Existing law authorizes state and local health authorities to take certain actions to investigate and control the spread of communicable diseases, including ordering: (1) a person to undergo a medical examination to verify the presence of a disease; and (2) the isolation, quarantine or treatment of a person or group of persons. (NRS 439.360, 439.470, 441A.160) Sections 1, 2 and 5 of this bill: (1) require any such order to state the reasons that the actions prescribed by the order are the least restrictive means available to prevent, suppress or control a communicable disease; and (2) prescribe certain limitations on the circumstances under which a state or local health authority may take such actions, including a requirement that the communicable disease must pose a risk to the public health. Existing law establishes procedures pursuant to which the Chief Medical Officer or a district health officer, or a designee thereof, may isolate, quarantine or treat persons who have been infected with or exposed to a communicable disease. (NRS 441A.510-441A.720) Those procedures: (1) require the Chief Medical Officer or district health officer, or a designee thereof, to provide each person quarantined with a statement of his or her rights; and (2) require a judicial proceeding if a person is to be quarantined involuntarily for longer than 72 hours. (NRS 441A.510, 441A.550) Sections 1, 2 and 3.6 of this bill require a city or county board of health to adhere to those procedures when isolating, quarantining or treating a person who has or has been exposed to a communicable disease. Sections 12.3-12.9 of this bill make conforming changes to clarify that a person isolated, quarantined or treated by a county or city board of health has the same rights as a person isolated, quarantined or treated by the Chief Medical Officer or a district health officer, or a designee thereof. Existing law authorizes the Chief Medical Officer or a district health officer, or a designee thereof, to investigate a case of a communicable disease and order the person with the communicable disease to submit to examination or testing. (NRS 441A.160) Section 5 requires such an official to know or suspect that the communicable disease is in an infectious state and poses a risk to the health of the public before taking such action. Section 5 also requires the State Board of Health and each district board of health to establish a process by which a person may appeal an order to submit to examination or testing. Existing law, with certain exceptions, prohibits a health authority from ordering involuntary treatment without a court order. (NRS 441A.160) Section 5 prohibits a court from issuing such an order without clear and convincing evidence that the person: (1) has a communicable disease in an infectious state; and (2) is likely to pose a danger to the health of the public. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for a person who has a communicable disease in an infectious state to conduct himself or herself in any manner likely to expose others to the disease or engage in any occupation in which it is likely that the disease will be transmitted to others after receiving a written warning from a health authority. (NRS 441A.180) Section 3.3 of this bill sets forth legislative findings that the spread of communicable diseases is a public health matter that should not be addressed through criminalization. Section 6 of this bill prohibits a health authority from warning a person against engaging in an occupation or accessing a place of public accommodation if a similar order from an employer or the place of public accommodation would constitute prohibited discrimination against a person with a disability. Section 6 makes it a misdemeanor for a person to intentionally transmit a communicable disease to another person under certain circumstances, regardless of whether the person has received a warning from the health authority. Section 6 prohibits a person from being charged for any offense other than the offenses set forth in section 6 for exposing or attempting to expose another person to a communicable disease. Section 6 additionally prohibits the use of the fact that a person has a communicable disease to satisfy any element of an offense other than the offenses set forth in section 6. Section 6 creates an affirmative defense if the person exposed to a communicable disease through prohibited conduct: (1) knew the defendant had the communicable disease; (2) knew the conduct could result in transmission of the communicable disease; and (3) consented to engage in the conduct with that knowledge. Section 6 additionally provides an affirmative defense if the defendant used or attempted to use means to prevent the transmission of the communicable disease. Section 6 also prohibits a person from being charged with certain offenses for transmitting or exposing another person to a communicable disease through the donation of an organ, blood, sperm or tissue or through pregnancy. Section 24 of this bill repeals a separate provision making it a category B felony for a person who has tested positive for the human immunodeficiency virus to intentionally, knowingly or willfully engage in conduct in a manner that is intended or likely to transmit the disease. (NRS 201.205) Such a person would still be guilty of a misdemeanor if he