1. Whenever the Director is authorized or required by law to conduct a hearing, the Director may issue subpoenas requiring the attendance of witnesses before him or her, together with all books, memoranda, papers and other documents relating to the matters for which the hearing is called, and take depositions within or without the state, as the circumstances of the case may require.

2. The district court in and for the county in which any hearing is being conducted by the Director may compel the attendance of witnesses, the giving of testimony and the production of books and papers as required by any subpoena issued by the Director.

3. In case of the refusal of any witness to attend or testify or produce any papers required by the subpoena, the Director may report to the district court in and for the county in which the hearing is pending by petition, setting forth:

(a) That notice has been given of the time and place of attendance of the witness or the production of the books and papers;

(b) That the witness has been subpoenaed in the manner prescribed in this section; and

(c) That the witness has failed and refused to attend or produce the papers required by subpoena before the Director in the hearing named in the subpoena, or has refused to answer questions propounded to him or her in the course of the hearing,

and asking an order of the court compelling the witness to attend and testify or produce the books or papers before the Director.

4. The court, upon petition of the Director, shall enter an order directing the witness to appear before the court at a time and place to be fixed by the court in the order, the time to be not more than 10 days after the date of the order, and then and there show cause why the witness has not attended or testified or produced the books or papers before the Director. A certified copy of the order must be served upon the witness. If it appears to the court that the subpoena was regularly issued by the Director, the court may thereupon enter an order that the witness appear before the Director at the time and place fixed in the order and testify or produce the required books or papers, and upon failure to obey the order the witness must be dealt with as for contempt of court.

(Added to NRS by 1967, 420; A 1981, 89; 1993, 1723; 1999, 3657)