Opinion ID: 2609783
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Whether the district court gave proper deference to the Commission's interpretation of NRS 281.481(3).

Text: The Nevada Ethics in Government Law (NRS 281.411-281.581) outlines ethical standards to govern the conduct of government employees and officers. It also established the Nevada Commission on Ethics. NRS 281.455. The mandate of the Nevada Commission on Ethics is to render an opinion interpreting the statutory ethical standards and apply the standards to a given set of facts and circumstances. NRS 281.511(1). In the instant matter, the Commission held four days of hearings and admitted almost 500 pages of evidence. The Commission deliberated over this voluminous record at three meetings over the course of three months and finally issued an opinion spanning some fifteen single-spaced pages. To say that the Commission considered this matter at length would be an understatement. NRS 281.481(3) is part of the Nevada Ethics in Government Law and states, in pertinent part: Unless specifically prohibited by law, a public officer or employee, as such, is not precluded from making a bid on a government contract if the contracting process is controlled by rules of open competitive bidding, the sources of supply are limited, he [or she] has not taken part in developing the contract plans or specifications and he [or she] will not be personally involved in opening, considering or accepting offers. (Emphasis added.) Applying this statute to the facts in the case at bar, the Commission found that the sources of supply were not limited because numerous architects responded to the design competition. The Commission further found that Lucchesi and Carr were not involved in considering the offers. Most importantly, the Commission found that Lucchesi had taken part in developing the contract plans or specifications for the building. Based upon these findings, the Commission concluded that JMAL had gained an unfair advantage over the other competitors in the design competition. Neither party challenged these findings in the district court. Rather JMAL argued, and the district court agreed, that NRS 281.481(3) did not apply to the conduct of Lucchesi and Carr because they submitted design proposals and not bids as expressly stated in the statute. BMSH and the Commission assert that the district court failed to accord proper deference to the Commission's interpretation of NRS 281.481(3). We agree. In State v. State Engineer, 104 Nev. 709, 766 P.2d 263 (1988), this court stated that `[a]n agency charged with the duty of administering an act is impliedly clothed with power to construe it as a necessary precedent to administrative action' and that `great deference should be given to the agency's interpretation when it is within the language of the statute.' Id. at 713, 766 P.2d at 266 (quoting Clark County School Dist. v. Local Gov't, 90 Nev. 442, 446, 530 P.2d 114, 117 (1974)). Furthermore, the Commission's power to construe the Nevada Ethics in Government Law is explicit in the statute rather than implicit. NRS 281.511(1). Accordingly, although this court may conduct a de novo review of the Commission's construction of the Nevada Ethics in Government Law, the district court was obligated to give deference to the construction afforded by the Commission. We conclude that the district court erred in failing to do so.