fees that must be collected by the county clerk pursuant to Nevada law. Chapters 19, 122, and 246 of the Nevada Revised Statutes ("NRS") require the county clerk to charge certain fees for the services performed by the clerk's office. These fees are needlessly reiterated in Title 2. From time to time, the Nevada Legislature has increased the amount of the fees required to be collected, necessitating conforming amendments to County Code to reflect these statutory changes. Most recently, SB177 amended NRS chapter 122 to increase the fee that must be collected by the county clerk for the issuance of a marriage license for deposit into the Account for Aid for Victims of Domestic or Sexual Violence in the State General Fund.
To eliminate potential confusion between the fee schedule reflected in County Code and the fee amounts found in state law, this proposed Ordinance removes all references to those mandatory fee amounts. The proposed Ordinance instead requires the county clerk to conspicuously post a schedule of the fees charged by the county clerk on the clerk's website and at each of the offices at which those fees are collected.
Section 2 also makes clarifying changes to the two optional fees that may be collected by the county clerk at the discretion of the Board of County Commissioners. NRS 246.075 authorizes the Board of County Commissioners to impose by ordinance an additional fee not to exceed $14 for the issuance of a marriage license, the proceeds of which must be deposited in a special revenue fund for the promotion of marriage tourism in Clark County. Similarly, NRS 246.180 authorizes the Board of County Commissioners to impose by ordinance an additional fee not to exceed $3 for filing a marriage certificate, the proceeds of which must be deposited with the county treasurer for credit to the account established pursuant to NRS 246.190 for the acquisition and improvement of technology in the office of the county clerk. Existing County Code requires the county clerk to collect fees in the amount of $14 and $3, respectively, which is the maximum amount permitted by state law. In lieu of a specific reference to the amounts of the fees that must be collected by the county clerk, this proposed Ordinance requires the county clerk to collect the "maximum fee authorized to be charged and collected" pursuant to theses statutes.
Finally, Section 3 of the proposed Ordinance makes similar changes to the fee collected by the commissioner of civil marriages. For solemnizing a marriage, NRS 122.181 requires the marriage commissioner to collect a fee to be deposited in the Account for Aid for Victims of Domestic or Sexual Violence in the State General Fund. This proposed Ordinance would remove the specific reference to the amount of fee that must be collected by the marriage commissioner and instead require the marriage commissioner to collect the "maximum fee authorized to be charged and collected" pursuant to the statute.
Staff recommends that the Ordinance to amend chapters 32.025, 32.20, and 34.010 of Title 2 of the Clark County Code be introduced and a public hearing be set for December 21, 2021, at 10:00 a.m.