REQUIRES TWO-THIRDS MAJORITY VOTE (§ 2)
A.B. 528
- *AB528*
ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 528–COMMITTEE
ON GROWTH AND INFRASTRUCTURE
(ON BEHALF OF THE JOINT INTERIM STANDING COMMITTEE
ON GROWTH AND INFRASTRUCTURE)
MARCH 24, 2025
____________
Referred to Committee on Growth and Infrastructure
SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to property tax
abatements for certain buildings and structures
which meet certain energy efficiency standards.
(BDR 58-425)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact.
Effect on the State: Yes.
~
EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to energy; authorizing the Director of the Office
of Energy to accept new applications for property tax
abatements for certain buildings and structures which
meet certain energy efficiency standards; revising
requirements for the Green Building Rating System
adopted by the Director; revising the duration and amount
of partial abatements that are available; requiring the
Director to adopt certain regulations; and providing other
matters properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law requires the Director of the Office of Energy to grant a partial 1
abatement of certain property taxes for a building or other structure that meets 2
certain energy efficiency standards under the Green Building Rating System 3
adopted by the Director. However, existing law prohibits the Director from: (1) 4
approving applications for the partial tax abatement submitted on or after July 1, 5
2021; and (2) altering or amending the Green Building Rating System after that 6
date. (NRS 701A.100, 701A.110) Section 2 of this bill removes the prohibition on 7
the Director approving applications on or after July 1, 2021, thereby allowing the 8
Director to begin approving applications for the partial abatement again. Section 2 9
revises the amount and duration of the partial abatement available to buildings and 10
other structures meeting certain requirements to provide: (1) a partial abatement of 11
20-35 percent annually for a duration of not more than 10 years for a building or 12
– 2 –
- *AB528*
other structure that is new; (2) a partial abatement of 20-35 percent annually for a 13
duration of not more than 5 years for an existing building or other structure which 14
did not receive a partial abatement before July 1, 2021; and (3) a partial abatement 15
of 5 percent annually for a duration of not more than 3 years for an existing 16
building or structure that previously received a partial abatement before July 1, 17
2021, and which is recertified under the Green Building Rating System. 18
Existing law requires the Green Building Rating System adopted by the 19
Director to include standards and ratings equivalent to the standards and ratings 20
provided pursuant to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) 21
Green Building Rating System or an equivalent rating system. (NRS 701A.100) 22
Section 1 of this bill revises the requirements for the Green Building Rating System 23
adopted by the Director. Section 1 requires the Green Building Rating System 24
adopted by the Director to require a building or other structure which did not 25
receive an abatement before July 1, 2021, to obtain certain resilience credits to meet 26
the equivalent of the silver, gold, platinum or zero carbon level. The amount of the 27
partial abatement which a building or other structure is eligible to receive pursuant 28
to section 2 relates to which of these levels the building or other structure meets. 29
Section 1 requires the Director to adopt regulations identifying the credits under the 30
LEED Green Building Rating System or equivalent rating system that are deemed 31
resilience credits for the purposes of the Green Building Rating System adopted by 32
the Director. Section 1 requires the Green Building Rating System to require a new 33
building or other structure to have energy performance which exceeds the 34
applicable building code by certain percentage amounts to meet the equivalent of 35
the silver, gold or platinum level. Section 1 requires the Green Building Rating 36
System to require an existing building or other structure that has not previously 37
received a partial abatement to: (1) qualify for the alternative deduction for energy 38
efficient building retrofit property under the Internal Revenue Code; and (2) to 39
achieve net zero carbon emissions to meet the equivalent of the zero carbon level. 40
Section 1 requires the Green Building Rating System to require a building or other 41
structure that received a partial abatement before July 1, 2021, to obtain 42
recertification under the LEED Green Building Rating System or its equivalent and 43
either have energy performance which meets the requirements of the building code 44
of the applicable jurisdiction with respect to new buildings or qualify for the 45
alternative deduction for energy efficient building retrofit property. Section 1 46
requires the Green Building Rating System to require a building or other structure 47
that includes connected parking to obtain certain certifications with respect to such 48
parking. 49
Section 2 requires the Director to adopt regulations: (1) prescribing a procedure 50
for the State or a local government to obtain a partial abatement and, in exchange 51
for compensation, assign it to another building or other structure in the same county 52
that has also received a partial abatement; and (2) requiring recipients of a partial 53
abatement to annually report to the Office of Economic Development the energy 54
and water consumption of the building or other structure that is subject to a partial 55
abatement and such other information as the Director requires. Section 2 requires 56
the Director to include information relating to energy and water savings by 57
