Open meeting law training now mandatory for Nye County

All appointees to Nye County boards will have to go through open meeting law training, per a new rule accepted by Nye County.

At the June 6 meeting, Nye County Commissioner Lorinda Wichman voted to amend Nye County’s mandate to include open law training for all new appointees to all boards and a refresher on any even year.

“Open meeting law is required of all elected boards throughout the state. Nye County’s mandate, in the past, simply followed the Nevada law. I asked that the Nye County policy reflect extending the same requirements to all appointed boards. Usually that applies to advisory boards,” Wichman said following the meeting.

Open meeting law is a review of the Nevada state laws that dictate how a public meeting is held and review of what can and cannot be done in a public meeting, Wichman said.

“We have a mandate that we have established already as a board of county commissioners. This was just making it more specific,” Wichman said.

Most Nye County town boards are volunteer-based public bodies but still have to follow the open meeting law.

Nye County District Attorney Angela Bello said that according to Nevada Revised Statute, a public body would include any administrative advisory executive or legislative body of the state or the local government. According to the state law, this body expands or disperses or is supported in whole or in part by tax revenue or which advises and makes recommendations to any entity which expands or disperses or is supported in part or whole by tax revenue.

Bello said if the boards advise or recommend to the board of Nye County Commissioners, they are subject to open meeting law.

Commissioner John Koenig said Nye County doesn’t teach the open meeting law.

“We want them to understand it, and we need them to understand it. We made the mandate back in January 19, 2016, all we want to do is make it easier for them now,” Koenig said.

Some of Nye County committees that aren’t advisory boards still have to follow open meeting laws, officials said.

Contact reporter Daria Sokolova at dsokolova@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @dariasokolova77