A. The legislature has recognized that, notwithstanding the provisions of Nevada Revised Statutes 244.354 through 244.3548 inclusive, a board of county commissioners may, at its discretion, agree to exempt any assembly from the regulation under the provisions of Nevada Revised Statutes 244.354 to 244.3548, if the assembly occurs on public lands and the assembly organizer obtains an annual permit from a federal agency to hold the assembly.
B. In order to exercise this discretion to exempt an organization, the board of Pershing County commissioners, at its discretion and upon receipt of a request from the assembly organizer, may opt to waive the requirements of this chapter by executing an agreement which exempts a specific assembly for a period of time to be determined in the agreement.
C. In exercising its discretion, the board of Pershing County commissioners shall:
1. Hold a public hearing, which is subject to the open meeting laws, on whether the exemption will be granted;
2. Ensure that the following conditions are met prior to the exercise of its discretion to exempt the assembly from enforcement of the requirements of Nevada Revised Statutes 244.354 to 244.3548;
3. Make specific findings demonstrating that the assembly organizer meets each of the following conditions for the exercise of the discretion:
a. The assembly organizer has more than a ten (10) year history of holding the assembly within Pershing County which demonstrates an appropriate ability to organize and host the specific assembly and provide adequate services for the health and safety of the population in attendance at the prior ten (10) assemblies;
b. The assembly organizer has shown that it is responsive to compliance with the terms and conditions imposed in prior years;
c. The assembly organizer has not engaged in any deceptive or improper practices in obtaining authorization for the assembly in prior years;
d. The assembly organizer has consistently complied with the terms and conditions of the BLM permit and any county requirements in relation to the health and safety of participants at the event and others in the county;
e. The county has assurances that the BLM will continue to ensure that the health and safety concerns set forth in Nevada Revised Statutes 244.3545 will be addressed through the BLM permit process;
f. The assembly will not present an unreasonable danger to the health or safety of any county resident;
g. The assembly organizers have demonstrated sound planning and management of the assembly in prior years; and
h. The assembly has been held in the county for at least ten (10) years on public lands under a license or permit issued by the federal government.
4. If the board is able to make specific findings demonstrating that the assembly organizer and the assembly meets each of the criteria in subsection C3 of this section, the board may exercise its discretion to enter into an agreement with the assembly organizer to exempt the assembly.
D. The agreement shall be voted upon by the board of county commissioners in an open meeting and passed by a majority vote.
E. The agreement shall become valid and effective upon the chairman of the board of county commissioners signing the exemption agreement and the clerk attesting to that signature.
F. In exercising an exemption under these provisions, the board of county commissioners shall name the specific assembly organizer and the assembly to which the exemption will apply and the location in which the assembly is held.
G. The agreement shall provide that if the BLM does not require insurance as part of its permitting process, the following conditions apply:
1. The assembly organizer shall obtain and maintain for each assembly sufficient commercial general liability insurance to cover damages resulting from: a) bodily injury incurred during the assembly, including wrongful death; b) property damage at or during the assembly; and c) constitutional or other claims based upon or relating to the exemption granted by Pershing County which discharges the assembly from the obligations imposed under Nevada Revised Statutes 244.354 to 244.3548 and this chapter; and
2. The assembly organizer shall name Pershing County, its officers and employees as an additional insured under the commercial general liability insurance;
3. The amount of the insurance shall be sufficient to cover the size and scope of the assembly, but shall not be less than one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) for each occurrence and one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) for each personal injury;
4. The agreement is subject to insurance being obtained and maintained for each and every event; and
5. The assembly organizer shall provide Pershing County with the standard accord certificate of insurance form showing: a) the specific limits of insurance; b) coverage modifications; c) appropriate endorsements; d) showing Pershing County, its officials and employees as additional insured parties under the policy; and e) stating that the insurance policies are to be endorsed to require the insurer to provide notice to Pershing County within thirty (30) days of cancellation, nonrenewal or any material reduction in insurance coverage.
