Existing law authorizes the State Board of Health to adopt, amend and enforce regulations consistent with law to regulate sanitation and sanitary practices in the interests of public health. (NRS 439.200) Section 12 of this bill requires the Board to adopt regulations to require, with certain exceptions, a hotel operator to ensure that each occupied guest room at the hotel receives daily room cleaning if the hotel is a: (1) resort hotel; or (2) hotel that contains more than 200 guest rooms or suites of guest rooms. Section 13 of this bill requires the Board to adopt regulations to require a hotel operator to ensure that the interior of each occupied guest room at the hotel is visually inspected by a room attendant not less than every second consecutive day during a guest's occupancy to ensure the safety of the guest and the public if the hotel is a: (1) resort hotel; or (2) hotel that contains more than 200 guest rooms or suites of guest rooms. Existing law requires a health authority to enforce regulations relating to hotels. (NRS 447.190) Section 14 of this bill authorizes a health authority to, upon receiving a complaint, inspect a hotel to ensure and enforce compliance with the regulations required by sections 12 and 13. Section 15 of this bill requires the Director of the Department of Health and Human Services to adopt regulations to prohibit a hotel operator from retaliating against a hotel employee for: (1) participating in proceedings related to sections 11-16 of this bill; (2) disclosing or threatening to disclose an activity, policy or practice that the hotel employee reasonably believes to violate sections 11-16 or to otherwise pose a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety; (3) refusing to participate in any such activity, policy or practice; or (4) seeking enforcement of sections 11-16. Section 16 establishes that a person aggrieved by a violation of the regulations adopted pursuant to section 12, 13 or 14 may institute a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction. Section 11 applies the provisions of sections 11-16 to a county whose population is 100,000 or more (currently Clark and Washoe Counties). Sections 2-10 of this bill define certain necessary terms.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 447.003
BDR: 447.003