1. Except if a particular procedure for resolving a dispute is required by a specific statute, and except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, the Director may authorize any entity within the Department or any natural person who is subject to the authority of the Director to use alternative means of dispute resolution in any proceeding if the alternative means can be:

(a) Carried out by the available personnel of the Department or persons under contract with the Department; and

(b) Paid for with money that is available in the existing budget of the affected entity of the Department.

2. Before authorizing an entity of the Department to use alternative means of dispute resolution, the Director must notify the Attorney General. The Attorney General, within 30 days after receiving the notification from the Director, shall respond to the Director concerning the advisability of using alternative means of dispute resolution to resolve the dispute at issue. The Director shall consider the advice of the Attorney General but may authorize an entity of the Department to use alternative means of dispute resolution unless the Attorney General indicates in his or her response that he or she officially opposes the use of such means. If the Attorney General fails to respond within 30 days after receiving the notification, the Director may authorize the use of alternative means of dispute resolution.

3. The alternative means of dispute resolution may include, without limitation, evaluation of the facts and issues in a dispute by a neutral person, fact-finding, mediation, arbitration or other collaborative problem-solving processes designed to encourage persons to work together to develop agreeable solutions to disputes in lieu of litigation or adjudication of contested cases in administrative hearings.

4. Any entity which, or natural person who, has received authorization from the Director to use alternative means of dispute resolution may enter into a contract to facilitate the use of such means, subject to the approval of the Attorney General, the limitations set forth in subsection 1 and the provisions of NRS 333.700.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 2244; A 2009, 2232)