1. There is hereby established in the State Treasury the Fund for Workers’ Compensation and Safety as an enterprise fund. All money received from assessments levied on insurers and employers by the Administrator pursuant to NRS 232.680 must be deposited in this Fund.

2. All assessments, penalties, bonds, securities and all other properties received, collected or acquired by the Division for functions supported in whole or in part from the Fund must be delivered to the custody of the State Treasurer for deposit to the credit of the Fund.

3. All money and securities in the Fund must be used to defray all costs and expenses of administering the program of workers’ compensation, including the payment of:

(a) All salaries and other expenses in administering the Division of Industrial Relations, including the costs of the office and staff of the Administrator.

(b) All salaries and other expenses of administering NRS 616A.435 to 616A.460, inclusive, the offices of the Hearings Division of the Department of Administration and the programs of self-insurance and review of premium rates by the Commissioner.

(c) The salary and other expenses of a full-time employee of the Legislative Counsel Bureau whose principal duties are limited to conducting research and reviewing and evaluating data related to industrial insurance.

(d) All salaries and other expenses of the Fraud Control Unit for Industrial Insurance established pursuant to NRS 228.420.

(e) Claims against uninsured employers arising from compliance with NRS 616C.220 and 617.401.

(f) That portion of the salaries and other expenses of the Office for Consumer Health Assistance of the Department of Health and Human Services established pursuant to NRS 232.458 that is related to providing assistance to consumers and injured employees concerning workers’ compensation.

(g) For claimants and dependents of claimants who are entitled to receive compensation for a permanent total disability caused by an industrial injury or a disablement that occurred before January 1, 2004:

(1) Reimbursement to insurers for the cost of the annual increase in the compensation pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 616C.473; and

(2) The salary and other expenses of administering the payment of the annual increase in the compensation pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 616C.473.

(h) For widows, widowers, surviving children and surviving dependent parents who are entitled to death benefits on account of an industrial injury or a disablement from an occupational disease that occurred before July 1, 2019:

(1) Reimbursement to insurers for the cost of the increase in the death benefits pursuant to subsection 1 of NRS 616C.508; and

(2) The salary and other expenses of administering the payment of the increase in death benefits pursuant to subsection 1 of NRS 616C.508.

The provisions of this paragraph shall cease to be of any force or effect when no widow, widower, surviving child or surviving dependent parent is entitled to receive death benefits on account of an industrial injury or a disablement from an occupational disease that occurred before July 1, 2019.

4. The State Treasurer may disburse money from the Fund only upon written order of the Controller.

5. The State Treasurer shall invest money of the Fund in the same manner and in the same securities in which the State Treasurer is authorized to invest state general funds which are in his or her custody. Income realized from the investment of the assets of the Fund must be credited to the Fund.

6. The Commissioner shall assign an actuary to review the establishment of assessment rates. The rates must be filed with the Commissioner 30 days before their effective date. Any insurer or employer who wishes to appeal the rate so filed must do so pursuant to NRS 679B.310.

7. If the Division refunds any part of an assessment, the Division shall include in that refund any interest earned by the Division from the refunded part of the assessment.

(Added to NRS by 1981, 1454; A 1991, 207, 2414, 2440; 1993, 1867, 2803; 1995, 625; 1999, 1760; 2001, 959, 2755; 2003, 2808; 2019, 1468, 3435)