AB462 - Revises provisions relating to economic development. (BDR 22-823)

- 83rd Session (2025) Assembly Bill No. 462–Assemblymember Backus CHAPTER.......... AN ACT relating to economic development; authorizing the creation of an industrial park in a contiguous area that meets certain requirements; authorizing the creation of a tax increment area and the issuance of bonds and other securities for certain projects within an inland port or industrial park; requiring the designation of a teacher or other licensed educational personnel to coordinate career pathways programs at each high school which offers such programs; creating the Career Pathways Oversight Committee; requiring the appointment of a Career Pathways Oversight Coordinator; revising provisions governing the Teacher Academy College Pathway Program; revising provisions governing the program for reimbursement of tuition and fees paid by teachers who completed the Program; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. Legislative Counsel’s Digest: Existing law sets forth the Inland Port Authority Act, which authorizes one or more boards of county commissioners of a county or governing bodies of an incorporated city to apply to the Office of Economic Development to create, operate and maintain an inland port and inland port authority in a contiguous area that includes certain transportation infrastructure and no residential property. (NRS 277B.150) Sections 8-15, 17 and 18 of this bill revise the Inland Port Authority Act to additionally authorize the creation, operation and maintenance of an industrial park and an industrial park authority and makes the existing provisions of the Act applicable to industrial parks and industrial park authorities. Section 8 provides that the Act may now be known and cited as the Inland Port and Industrial Park Authority Act. Section 2 of this bill defines the term “industrial park.” Section 11 requires any area designated as an “industrial park” to include only property that includes or is adjacent to an inland port. Section 5 of this bill authorizes a participating entity in an inland port or industrial park to adopt an ordinance creating a tax increment area consisting of all or part of the inland port or industrial park for the purpose of creating a special account for the payment of bonds or other securities issued to defray the cost of certain projects within the inland port or industrial park. If a participating entity designates such a tax increment area, section 5 provides for the allocation of a portion of the taxes levied upon taxable property in the tax increment area each year to pay the bond requirements of loans, money advanced to, or indebtedness incurred by the municipality to finance or refinance the project. Section 5.5 of this bill provides for the payment of prevailing wage with respect to work performed in relation to an undertaking that receives an allocation of tax revenue pursuant to section 5. Section 7 of this bill authorizes the issuance of such bonds or securities by counties or incorporated cities that have created an inland port or industrial park. Section 4 of this bill sets forth the projects of an inland port or industrial park which may be undertaken using the funding generated by the tax increment area. Section 3 of this bill defines the term “municipality” for the purposes of the Inland Port and Industrial Park Authority Act. Section 9 of this bill applies the new – 2 – - 83rd Session (2025) definitions created by this bill to the existing provisions of the Inland Port and Industrial Park Authority Act. Sections 6 and 20 of this bill exempt a tax increment area created pursuant to section 5 from certain limits on revenue from taxes ad valorem. Section 12 authorizes the Office to initiate the creation of an inland port or industrial park and authority with the approval of the Board of Economic Development. Existing law requires an inland port authority to be governed by a board of directors and sets forth the composition of such a board. (NRS 277B.200) Section 16 of this bill adds an additional director to the board if none of the participating entities in the authority is a city and requires this director to be appointed by the Governor. Existing law: (1) requires each large school district, meaning a school district in this State which has more than 100,000 pupils enrolled in its public schools (currently the Clark County School District), to offer a Teacher Academy College Pathway Program at every high school in the school district with 250 or more pupils enrolled to enable pupils in grades 9 to 12 to prepare for employment as professionals in K-12 education; and (2) authorizes a large school district, or a school district which is not a large school district, to offer the Program at other high schools. (NRS 388.223) Section 25 of this bill excludes specialty schools from the high schools at which a large school district is required to offer the Program. Section 25 requires a school district to offer dual credit courses at each high school which offers the Program in subjects which align with the requirements to obtain a bachelor’s degree in education and in sufficient quantity to allow a pupil to obtain at least 12 units of college credit. Section 25 authorizes a school district to apply to the State Board of Education for an exemption from the requirement to offer certain internships and dual credit courses as part of the Program at a high school which is not located in an incorporated city if the school district can demonstrate that the location of the high school makes providing such internships or courses impracticable. Section 25 authorizes a high school pupil, or a parent or legal guardian of such a pupil, who is aggrieved by a final decision regarding the implementation of the Program made by an administrator of the high school or the board of trustees to request a hearing for reconsideration of the decision by the board of trustees. Existing law requires a school district to ensure that each high school which offers the Program is staffed by a full-time employee who is a licensed teacher or administrator who is responsible for implementing the Program. (NRS 388.223) Section 25 replaces this requirement with a requirement for a school district to ensure that at least one licensed teacher be assigned full-time to implement and teach the Program at each high school which offers the Program if more than two class periods in the Program will be offered at the high school. Section 25 requires that for a pupil to complete the Program, the pupil must: (1) complete at least 2 academic years in a program of career and technical education in the area of teaching or in approved dual credit courses in the area of teaching; and (2) participate in at least 15 hours of paid or unpaid work-based learning which is relevant to the field of teaching. Existing law requires the State Treasurer to establish a program to provide reimbursement for tuition charges, registration fees, laboratory fees and any other mandatory fee paid to an institution within the Nevada System of Higher Education by a person who: (1) completed the Program; and (2) has worked as a full-time, licensed teacher at a public school in this State for at least 3 consecutive school