buildings and other structures that received a partial abatement in the annual report 58
the Director is required to submit to the Office. 59
– 3 –
- *AB528*
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. NRS 701A.100 is hereby amended to read as 1
follows: 2
701A.100 1. The Director of the Office of Energy shall adopt 3
a Green Building Rating System for the purposes of determining the 4
eligibility of a building or other structure for a tax abatement 5
pursuant to NRS 701A.110. [The Director shall not alter or amend 6
the Green Building Rating System adopted pursuant to this section 7
after July 1, 2021, and the standards and ratings in effect on that 8
date shall remain in effect.] 9
2. The Green Building Rating System must include standards 10
and ratings equivalent to the standards and ratings provided pursuant 11
to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green 12
Building Rating System or an equivalent rating system, except that 13
the standards adopted by the Director: 14
(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (b) [and (c),] to 15
(e), inclusive, must not include: 16
(1) Any standard that has not been included in the 17
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building 18
Rating System or the equivalent rating system for at least 2 years; or 19
(2) Standards for homes; 20
(b) Must provide reasonable exceptions based on the size of the 21
area occupied by the building or other structure; [and] 22
(c) Must require a building or other structure , except for a 23
building or other structure that is subject to paragraph (f), to 24
obtain: 25
(1) At least [5 points] 1 point in [the Optimize Energy 26
Performance] resilience credit [, or its equivalent,] to meet the 27
equivalent of the silver level; 28
(2) At least [7] 2 points in [the Optimize Energy 29
Performance] resilience credit [, or its equivalent,] to meet the 30
equivalent of the gold level; and 31
(3) At least [11] 3 points in [the Optimize Energy 32
Performance] resilience credit [, or its equivalent,] to meet the 33
equivalent of the platinum or zero carbon level. 34
(d) Must require a building or other structure, except for a 35
building or other structure that is subject to paragraph (e) or (f), 36
to have energy performance which is: 37
(1) At least 5 percent more efficient than the applicable 38
building code, to meet the equivalent of the silver level; 39
(2) At least 10 percent more efficient than the applicable 40
building code, to meet the equivalent of the gold level; and 41
– 4 –
- *AB528*
(3) At least 15 percent more efficient than the applicable 1
building code, to meet the equivalent of the platinum level. 2
(e) Must require a building or other structure that qualifies for 3
an abatement under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental 4
Design “Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance” rating 5
system, or its equivalent, except for a building or structure that is 6
subject to paragraph (f): 7
(1) To qualify for the alternative deduction for energy 8
efficient building retrofit property described in 26 U.S.C. § 9
179D(f); and 10
(2) To achieve net zero carbon emissions, to meet the 11
equivalent of the zero carbon level. 12
(f) Must require a building or other structure that received a 13
partial abatement pursuant to NRS 701A.110 before July 1, 2021, 14
to obtain recertification under the Leadership in Energy and 15
Environmental Design “Existing Buildings: Operations and 16
Maintenance” rating system or its equivalent and: 17
(1) Have energy performance which meets the 18
requirements of the building code in the applicable jurisdiction 19
with respect to new buildings or structures; or 20
(2) Qualify for the alternative deduction for energy efficient 21
building retrofit property described in 26 U.S.C. § 179D(f). 22
(g) Must require a building or other structure which includes 23
connected parking to obtain: 24
(1) If the connected parking is a parking structure, 25
certification pursuant to the Parksmart Certification Standard 26
administered by Green Business Certification Inc. or an 27
equivalent certification system; or 28
(2) If the connected parking is a parking lot, certification 29
pursuant to the SITES Rating System administered by Green 30
Business Certification Inc. or an equivalent certification system. 31
3. The Director shall adopt regulations identifying the credits 32
provided pursuant to the Leadership in Energy and 33
Environmental Design Green Building Rating System or an 34
equivalent rating system which are deemed resilience credits for 35
the purposes of paragraph (c) of subsection 2. In selecting such 36
credits, the Director shall consider the potential benefits such 37
credits will have on building, site and community resilience, 38
including, without limitation, in reducing the heat island effect, 39
improving flood management and increasing indoor and outdoor 40
water efficiency. Such credits may include, without limitation: 41
(a) Energy and Atmosphere, Renewable Energy credit; 42
(b) Sustainable Sites, Heat Island Reduction credit; 43
(c) Sustainable Sites, Enhanced Resilient Site Design credit; 44
(d) Water Efficiency, Enhanced Water Efficiency credit; 45
– 5 –
- *AB528*
(e) Water Efficiency, Water Metering and Leak Detection 1
credit; or 2
(f) Indoor Environmental Quality, Resilient Spaces credit. 3
4. As used in this section [, “home”] : 4
(a) “Connected parking” means a parking structure or 5
parking lot that is physically connected to and serves a building or 6
other structure and is owned or leased by the owner of the 7
building or other structure or a subsidiary of the owner. A parking 8
structure or parking lot may be physically connected to a building 9
or other structure by an elevated or ground-level walkway or 10
