1. If a project is for the generation and transmission of electricity, payments must be made as provided in this section:

(a) In lieu of ad valorem taxes on property owned by the county, and distributed in the same manner as those taxes would be distributed pursuant to NRS 361.320; and

(b) In lieu of the sales and use tax, local school support tax and city-county relief tax on tangible personal property purchased or used, and distributed in the same manner as the tax would be distributed pursuant to NRS 372.780, 374.785, 377.055 or 377.057, whichever applies.

2. The payments in lieu of taxes specified in paragraph (b) of subsection 1 must be paid on any incident of sale, use, storage or other consumption of property which, pursuant to the Sales and Use Tax Act, Local School Support Tax Law or an ordinance or ordinances adopted pursuant to the City-County Relief Tax Law, would be taxable if the exemptions for counties contained, respectively, in NRS 372.325 and 374.330 were not applicable. No such payment applies to any incident previously subjected to a sales or use tax. Except as otherwise provided in this section and except to the extent that they would be inconsistent with the provisions of this section, the provisions of the Sales and Use Tax Act, Local School Support Tax Law, the City-County Relief Tax Law, any ordinance or ordinances adopted pursuant thereto, and other laws of the State dealing with taxes on the sale or use of tangible personal property govern the collection, payment, method of protest, exemptions and other matters relating to the payments required in lieu of these taxes.

3. The payments in lieu of ad valorem taxes must equal the ad valorem taxes that would have been payable were the project subject to ad valorem taxation and to assessment pursuant to NRS 361.320. This section does not preclude the Legislature from changing the method of assessment or allocation of payments in lieu of ad valorem taxes. The due date of payments in lieu of ad valorem taxes to a particular taxing entity and the tax rate with respect to the portion of the valuation of a project allocated to that entity must be determined in the same manner as for property which is subject to ad valorem taxation by that taxing entity.

4. The county shall, in the agreement with each purchaser of capacity require that the purchaser, or all of them collectively, make timely payments, whether or not the capacity is taken or available, sufficient in time and amount, to the extent that such payments are not otherwise provided for from bond proceeds or other funds specifically made available therefor, to provide for the payments in lieu of taxes required by this section. The agreements must provide the method of determining the amount of such payments to be made by each such purchaser.

5. The payments in lieu of taxes required by this section during the construction of the project are the responsibility of the participant who, pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 244A.741, is constructing the project and the payments in lieu of taxes during the period of operation of the project are the responsibility of the participant who, pursuant to that subsection, is operating the project. The responsibility of making such payments is limited to the extent that there is legally available to the responsible participant, from the payments, proceeds or other funds mentioned in subsection 4, money to make such payments and the obligation of such participant or participants to make such payments in lieu of taxes is not a general obligation or liability of the responsible participant. That participant shall take appropriate action to enforce the obligation, provided for in subsection 4, of the participants in the project. A payment in lieu of taxes must not be made to the extent that the making of the payment would cause a deficiency in the money available to the county to make required payments of principal of, premium, if any, or interest on any bonds issued by the county to finance the project or to make required payments to any funds established under the proceedings under which such bonds were issued and secured. No lien attaches upon any property or money of the county or any property or money of the participant or participants mentioned in the first sentence of this subsection by virtue of any failure to pay all or any part of any in lieu of taxes. The participant or participants constructing or operating the project or any other participant in the project may contest the validity of any payment in lieu of a tax to the same extent as if such payment were a payment of the tax itself. The payments in lieu of taxes must be reduced if and to the extent that such contest is successful.

6. So long as a purchaser of capacity of the project is required to make payments pursuant to subsection 4, that purchaser is not required to make any payment of tax pursuant to NRS 361.157 or 361.159 in respect of its interest or rights in that project.

7. The obligations to make payments in lieu of taxes required by this section do not constitute a debt or indebtedness of the county and do not constitute or give rise to a pecuniary liability of the county or a charge against its general credit or taxing powers.

(Added to NRS by 1979, 679; A 1981, 1782; 1991, 1433)