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) A partial 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 the partial 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 5;

(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 $1 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 or sites;

(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 issued pursuant to NRS 360.991; and

(o) Meet any other requirements prescribed by the Office.

3. In addition to meeting the requirements set forth in subsection 2, for a project located on more than one site in this State to be eligible for the partial abatement of the taxes described in paragraph (b) of subsection 1, the lead participant must, on behalf of the project, submit an application that meets the requirements of subsection 5 on or before June 30, 2019, and provide documentation satisfactory to the Office that:

(a) The initial project will have a total of 500 or more full-time employees employed at the site of the initial project and the average hourly wage that will be paid to employees of the initial project in this State is at least 120 percent of the average statewide hourly wage as established by the Employment Security Division of the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation on July 1 of each fiscal year;

(b) Each participant in the project must be a subsidiary or affiliate of the lead participant; and

(c) Each participant offers primary jobs and:

(1) Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (2), satisfies the requirements of paragraph (f) or (g) of subsection 2 of NRS 360.750, regardless of whether the business is a new business or an existing business; and

(2) If a participant owns, operates, manufactures, services, maintains, tests, repairs, overhauls or assembles an aircraft or any component of an aircraft, that the participant satisfies the applicable requirements of paragraph (f) or (g) of subsection 2 of NRS 360.753.

If any participant is a data center, as defined in NRS 360.754, any capital investment by that participant must not be counted in determining whether the participants in the project collectively will make a total new capital investment of at least $1 billion in this State within the 10-year period immediately following approval of the application, as required by paragraph (c) of subsection 2.

4. In addition to meeting the requirements set forth in subsection 2, a project is eligible for the transferable tax credits described in paragraph (a) of subsection 1 only if the Interim Finance Committee approves a written request for the issuance of the transferable tax credits. Such a request may only be submitted by the Office and only after the Office has approved the application submitted for the project pursuant to subsection 2. The Interim Finance Committee may approve a request submitted pursuant to this subsection only if the Interim Finance Committee determines that approval of the request:

(a) Will not impede the ability of the Legislature to carry out its duty to provide for an annual tax sufficient to defray the estimated expenses of the State for each fiscal year as set forth in Article 9, Section 2 of the Nevada Constitution; and

(b) Will 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.

5. 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 or sites;

(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 $1 billion in this State in the 10-year period immediately following approval of the application;

(e) If the application includes one or more partial abatements, an agreement executed by the Office with the lead participant in the project which:

(1) Complies with the requirements of NRS 360.755;

(2) States the date on which the partial abatement becomes effective, as agreed to by the applicant and the Office, which must not be earlier than the date on which the Office received the application;

(3) States that the project will, after the date on which a certificate of eligibility for the partial abatement is approved pursuant to NRS 360.893, 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; and

(f) Any other information required by the Office.

6. 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:

(1) Current and valid Nevada driver’s license of the employee originally issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles more than 60 days before the hiring of the employee or a current and valid identification card for the employee originally issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles more than 60 days before the hiring of the employee; or

(2) If the employee is a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States, a 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.

7. 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.

8. The Executive Director of the Office shall make available to the public and post on the Internet website of 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

(Added to NRS by 2015, 29th Special Session, 19; A 2017, 3795; 2019, 2601)