Nevada State Government
To understand the law on a particular topic, it is important to remember that there will likely be sources from the different branches that will need to be considered at the same time. Click here [PDF] to see a chart of the structure of the state government.
The Legislative Branch
The duty of the legislative branch is to make the laws (called statutes) for the state of Nevada. The Nevada legislature consists of the Assembly and the Senate. An official record of the proceedings and debates in both the House and Senate is printed in the Congressional Record.
- Nevada Legislature: Frequently Asked Questions about the Legislature's website; Legislative Manual; and learn more about about the legislative process.
- Nevada Assembly
- Nevada State Senate
- Law Library of Congress > Guide to Law Online > Nevada
Once the legislative session is complete, the laws are arranged by topics (within Titles and Chapters) published in the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS).
- Nevada Revised Statutes - search by keyword, or browse the index
- Nevada Constitution
The Executive Branch
The duty of the executive branch is to enforce the laws made by the legislature. The state executive branch is made of the Office of the Governor and the agencies and departments, such as the Gaming Control Board and the Attorney General's Office. These agencies and departments make regulations (administrative law) to implement the state's statutes.
The rules and regulations that come from the state's agencies are published in the Nevada Administrative Code (NAC). This code is also arranged by subjects (chapters). The rules and regulations that are proposed or have been adopted but not codified into the NAC are published in the Nevada Register.
- Nevada Administrative Code - search by keyword, or browse the index
- Nevada Register of Administrative Regulations
- List of Executive Departments and Agencies - Office of the Governor
The Judicial Branch
The duty of the judicial branch is to interpret the laws created by the legislature. In the state of Nevada the court systems is made of Justice, Municipal, Juvenile, and District courts along with the Supreme Court of Nevada.
Local Government
The legislative process on the local government level happens in city or county councils or commissions. Their job is to create local laws and ordinances. These laws and ordinance are collected in the city/municipal or county codes. Many of these codes are not available online and you will need to come to the library to research these items. Links to the local codes that are online can be found here.