H. The agreement shall provide that if the BLM permit requires that the assembly organizer obtain and maintain insurance that Pershing County shall be named as an additional insured and the event organizer must comply with subsection G5 of this section; and
I. The agreement shall provide that if a death occurs at the assembly, the county coroner or sheriff acting as county coroner must be called upon to provide services and that:
1. The sheriff or coroner may submit a bill to the assembly organizer for: a) the reasonable services related to responding to the call for a coroner, including wages, mileage, per diem and other similar expenses; b) providing services relating to the death, including, but not limited to, an autopsy, transport of the body, and other expenses; and c) any other reasonable costs associated with providing coroner's services;
2. The assembly organizer shall pay the bill within thirty (30) days of billing;
3. In the event that the assembly organizer disputes the bill:
a. The assembly organizer shall pay the bill within thirty (30) days as required and shall include a letter explaining in clear detail that the bill is contested, the basis on which the bill is contested, and a detailed claim for actual amount that would need be refunded if the sheriff or coroner agrees to the claim;
b. The sheriff or coroner shall notify the assembly organizer in writing within thirty (30) days of any decision made on the contested amount of the bill and shall either refund such portions as are contested or deny the refund amount; and
c. If the sheriff or coroner denies the refund amount, the assembly organizer shall request a hearing in writing before the board of county commissioners within two (2) weeks of written notification of the denial by filing the written request with the Pershing County clerk/treasurer;
d. The request must set forth the specific facts relating to the dispute and propose a resolution to the dispute;
e. The board of Pershing County commissioners shall hold a hearing to review the sheriff's decision;
f. Within fifteen (15) days of the hearing before the board of Pershing County commissioners, the board of Pershing County commissioners shall issue a written ruling denying the assembly organizer's request, granting the assembly organizer's request, or make some other determination;
g. If the assembly organizer is aggrieved by the decision of the board of Pershing County commissioners, the assembly organizer shall file a petition for judicial review in the district court within thirty (30) days and shall have such rights for administrative review as set forth in Nevada Revised Statutes chapter 233B; and
h. Failure of the assembly organizer to comply with any of the time frames set forth above shall constitute jurisdictional grounds for denying the requested relief sought by the assembly organizer.
J. Regardless of the duration of the agreement, the agreement shall be conditioned upon the assembly being permitted by the BLM and continuing to occur each year on public lands. Accordingly, the agreement shall provide that in any year in which the assembly is held in Pershing County on land that is not managed by BLM and the event is not permitted by the BLM, the assembly organizer must comply with the provisions of this chapter and apply for a license. The agreement may further provide that in the event the assembly ceases to be held on public lands for a period of up to four (4) consecutive years, the agreement shall terminate and the provisions therein shall become null and void, and that any annual assembly which canceled due to force majeure shall not count against this four (4) year period.
K. As used herein, the following terms are defined as follows:
ASSEMBLY: Has the meaning ascribed to it in Nevada Revised Statutes 244.3541.
ASSEMBLY ORGANIZER: An individual, group of individuals, corporation, partnership, limited liability corporation/company, or entity which organizes and holds an assembly of more than one thousand (1,000) people in Pershing County.
BLM: The bureau of land management.
BOARD, BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, OR COMMISSIONERS: The board of Pershing County commissioners.
COUNTY: Pershing County.
SHERIFF: The Pershing County sheriff.
L. A refusal to grant an exemption may be reviewed by a petition for judicial review pursuant to Nevada Revised Statutes 233B. In addition to any other requirement under Nevada Revised Statutes 233B, in order for an assembly organizer to satisfy the standing requirements to file a petition for judicial review, the petitioner must demonstrate that the petitioner has organized and held an assembly for more than ten (10) years. The petition for judicial review must be filed within thirty (30) days of the oral decision of the board of county commissioners.
M. Within thirty (30) days of the oral decision by the board of Pershing County commissioners in an open meeting and in accordance with the provisions of Nevada Revised Statutes 233B: 1) any other aggrieved person may file a petition for judicial review on any decision to grant or deny a request for an agreement to exempt an assembly under these provisions; and 2) the assembly organizer may file a petition for judicial review within thirty (30) days of a hearing before the board of Pershing County commissioners on a coroner bill.
N. The county may enter into a separate contract that will provide for payment for anticipated impacts that the county will experience as a result of the assembly.
O. If any provision of this section or its application to any person or entity or assembly is held invalid or unconstitutional, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect other provisions or applications of this section and the provisions of this section are declared severable. To the extent that an agreement to exempt, which is not the subject of the court ruling and which was entered into prior to the court ruling, may remain in full force and effect despite the court ruling, the agreement shall be interpreted to do so. (Ord. 306, 2013)