1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 338.1382, a contractor who wishes to qualify as a bidder on a contract for a public work must submit an application to the Division or the local government.

2. Upon receipt of an application pursuant to subsection 1, the Division or the local government shall:

(a) Investigate the applicant to determine whether the applicant is qualified to bid on a contract; and

(b) After conducting the investigation, determine whether the applicant is qualified to bid on a contract. The determination must be made within 45 days after receipt of the application.

3. The Division or the local government shall notify each applicant in writing of its determination. If an application is denied, the notice must set forth the reasons for the denial and inform the applicant of the right to a hearing pursuant to NRS 338.1381.

4. The Division or the local government may determine an applicant is qualified to bid:

(a) On a specific project; or

(b) On more than one project over a period of time to be determined by the Division or the local government.

5. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 8, the Division shall not use any criteria other than criteria adopted by regulation pursuant to NRS 338.1375 in determining whether to approve or deny an application.

6. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 8, the local government shall not use any criteria other than the criteria described in NRS 338.1377 in determining whether to approve or deny an application.

7. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 239.0115, financial information and other data pertaining to the net worth of an applicant which is gathered by or provided to the Division or a local government to determine the financial ability of an applicant to perform a contract is confidential and not open to public inspection.

8. The Division or the local government shall deny an application and revoke any existing qualification to bid if it finds that the applicant has, within the preceding year, materially breached a contract for a public work for which the cost exceeds $25,000,000.

(Added to NRS by 1999, 2391; A 2001, 1931; 2003, 2421, 2493; 2005, 1797; 2007, 2089; 2011, 43; 2013, 1390)