sidewalk, by an elevator or by direct entry. 11
(b) “Home” means a building or other structure for which the 12
principal use is as a residential dwelling for not more than four 13
families. 14
Sec. 2. NRS 701A.110 is hereby amended to read as follows: 15
701A.110 1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the 16
Director, in consultation with the Office of Economic Development, 17
shall grant a partial abatement from the portion of the taxes imposed 18
pursuant to chapter 361 of NRS, other than any taxes imposed for 19
public education, on a building or other structure that is determined 20
to meet the equivalent of the silver level or higher by an 21
independent contractor authorized to make that determination in 22
accordance with the Green Building Rating System adopted by the 23
Director pursuant to NRS 701A.100 [,] or, in the case of a building 24
or other structure that received an abatement pursuant to this 25
section before July 1, 2021, that is recertified under the Green 26
Building Rating System adopted by the Director, if: 27
(a) [No] Except in the case of a building or other structure that 28
is owned by the State or a local government, no funding is 29
provided by any governmental entity in this State for the acquisition, 30
design, construction or renovation of the building or other structure 31
or for the acquisition of any land therefor. For the purposes of this 32
paragraph: 33
(1) Private activity bonds must not be considered funding 34
provided by a governmental entity. 35
(2) The term “private activity bond” has the meaning 36
ascribed to it in 26 U.S.C. § 141. 37
(b) The owner of the property: 38
(1) Submits an application for the partial abatement to the 39
Director . [before July 1, 2021.] If such an application is submitted 40
for a project that has not been completed on the date of that 41
submission and there is a significant change in the scope of the 42
project after that date, the application must be amended to include 43
the change or changes. 44
– 6 –
- *AB528*
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this subparagraph, 1
provides to the Director, within 48 months after applying for the 2
partial abatement, proof that the building or other structure meets 3
the equivalent of the silver level or higher, as determined by an 4
independent contractor authorized to make that determination in 5
accordance with the Green Building Rating System adopted by the 6
Director pursuant to NRS 701A.100 [.] or, the case of a building or 7
other structure that received an abatement pursuant to this section 8
before July 1, 2021, proof that the building or other structure was 9
recertified in accordance with the Green Building Rating System 10
adopted by the Director. The Director may, for good cause shown, 11
extend the period for providing such proof. 12
(3) Files a copy of each application and amended application 13
submitted to the Director pursuant to subparagraph (1) with the: 14
(I) Chief of the Budget Division of the Office of Finance; 15
(II) Department of Taxation; 16
(III) County assessor; 17
(IV) County treasurer; 18
(V) Office of Economic Development; 19
(VI) Board of county commissioners; and 20
(VII) City manager and city council, if any. 21
(c) The abatement is consistent with the State Plan for Economic 22
Development developed by the Executive Director of the Office of 23
Economic Development pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 231.053. 24
2. The Director shall not approve an application for a partial 25
abatement of the taxes imposed pursuant to chapter 361 of NRS 26
submitted pursuant to this section by the owner of the property 27
unless the application is approved or deemed approved by the board 28
of county commissioners pursuant to this subsection. The board of 29
county commissioners of a county must provide notice to the 30
Director that the board intends to consider an application and, if 31
such notice is given, must approve or deny the application not later 32
than 30 days after the board receives a copy of the application. The 33
board of county commissioners: 34
(a) Shall, in considering an application pursuant to this 35
subsection, make a recommendation to the Director regarding the 36
application; 37
(b) May, in considering an application pursuant to this 38
subsection, deny an application only if the board of county 39
commissioners determines, based on relevant information, that: 40
(1) The projected cost of the services that the local 41
government is required to provide to the building or other structure 42
for which the abatement is received will exceed the amount of tax 43
revenue that the local government is projected to receive as a result 44
of the abatement; or 45
– 7 –
- *AB528*
(2) The projected financial benefits that will result to the 1
county from any employment resulting from the use of the building 2
or other structure and from capital investments by the owner of the 3
building or other structure in the county will not exceed the 4
projected loss of tax revenue that will result from the abatement; and 5
(c) May, without regard to whether the board has provided 6
notice to the Director of its intent to consider the application, make a 7
recommendation to the Director regarding the application. 8
If the board of county commissioners does not approve or deny 9
the application pursuant to this subsection within 30 days after the 10
board receives a copy of the application, the application shall be 11
deemed approved. 12
3. As soon as practicable after the Director receives the 13
application and proof required by subsection 1, the Director, in 14
consultation with the Office of Economic Development, shall 15
determine whether the building or other structure is eligible for the 16
abatement and, if so, forward a certificate of eligibility for the 17
