Nev. Rev. Stat. § 360.945 — Submittal of application on behalf of project; contents of application; provision of additional documentation; confidentiality of information related to negotiation of agreements to defray cost of local government services and infrastructure. [Effective through June 30, 2036.]

NRS  360.945    Submittal of application on behalf of project; contents of
application; provision of additional documentation; confidentiality of
information related to negotiation of agreements to defray cost of local
government services and infrastructure. [Effective through June 30, 2036.]
1.  On behalf of a project, the lead
participant in the project may apply to the Office of Economic Development for:
(a) A certificate of eligibility for transferable
tax credits which may be applied to:
(1) Any tax imposed by chapters 363A and 363B
of NRS;
(2) The gaming license fees imposed by the
provisions of NRS 463.370 ;
(3) Any tax imposed by chapter 680B of NRS; or
(4) Any combination of the fees and taxes
described in subparagraphs (1), (2) and (3).
(b) An abatement of property taxes, employer
excise taxes or local sales and use taxes, or any combination of any of those
taxes.
2.  For a project to be eligible for the
transferable tax credits described in paragraph (a) of subsection 1 and
abatement of the taxes described in paragraph (b) of subsection 1, the lead
participant in the project must, on behalf of the project:
(a) Submit an application that meets the
requirements of subsection 3;
(b) Provide documentation satisfactory to the
Office that approval of the application would promote the economic development
of this State and aid the implementation of the State Plan for Economic
Development developed by the Executive Director of the Office pursuant to
subsection 2 of NRS 231.053 ;
(c) Provide documentation satisfactory to the
Office that the participants in the project collectively will make a total new
capital investment of at least $3.5 billion in this State within the 10-year
period immediately following approval of the application;
(d) Provide documentation satisfactory to the
Office that the participants in the project are engaged in a common business
purpose or industry;
(e) Provide documentation satisfactory to the
Office that the place of business of each participant is or will be located
within the geographic boundaries of the project site;
(f) Provide documentation satisfactory to the
Office that each participant in the project is registered pursuant to the laws
of this State or commits to obtaining a valid business license and all other
permits required by the county, city or town in which the project operates;
(g) Provide documentation satisfactory to the Office
of the number of employees engaged in the construction of the project;
(h) Provide documentation satisfactory to the
Office of the number of qualified employees employed or anticipated to be
employed at the project by the participants;
(i) Provide documentation satisfactory to the
Office that each employer engaged in the construction of the project provides a
plan of health insurance and that each employee engaged in the construction of
the project is offered coverage under the plan of health insurance provided by
his or her employer;
(j) Provide documentation satisfactory to the
Office that each participant in the project provides a plan of health insurance
and that each employee employed at the project by each participant is offered
coverage under the plan of health insurance provided by his or her employer;
(k) Provide documentation satisfactory to the
Office that at least 50 percent of the employees engaged in construction of the
project and 50 percent of the employees employed at the project are residents
of Nevada, unless waived by the Executive Director of the Office upon proof
satisfactory to the Executive Director of the Office that there is an
insufficient number of Nevada residents available and qualified for such
employment;
(l) Agree to provide the Office with a full
compliance audit of the participants in the project at the end of each fiscal
year which:
(1) Shows the amount of money invested in
this State by each participant in the project;
(2) Shows the number of employees engaged in
the construction of the project and the number of those employees who are
residents of Nevada;
(3) Shows the number of employees employed
at the project by each participant and the number of those employees who are
residents of Nevada; and
(4) Is certified by an independent
certified public accountant in this State who is approved by the Office;
(m) Pay the cost of the audit required by
paragraph (l);
(n) Enter into an agreement with the governing
body of the city or county in which the qualified project is located that:
(1) Requires the lead participant to pay
the cost of any engineering or design work necessary to determine the cost of
infrastructure improvements required to be made by the governing body pursuant
to an economic development financing proposal approved pursuant to NRS 360.990 ; and
(2) Requires the lead participant to seek
reimbursement for any costs paid by the lead participant pursuant to
subparagraph (1) from the proceeds of bonds of the State of Nevada issued
pursuant to NRS 360.991 ;
(o) If the qualified project is or will be
located in an economic diversification district created pursuant to NRS 271B.070 and the governing body of
the county, city or fire protection district in which the project is located so
requires, enter into an agreement with the governing body that requires the
lead participant to make payments:
(1) In a specified amount or according to
an agreed upon formula; and
(2) Which do not exceed the lesser of:
(I) In total for all such
agreements, 10 percent of the amount of the partial abatement of property taxes
and local sales and use taxes approved for the project; or
(II) The amount necessary to defray,
in whole or in part, the cost of local government services and infrastructure
necessary to serve the qualified project during the term of the use of any
money pledged pursuant to NRS 271B.070 ;
and
(p) Meet any other requirements prescribed by the
Office.