or she transmitted the virus or engaged in such conduct after a warning from the health authority and the affirmative defenses established by section 6 do not apply. Existing law authorizes a court to order a person or decedent to be tested for a communicable disease upon the petition of a law enforcement officer, correctional officer, emergency medical attendant, firefighter, county coroner or medical examiner or employee or volunteer thereof if the court determines that there is probable cause to believe that: (1) a transfer of bodily fluids occurred between the person and the petitioner; and (2) a positive result from the test for the presence of a communicable disease would require the petitioner to seek medical intervention. (NRS 441A.195) Section 7 of this bill revises these provisions to instead authorize a court to order such a test only if the court determines that there is probable cause to believe that the petitioner: (1) was likely exposed to a communicable disease; and (2) testing of the other person or decedent is necessary to determine the appropriate medical treatment of the petitioner. Existing law prohibits a person from making public personal identifying information about a person infected with a communicable disease who has been investigated by the health authority without the consent of the person. (NRS 441A.230) Section 9 of this bill instead prohibits a person from making public such information about a person who has been diagnosed with or exposed to a communicable disease and investigated by the health authority without the consent of the person. If the alleged victim or a witness to a crime alleges that the crime involved the sexual penetration of the victim's body, existing law requires the testing of the alleged perpetrator for the human immunodeficiency virus and other commonly contracted sexually transmitted diseases. (NRS 441A.320) Section 24 removes this requirement, and section 14.5 of this bill instead requires information concerning testing for sexually transmitted diseases to be included in the information provided to victims of sexual assault under the Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill of Rights. Section 17 of this bill requires the Legislative Counsel, to the extent practicable, to ensure that: (1) persons living with the human immunodeficiency virus are referred to in Nevada Revised Statutes using language that is commonly viewed as respectful and sentence structure that refers to the person before referring to his or her disorder; and (2) duplicative references to the human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome are avoided in Nevada Revised Statutes. Section 18 of this bill provides that it is the policy of this State that such persons are referred to in a similar manner in the Nevada Administrative Code. Sections 8, 11-14, 16 and 19-21 of this bill make various revisions to terminology referring to the human immunodeficiency virus, other communicable diseases and related matters. Section 24 repeals provisions of existing law: (1) requiring a person arrested for prostitution or solicitation for prostitution and each offender in the custody of the Department of Corrections to be tested for the human immunodeficiency virus; (2) making it a category B felony to engage in prostitution after testing positive for the human immunodeficiency virus; (3) requiring the Director of the Department of Corrections to establish for inmates and employees of the Department an educational program regarding the human immunodeficiency virus; and (4) authorizing a court to order the confinement of a person who is diagnosed as having acquired immunodeficiency syndrome who fails to comply with a written order of a health authority, or who engages in behavior through which the disease may be spread to other persons. Sections 10 and 15 of this bill make conforming changes by removing references to the repealed sections. Senate Bill No. 284 of the 2019 Legislative Session: (1) created the Advisory Task Force on HIV Exposure Modernization; and (2) required the Task Force to conduct a comprehensive examination during the 2019-2020 legislative interim of the statutes and regulations in this State related to the criminalization of exposing a person to the human immunodeficiency virus. (Section 1 of chapter 88, Statutes of Nevada 2019, at page 466) Section 22 of this bill reestablishes the Task Force for the 2021-2022 legislative interim.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 439.360, 439.470, 441A.040, 441A.160, 441A.180, 441A.195, 441A.220, 441A.230, 441A.240, 441A.320, 441A.330, 453A.050, 40.770, 202.876, 213.1088, 220.125, 233B.062, 389.036, 422.4025, 678C.030
Reprint 1: 439.360, 439.470, 441A.160, 441A.180, 441A.195, 441A.220, 441A.230, 441A.240, 441A.330, 441A.510, 441A.520, 441A.530, 453A.050, 40.770, 178A.270, 202.876, 213.1088, 220.125, 233B.062, 389.036, 422.4025, 678C.030
Reprint 2: 439.360, 439.470, 441A.160, 441A.180, 441A.195, 441A.220, 441A.230, 441A.240, 441A.330, 441A.510, 441A.520, 441A.530, 453A.050, 40.770, 178A.270, 202.876, 213.1088, 220.125, 233B.062, 389.036, 422.4025, 678C.030
As Enrolled: 439.360, 439.470, 441A.160, 441A.180, 441A.195, 441A.220, 441A.230, 441A.240, 441A.330, 441A.510, 441A.520, 441A.530, 453A.050, 40.770, 178A.270, 202.876, 213.1088, 220.125, 233B.062, 389.036, 422.4025, 678C.030