NRS463.385. Annual excise tax upon slot machines: Imposition; collection; proportionate share of operator of inter-casino linked system and other persons; deposit and use of receipts.

      1.  In addition to any other license fees and taxes imposed by this chapter, there is hereby imposed upon each slot machine operated in this State an annual excise tax of $250. If a slot machine is replaced by another, the replacement is not considered a different slot machine for the purpose of imposing this tax.

      2.  The Commission shall:

      (a) Collect the tax annually on or before June 30, as a condition precedent to the issuance of a state gaming license to operate any slot machine for the ensuing fiscal year beginning July 1, from a licensee whose operation is continuing.

      (b) Collect the tax in advance from a licensee who begins operation or puts additional slot machines into play during the fiscal year, prorated monthly after July 31.

      (c) Include the proceeds of the tax in its reports of state gaming taxes collected.

      3.  Any other person, including, without limitation, an operator of an inter-casino linked system, who is authorized to receive a share of the revenue from any slot machine that is operated on the premises of a licensee is liable to the licensee for that person’s proportionate share of the license fees paid by the licensee pursuant to this section and shall remit or credit the full proportionate share to the licensee on or before the dates set forth in subsection 2. A licensee is not liable to any other person authorized to receive a share of the licensee’s revenue from any slot machine that is operated on the premises of a licensee for that person’s proportionate share of the license fees to be remitted or credited to the licensee by that person pursuant to this section.

      4.  The Commission shall pay over the tax as collected to the State Treasurer to be deposited to the credit of the State Distributive School Account in the State General Fund, and the Capital Construction Fund for Higher Education and the Special Capital Construction Fund for Higher Education, which are hereby created in the State Treasury as special revenue funds, in the amounts and to be expended only for the purposes specified in this section, or for any other purpose authorized by the Legislature if sufficient money is available in the Capital Construction Fund for Higher Education and the Special Capital Construction Fund for Higher Education on July 31 of each year to pay the principal and interest due in that fiscal year on the bonds described in subsection 6.

      5.  During each fiscal year, the State Treasurer shall deposit the tax paid over to him or her by the Commission as follows:

      (a) The first $5,000,000 of the tax in the Capital Construction Fund for Higher Education;

      (b) Twenty percent of the tax in the Special Capital Construction Fund for Higher Education; and

      (c) The remainder of the tax in the State Distributive School Account in the State General Fund.

      6.  There is hereby appropriated from the balance in the Special Capital Construction Fund for Higher Education on July 31 of each year the amount necessary to pay the principal and interest due in that fiscal year on the bonds issued pursuant to section 5 of chapter 679, Statutes of Nevada 1979, as amended by chapter 585, Statutes of Nevada 1981, at page 1251, the bonds authorized to be issued by section 2 of chapter 643, Statutes of Nevada 1987, at page 1503, the bonds authorized to be issued by section 2 of chapter 614, Statutes of Nevada 1989, at page 1377, the bonds authorized to be issued by section 2 of chapter 718, Statutes of Nevada 1991, at page 2382, the bonds authorized to be issued by section 2 of chapter 629, Statutes of Nevada 1997, at page 3106, and the bonds authorized to be issued by section 2 of chapter 514, Statutes of Nevada 2013, at page 3391. If in any year the balance in that Fund is not sufficient for this purpose, the remainder necessary is hereby appropriated on July 31 from the Capital Construction Fund for Higher Education. The balance remaining unappropriated in the Capital Construction Fund for Higher Education on August 1 of each year and all amounts received thereafter during the fiscal year must be transferred to the State General Fund for the support of higher education. If bonds described in this subsection are refunded and if the amount required to pay the principal of and interest on the refunding bonds in any fiscal year during the term of the bonds is less than the amount that would have been required in the same fiscal year to pay the principal of and the interest on the original bonds if they had not been refunded, there is appropriated to the Nevada System of Higher Education an amount sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the original bonds, as if they had not been refunded. The amount required to pay the principal of and interest on the refunding bonds must be used for that purpose from the amount appropriated. The amount equal to the saving realized in that fiscal year from the refunding must be used by the Nevada System of Higher Education to defray, in whole or in part, the expenses of operation and maintenance of the facilities acquired in part with the proceeds of the original bonds.

      7.  After the requirements of subsection 6 have been met for each fiscal year, when specific projects are authorized by the Legislature, money in the Capital Construction Fund for Higher Education and the Special Capital Construction Fund for Higher Education must be transferred by the State Controller and the State Treasurer to the State Public Works Board for the construction of capital improvement projects for the Nevada System of Higher Education, including, but not limited to, capital improvement projects for the community colleges of the Nevada System of Higher Education. As used in this subsection, “construction” includes, but is not limited to, planning, designing, acquiring and developing a site, construction, reconstruction, furnishing, equipping, replacing, repairing, rehabilitating, expanding and remodeling. Any money remaining in either Fund at the end of a fiscal year does not revert to the State General Fund but remains in those Funds for authorized expenditure.

      8.  The money deposited in the State Distributive School Account in the State General Fund under this section must be apportioned as provided in NRS 387.030 among the several school districts and charter schools of the State at the times and in the manner provided by law.

      9.  The Board of Regents of the University of Nevada may use any money in the Capital Construction Fund for Higher Education and the Special Capital Construction Fund for Higher Education for the payment of interest and amortization of principal on bonds and other securities, whether issued before, on or after July 1, 1979, to defray in whole or in part the costs of any capital project authorized by the Legislature.

      (Added to NRS by 1967, 874; A 1971, 168; 1973, 909; 1975, 692; 1977, 1033; 1979, 1738, 1739; 1983, 515, 516, 1364, 1365; 1987, 423, 1501, 1504; 1989, 314, 1375; 1991, 1911, 2380; 1993, 407, 584; 1997, 3104; 1999, 957, 1423, 3320; 2005, 369; 2010, 26th Special Session, 20; 2013, 3389)