Existing law creates a health district in any county whose population is 700,000 or more (currently Clark County), which has jurisdiction over all public health matters in the health district. (NRS 439.361, 439.362, 439.366) Existing law authorizes the creation of a health district with similar jurisdiction in counties whose population is less than 700,000 (currently all counties other than Clark County), subject to the approval by the State Board of Health, by affirmative vote of: (1) the board of county commissioners of two or more counties; (2) the governing bodies of two or more cities or towns within any county; or (3) the board of county commissioners and the governing body or bodies of any incorporated city or cities, town or towns, in such a county. (NRS 439.370) Senate Bill No. 312 of this session proposes to create: (1) the Tribal Health Advisory Council; and (2) the Account for Tribal Health to fund the activities of the Council. Sections 2 and 2.5 of this bill define the term “health authority” for the purposes of this bill to include health districts which are formed by one or more counties and, if Senate Bill No. 312 of this session is not enacted, federally recognized Indian tribes which are located in whole or in part in this State. Existing law requires each insurer to pay to the Department of Taxation a tax upon net direct premiums and net direct considerations written at the rate of 3.5 percent. (NRS 680B.027) Sections 3 and 3.5 of this bill create the Account for Public Health in the State General Fund and require the Division of Public and Behavioral Health of the Department of Health and Human Services to administer the Account. Section 7 of this bill requires the State Treasurer to deposit: (1) the first $4,925,000 of revenues collected from the tax on net direct premiums and net direct considerations during each biennium in the Account; and (2) any revenues collected from the tax during the biennium in excess of $4,925,000 in the State General Fund. Sections 3 and 3.5 require the Division to use any money which is deposited in the Account to: (1) protect and promote public health; (2) make allocations to health authorities in certain specified amounts from the money deposited in the Account during the biennium; and (3) if Senate Bill No. 312 of this session is enacted, allocate a specified amount of the money deposited in the Account during the biennium to the Account for Tribal Health created by that bill. Sections 3 and 3.5 require the Division to submit to the State Board of Health a report regarding the use of money in the Account. Section 4 of this bill requires the Division to publish on its Internet website, on or before December 1 of each odd-numbered year, an estimate of the amount of money in the Account which will be available for allocation to health authorities for the biennium. Section 4 authorizes a health authority, on or before January 1 of each even-numbered year, to submit to the Division a request for an allocation from the Account, which must be accompanied by a proposal for the use of the allocation that includes certain information. Section 4 requires the Division to make allocations from the Account on or before April 1 of each even-numbered year to health authorities whose requests are approved and provides that money which is not expended or committed for expenditure by the health authority before June 30 of an odd-numbered year reverts to the Account. Section 4 requires a health authority that receives an allocation from the Account to submit a report to the Division concerning the use of the allocated money.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 439.362, 439.390, 680B.060
Reprint 1: 680B.060
BDR: 439.362, 439.390, 680B.060