3.  An application submitted pursuant to
subsection 2 must include:
(a) A detailed description of the project,
including a description of the common purpose or business endeavor in which the
participants in the project are engaged;
(b) A detailed description of the location of the
project, including a precise description of the geographic boundaries of the
project site;
(c) The name and business address of each
participant in the project, which must be an address in this State;
(d) A detailed description of the plan by which
the participants in the project intend to comply with the requirement that the
participants collectively make a total new capital investment of at least $3.5
billion in this State in the 10-year period immediately following approval of
the application;
(e) If the application includes one or more
abatements, an agreement executed by the Office with the lead participant in
the project not later than 1 year after the date on which the application was
received by the Office which:
(1) Complies with the requirements of NRS 360.755 ;
(2) States the date on which any abatement
of property taxes becomes effective, as agreed to by the applicant and the
Office, which must not be earlier than July 1 of the fiscal year in which the
agreement is executed by the Office and not later than 1 year after the date on
which the Office approves the application;
(3) States that the project will, after
the date on which a certificate of eligibility for the abatement is approved
pursuant to NRS 360.965 , continue in
operation in this State for a period specified by the Office; and
(4) Binds successors in interest of the
lead participant for the specified period;
(f) A copy of each agreement, if any, required
pursuant to paragraph (o) of subsection 2; and
(g) Any other information required by the Office.
4.  For an employee to be considered a
resident of Nevada for the purposes of this section, each participant in the
project must maintain the following documents in the personnel file of the
employee:
(a) A copy of the current and valid Nevada
driver’s license of the employee or a current and valid identification card for
the employee issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles;
(b) If the employee is a registered owner of one
or more motor vehicles in Nevada, a copy of the current motor vehicle
registration of at least one of those vehicles;
(c) Proof that the employee is employed full-time
and scheduled to work for an average minimum of 30 hours per week; and
(d) Proof that the employee is offered coverage
under a plan of health insurance provided by his or her employer.
5.  For the purpose of obtaining from the
Executive Director of the Office any waiver of the requirement set forth in
paragraph (k) of subsection 2, the lead participant in the project must submit
to the Executive Director of the Office written documentation of the efforts to
meet the requirement and documented proof that an insufficient number of Nevada
residents is available and qualified for employment.
6.  The Executive Director of the Office
shall make available to the public and post on the Internet website for the
Office:
(a) Any request for a waiver of the requirements
set forth in paragraph (k) of subsection 2; and
(b) Any approval of such a request for a waiver
that is granted by the Executive Director of the Office.
7.  The Executive Director of the Office
shall post a request for a waiver of the requirements set forth in paragraph
(k) of subsection 2 on the Internet website of the Office within 3 days after
receiving the request and shall keep the request posted on the Internet website
for not less than 5 days. The Executive Director of the Office shall ensure
that the Internet website allows members of the public to post comments
regarding the request.
8.  The Executive Director of the Office
shall consider any comments posted on the Internet website concerning any
request for a waiver of the requirements set forth in paragraph (k) of
subsection 2 before making a decision regarding whether to approve the request.
If the Executive Director of the Office approves the request for a waiver, the
Executive Director of the Office must post the approval on the Internet website
of the Office within 3 days and ensure that the Internet website allows members
of the public to post comments regarding the approval.
9.  If an applicant for one or more
abatements pursuant to this section fails to execute the agreement described in
paragraph (e) of subsection 3 within 1 year after the date on which the
application was received by the Office, the applicant shall not be approved for
an abatement pursuant to this section unless the applicant submits a new
application.
10.  The records, files and communications
exchanged between the lead participant in a project and a county, city or fire
protection district for the purpose of negotiating and entering into an
agreement required pursuant to paragraph (o) of subsection 2 are confidential,
not a public record and must not be disclosed to any person who is not a party
to the negotiations, unless the lead participant consents to the disclosure.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, a meeting of the governing
body of a city, county or fire protection district to approve an agreement required
pursuant to paragraph (o) of subsection 2 must be conducted in accordance with
the provisions of chapter 241 of NRS.
11.  The incorporated city in which a
project is located, or the county in which a project is located if the project
is not located in an incorporated city, shall serve as the lead negotiator for
the purpose of negotiating and entering into any agreement required pursuant to
paragraph (o) of subsection 2. The governing body of a county, city or fire
protection district which requires an agreement pursuant to paragraph (o) of
subsection 2 but which is not the lead negotiator pursuant to this subsection
may enter into an interlocal agreement with the lead negotiator concerning the
representation of the county, city or fire protection district, as applicable,
by the lead negotiator. An interlocal agreement entered into pursuant to this
subsection must not require a county, city or fire protection district to
compensate the lead negotiator or otherwise impose any monetary obligation on
the parties to the interlocal agreement.
12.  As used in this section, “local
government services and infrastructure” includes, without limitation:
(a) Fire suppression;
(b) Emergency medical services;
(c) Law enforcement;
(d) Emergency management, hazardous materials
incident response and emergency mitigation and planning;
(e) Specialized life-safety response and
prevention training;
(f) Solid waste management;
(g) Roads;
(h) Stormwater management;
(i) Water and sewer; and
(j) Any other services or infrastructure agreed
upon by the lead participant of a project and the county, city or fire
protection district.