2005 Nevada Revised Statutes - PRELIMINARY CHAPTER

Title 0 - PRELIMINARY CHAPTER

PRELIMINARY CHAPTER - GENERAL PROVISIONS

NRS 0.010 Scope.

NRS 0.020 Severability.

NRS 0.023 Constructionof reenacted, amended or revised laws as continuation of prior law; effect ofreference to repealed law that is in substance reenacted.

NRS 0.025 Useof may, must, shall and is entitled; explanation of flush lines.

NRS 0.030 Gender,number and tense.

NRS 0.031 Controlledsubstance defined.

NRS 0.033 Countyincludes Carson City.

NRS 0.035 Boardof county commissioners and board defined.

NRS 0.037 Mortgagedefined.

NRS 0.039 Persondefined.

NRS 0.040 Physiciandefined and limited.

NRS 0.050 Populationdefined.

NRS 0.060 Substantialbodily harm defined.

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NRS 0.010 Scope. This chapter provides definitions and declarations of legislativeintent which apply to Nevada Revised Statutes as a whole.

(Added to NRS by 1977, 181)

NRS 0.020 Severability.

1. If any provision of the Nevada Revised Statutes, orthe application thereof to any person, thing or circumstance is held invalid,such invalidity shall not affect the provisions or application of NRS which canbe given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this endthe provisions of NRS are declared to be severable.

2. The inclusion of an express declaration ofseverability in the enactment of any provision of NRS or the inclusion of anysuch provision in NRS, does not enhance the severability of the provision sotreated or detract from the severability of any other provision of NRS.

(Added to NRS by 1977, 166)

NRS 0.023 Constructionof reenacted, amended or revised laws as continuation of prior law; effect ofreference to repealed law that is in substance reenacted. The provisions of any law or statute which is reenacted,amended or revised, so far as they are the same as those of prior laws, shallbe construed as a continuation of such laws and not as new enactments. If anyprovision of a law is repealed and in substance reenacted, a reference in anyother law to the repealed provision shall be deemed to be a reference to thereenacted provision.

(Added to NRS by 2003, 2094)

NRS 0.025 Useof may, must, shall and is entitled; explanation of flush lines.

1. Except as otherwise expressly provided in aparticular statute or required by the context:

(a) May confers a right, privilege or power. The termis entitled confers a private right.

(b) May not or no * * * may abridges or removes aright, privilege or power.

(c) Must expresses a requirement when:

(1) The subject is a thing, whether the verb isactive or passive.

(2) The subject is a natural person and:

(I) The verb is in the passive voice; or

(II) Only a condition precedent and not aduty is imposed.

(d) Shall imposes a duty to act.

(e) Shall be deemed or shall be considered createsa legal fiction.

(f) Shall not imposes a prohibition against acting.

2. Except as otherwise required by the context, textof a statute that:

(a) Follows subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs orsub-subparagraphs that are introduced by a colon;

(b) Is not designated as a separate subsection,paragraph, subparagraph or sub-subparagraph; and

(c) Begins flush to the left margin rather thanimmediately following the material at the end of the final subsection,paragraph, subparagraph or sub-subparagraph,

applies tothe section as a whole, in the case of subsections, or to the subdivisionpreceding the colon as a whole rather than solely to the subdivision that thetext follows. The symbol inbills and in Nevada Revised Statutes indicates the beginning of such text.

(Added to NRS by 1991, 809; A 2003, 2094)

NRS 0.030 Gender,number and tense. Except as otherwiseexpressly provided in a particular statute or required by the context:

1. The masculine gender includes the feminine andneuter genders.

2. The singular number includes the plural number, andthe plural includes the singular.

3. The present tense includes the future tense.

The use of amasculine noun or pronoun in conferring a benefit or imposing a duty does notexclude a female person from that benefit or duty. The use of a feminine nounor pronoun in conferring a benefit or imposing a duty does not exclude a maleperson from that benefit or duty.

(Added to NRS by 1977, 181)

NRS 0.031 Controlledsubstance defined. Except as otherwiseexpressly provided in a particular statute or required by the context,controlled substance means a drug, immediate precursor or other substancewhich is listed in schedule I, II, III, IV or V for control by the State Boardof Pharmacy pursuant to NRS 453.146.

(Added to NRS by 1987, 1544)

NRS 0.033 Countyincludes Carson City.

1. Whenever used in the Statutes of Nevada and NevadaRevised Statutes, the term county includes Carson City.

2. Except as limited by the Charter of Carson City orby ordinances enacted by authority thereof, those provisions of the Statutes ofNevada or Nevada Revised Statutes which refer to the several counties applyequally to Carson City.

(Added to NRS by 1969, 321)(Substituted in revisionfor NRS 243.500)

NRS 0.035 Boardof county commissioners and board defined. Theterm board of county commissioners, or board, when referring to the boardsof county commissioners of the several counties, includes the Board ofSupervisors of Carson City.

(Added to NRS by 1969, 321; A 1985, 221)

NRS 0.037 Mortgagedefined. Except as used in chapter 106 of NRS and unless the contextotherwise requires, mortgage includes a deed of trust.

(Added to NRS by 1985, 221)

NRS 0.039 Persondefined. Except as otherwise expresslyprovided in a particular statute or required by the context, person means anatural person, any form of business or social organization and any othernongovernmental legal entity including, but not limited to, a corporation, partnership,association, trust or unincorporated organization. The term does not include agovernment, governmental agency or political subdivision of a government.

(Added to NRS by 1985, 499)

NRS 0.040 Physiciandefined and limited.

1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2,physician means a person who engages in the practice of medicine, includingosteopathy and homeopathy.

2. The terms physician, osteopathic physician,homeopathic physician, chiropractic physician and podiatric physician areused in chapters 630, 630A, 633, 634 and 635 ofNRS in the limited senses prescribed by those chapters respectively.

(Added to NRS by 1977, 954; A 1983, 1492; 1985, 221;1995, 1071)

NRS 0.050 Populationdefined.

1. Except as otherwise expressly provided in aparticular statute or required by the context, population means the number ofpeople in a specified area as determined by the last preceding nationaldecennial census conducted by the Bureau of the Census of the United StatesDepartment of Commerce pursuant to Section 2 of Article I of the Constitutionof the United States and reported by the Secretary of Commerce to the Governorpursuant to 13 U.S.C. 141(c). The tabulations of population reported by theSecretary of Commerce for a particular decennial census date shall be deemed toapply for the purposes of this section from July 1 of the calendar yearimmediately following that decennial census date until June 30 of the calendaryear immediately following the next decennial census date.

2. As used in this section, decennial census datemeans the first day of April of 1980 and every 10 years thereafter on which thedecennial census is taken pursuant to federal law.

(Added to NRS by 1979, 498; A 1991, 454; 1999, 1182)

NRS 0.060 Substantialbodily harm defined. Unless the context otherwiserequires, substantial bodily harm means:

1. Bodily injury which creates a substantial risk ofdeath or which causes serious, permanent disfigurement or protracted loss orimpairment of the function of any bodily member or organ; or

2. Prolonged physical pain.

(Added to NRS by 1985, 221)