Nevada Appeal Capitol Bureau
Monday, April 26, 2021
Gov. Steve Sisolak and legislative leadership are creating a special committee to study his proposal to create “Innovation Zones” on private land within existing counties.
Those zones would essentially be separate local governments within the counties. But Sisolak and lawmakers said there really isn’t time enough to analyze the impact of those zones. They said in a joint statement that the special joint committee is an alternative that would allow a thorough study of the proposal in the interim and present its findings to the Legislative Commission and the governor by the end of this year.
As originally proposed, Innovation Zones would have their own local government and ability to raise tax revenue and operate empowerment centers to advance and accelerate Nevada’s economic diversification efforts as well as attract advanced technology companies.
The joint committee, they said, would have representation by both the majority and minority parties. They said the plan would allow additional time to vet the proposal and involve stakeholders including tribal leaders, water authorities and environmental as well as labor organizations and economic development authorities.