years. Under existing law, the State Treasurer is authorized to provide a partial reimbursement to persons who have completed the Program and who have worked as a full-time, licensed teacher at a public school in this State for 1 year or 2 – 3 – - 83rd Session (2025) consecutive years. (NRS 226.420) Section 19 of this bill requires the Program to be established in coordination with the Department of Education, and additionally requires that to be eligible for such a reimbursement or partial reimbursement, a person must have completed the application for federal student aid and have successfully completed at an institution in the Nevada System of Higher Education a program to become a licensed teacher. Section 19 also authorizes a person who was not able to complete the Program because of circumstances beyond the control of that person to obtain the reimbursement or partial reimbursement from the State Treasurer, if the person meets the other requirements for such a reimbursement or partial reimbursement. Finally, section 19 provides that student education loans are not a form of financial aid or financial assistance that may be applied to reduce the reimbursement or partial reimbursement received from the State Treasurer. Existing law requires the Governor’s Office of Workforce Innovation to: (1) establish and administer a Career Pathways Demonstration Program; and (2) establish a program for work-based learning opportunities outside of school for pupils enrolled in grades 7 to 12, in coordination with the Department of Education. (NRS 232.985, 232.990) Sections 22 and 23 of this bill designate these programs, as well as the Teacher Academy College Pathway Program, as career pathways programs. Section 22 requires a school district which offers a career pathways program at a high school to designate a teacher or other licensed educational personnel, including, without limitation a school counselor, at the high school to coordinate career pathways programs. Section 23 creates within the Department of Education a Career Pathways Oversight Committee and requires the Committee to: (1) establish metrics to measure the success of the career pathways programs; (2) evaluate the progress and success of the career pathways programs; (3) evaluate programs for dual credit provided by the Nevada System of Higher Education; (4) report certain findings to the State Board and the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Education; and (5) identify state agencies with the jurisdiction and expertise to oversee, implement and regulate the career pathways programs for different industries. Section 23 requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to appoint an employee of the Department to act as the Career Pathways Oversight Coordinator to provide certain technical support and assistance in implementing career pathways programs. EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Chapter 277B of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto the provisions set forth as sections 2 to 7, inclusive, of this act. Sec. 2. 1. “Industrial park” means land, including, without limitation, all necessary rights, appurtenances, easements and franchises relating to such land, that is acquired and developed by a participating entity or authority for the establishment and location of a series of sites for plants and other buildings for industrial, distribution and wholesale use. – 4 – - 83rd Session (2025) 2. The term includes, without limitation, the acquisition and provision of water, sewage, drainage, street, road, sidewalk, curb, gutter, street lighting, electrical distribution, railroad or docking facilities, to the extent such facilities are incidental to the use of the land as an industrial park. Sec. 3. “Municipality” means any county or city in this State. Sec. 4. “Undertaking” means any enterprise to acquire, improve or equip, or any combination thereof, in the case of a county or incorporated city with respect to any tax increment area created by an ordinance adopted pursuant to section 5 of this act: 1. A drainage and flood control project, as defined in NRS 244A.027; 2. An overpass project, as defined in NRS 244A.037; 3. A sewerage project, as defined in NRS 244A.0505; 4. A street project, as defined in NRS 244A.053; 5. An underpass project, as defined in NRS 244A.055; 6. A water project, as defined in NRS 244A.056; 7. A rail project, as defined in NRS 278C.105; 8. An airport project; or 9. A utility project. Sec. 5. 1. If an inland port or industrial park is created by one participating entity, the participating entity, on behalf of the county or incorporated city in which the inland port or industrial park is located, may adopt an ordinance creating a tax increment area within the inland port or industrial park consisting of all or any portion of the inland port or industrial park for the purpose of creating a special account for the payment of bonds or securities issued or loans, money advanced or indebtedness incurred to defray the costs of an undertaking, as supplemented by the Local Government Securities Law. 2. If an inland port or industrial park is created by two or more participating entities, the participating entities may enter into an interlocal or cooperative agreement for the ordering of an undertaking whose boundaries encompass all or part of the inland port or industrial park and the creation of a tax increment area and the tax increment account pertaining thereto. A tax increment area created pursuant to this subsection must be administered as provided in the interlocal or cooperative agreement, notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary. If the participating entities enter into an interlocal or cooperative agreement pursuant to this subsection, the participating entities may, in accordance with the procedures set forth in the interlocal or cooperative agreement: – 5 – - 83rd Session (2025) (a) Jointly take any action required to be taken by a participating entity for the creation of a tax increment area pursuant to this section, except that each participating entity must adopt an ordinance in order to create the tax increment area; (b) Enter into contracts for the undertaking; and (c) Issue bonds or otherwise finance the cost of the undertaking. 3. A participating entity may amend an ordinance creating a tax increment area pursuant to this section by adopting a supplemental ordinance to: (a) Modify the undertaking by specifying new undertakings or removing or modifying undertakings specified in the original ordinance. (b) Add areas to or remove areas from a tax increment area.  The amount of taxes to be allocated to a tax increment account pursuant to subsection 5 must be computed separately for the original tax increment area and each addition of land thereto. 4. A participating entity shall not adopt an ordinance creating a tax increment area pursuant to this section unless: (a) The board has determined that the undertaking described in the ordinance is necessary or desirable to further the purposes of the inland port or industrial park. (b) The participating entity makes a finding at a public hearing that the undertaking will benefit the inland port or industria [Text truncated for display. Full text available on LegiScan.]