NAC360.835. Certificate of eligibility: Duties of Office; hearing; order approving application; factors for determining whether qualified production is in economic interest of State.

     1. Upon receipt of a completed application for a certificate of eligibility submitted pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection 2 of NAC 360.830 and the information required by paragraph (b) of subsection 2 of NAC 360.830, the staff of the Office shall:

     (a) Evaluate the application and supporting information; and

     (b) Prepare a proposed order containing a recommendation of whether to grant or deny approval of the application and an estimate of the amount of transferable tax credits available to the applicant if a certificate of eligibility is issued.

     2. A hearing on an application for a certificate of eligibility must be conducted by the Executive Director or his or her designee not later than 60 days after the Office receives the application. Not later than 30 days before the date of the hearing, the Office will provide notice of the date, time and location of the hearing and a copy of the proposed order prepared pursuant to subsection 1 to:

     (a) The applicant;

     (b) The Department; and

     (c) The State Gaming Control Board.

     3. Not later than 30 days after the conclusion of the hearing on the application for a certificate of eligibility, the Executive Director or his or her designee will determine whether to approve the application for a certificate of eligibility. If, after the conclusion of the hearing, the Executive Director or his or her designee finds that:

     (a) The qualified production is in the economic interest of this State, as determined pursuant to subsection 5;

     (b) Fifty percent or more of the funding for the qualified production has been placed in an escrow account or trust account for the benefit of the qualified production, or that the producer has a corporate credit rating of “lower medium grade” or higher from a credit rating agency found suitable by the Office; and

     (c) At least 60 percent of the total qualified expenditures and production costs for the qualified production, including preproduction and postproduction, will be incurred in this State,

Ê the Office will issue a final order approving the application for a certificate of eligibility and determining an estimate of the amount of transferable tax credits available if a certificate of eligibility is issued. The Office will provide notice of its determination and, if the application is approved, a copy of the final order to the applicant, the Department and the State Gaming Control Board.

     4. If the Office approves an application for a certificate of eligibility, the Office will execute a memorandum of understanding with the producer of the qualified production on a form prescribed by the Office and include a copy of the memorandum of understanding with the copy of the final order approving the application which is provided to the applicant, the Department and the State Gaming Control Board pursuant to subsection 3.

     5. For the purpose of determining whether a qualified production is in the economic interest of this State, the Executive Director shall consider:

     (a) The economic factors set forth in subsection 2 of NRS 231.053;

     (b) The number of high-quality jobs created for residents of this State, and the duration of those jobs, as a result of the qualified production;

     (c) The quality of the capital investment in this State as a result of the qualified production; and

     (d) Any other factors deemed relevant by the Executive Director.

     (Added to NAC by Office of Economic Dev. by R120-13, eff. 12-23-2013)