1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the Division shall contract with a laboratory to provide the services of a laboratory when required pursuant to NRS 442.008 in the following order of priority:
(a) The State Public Health Laboratory;
(b) Any other qualified laboratory located within this State; or
(c) Any qualified laboratory located outside of this State.
2. The Division shall not contract with a laboratory in a lower category of priority unless the Division determines that:
(a) A laboratory in a higher category of priority is not capable of performing all the tests required to determine the presence of certain preventable or inheritable disorders in an infant pursuant to NRS 442.008; or
(b) The cost to the Division to contract with a laboratory in a higher category of priority is not financially reasonable or exceeds the amount of money available for that purpose.
3. For the purpose of determining the category of priority of a laboratory only, the Division is not required to comply with any requirement of competitive bidding or other restriction imposed on the procedure for awarding a contract.
(Added to NRS by 2011, 460; A 2013, 3048; 2019, 2161; R 2019, 813, effective January 1, 2020)