abatement to the: 18
(a) Department of Taxation; 19
(b) County assessor; 20
(c) County treasurer; and 21
(d) Office of Economic Development. 22
4. The Director may, with the assistance of the Chief of the 23
Budget Division and the Department of Taxation, publish a fiscal 24
note that indicates an estimate of the fiscal impact of the partial 25
abatement on the State and on each affected local government. If the 26
Director publishes a fiscal note that estimates the fiscal impact of 27
the partial abatement on local government, the Director shall 28
forward a copy of the fiscal note to each affected local government. 29
As soon as practicable after receiving a copy of a certificate of 30
eligibility pursuant to subsection 3, the Department of Taxation 31
shall forward a copy of the certificate to each affected local 32
government. 33
5. The partial abatement for: 34
(a) A building or other structure must, except as otherwise 35
provided in paragraph (b) [,] or (c), be for a duration of not more 36
than 10 years and in an annual amount that equals, for a building or 37
other structure that meets the equivalent of: 38
(1) The silver level, [25] 20 percent of the portion of the 39
taxes imposed pursuant to chapter 361 of NRS, other than any taxes 40
imposed for public education, that would otherwise be owed for the 41
building or other structure, excluding the associated land; 42
(2) The gold level, [30] 25 percent of the portion of the taxes 43
imposed pursuant to chapter 361 of NRS, other than any taxes 44
– 8 –
- *AB528*
imposed for public education, that would otherwise be owed for the 1
building or other structure, excluding the associated land; or 2
(3) The platinum level, 35 percent of the portion of the taxes 3
imposed pursuant to chapter 361 of NRS, other than any taxes 4
imposed for public education, that would otherwise be owed for the 5
building or other structure, excluding the associated land. 6
(b) A building or other structure that qualifies for an abatement 7
under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design 8
“Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance” rating system, or 9
its equivalent, and which did not receive an abatement pursuant to 10
this section before July 1, 2021, must be for a duration of not more 11
than 5 years and in an annual amount that equals, except as 12
otherwise provided in subsection 6, for a building or other structure 13
that meets the equivalent of: 14
(1) The silver level, [25] 20 percent of the portion of the 15
taxes imposed pursuant to chapter 361 of NRS, other than any taxes 16
imposed for public education, that would otherwise be owed for the 17
building or other structure, excluding the associated land; 18
(2) The gold level, [30] 25 percent of the portion of the taxes 19
imposed pursuant to chapter 361 of NRS, other than any taxes 20
imposed for public education, that would otherwise be owed for the 21
building or other structure, excluding the associated land; [or] 22
(3) The platinum level, [35] 30 percent of the portion of the 23
taxes imposed pursuant to chapter 361 of NRS, other than any taxes 24
imposed for public education, that would otherwise be owed for the 25
building or other structure, excluding the associated land [.] ; or 26
(4) The zero carbon level, 35 percent of the portion of the 27
taxes imposed pursuant to chapter 361 of NRS, other than any 28
taxes imposed for public education, that would otherwise be owed 29
for the building or other structure, excluding the associated land. 30
(c) A building or other structure that received an abatement 31
pursuant to this section before July 1, 2021, must be for a duration 32
of not more than 3 years and in an annual amount that equals, 33
except as otherwise provided in subsection 6, 5 percent of the 34
portion of the taxes imposed pursuant to chapter 361 of NRS, 35
other than any taxes imposed for public education, that would 36
otherwise be owed for the building or other structure, excluding 37
the associated land. 38
6. The Director shall not grant a partial abatement of more than 39
$100,000 in any year for a building or other structure that qualifies 40
for an abatement pursuant to paragraph (b) or (c) of subsection 5. 41
7. A partial abatement granted pursuant to this section: 42
(a) Does not apply during any period in which the owner of the 43
building or other structure is receiving another abatement or 44
– 9 –
- *AB528*
exemption pursuant to this chapter or NRS 361.045 to 361.159, 1
inclusive, from the taxes imposed pursuant to chapter 361 of NRS. 2
(b) Terminates upon any determination by the Director that the 3
building or other structure has ceased to meet the equivalent of the 4
silver level or higher [.] or ceased to meet the requirements for 5
recertification under the Green Building Rating System adopted 6
by the Director, as applicable. The Director shall provide notice and 7
a reasonable opportunity to cure any noncompliance issues before 8
making a determination that the building or other structure has 9
ceased to meet that standard. The Director shall immediately 10
provide notice of each determination of termination to the: 11
(1) Department of Taxation, who shall immediately notify 12
each affected local government of the determination; 13
(2) County assessor; 14
(3) County treasurer; and 15
(4) Office of Economic Development. 16
8. If a partial abatement terminates pursuant to paragraph (b) of 17
subsection 7, the owner of the property to which the partial 18
abatement applied shall repay to the county treasurer the amount of 19
the exemption that was allowed pursuant to this section before the 20
date of that termination. The owner shall, in addition to the amount 21
of the exemption required to be paid pursuant to this subsection, pay 22
interest on the amount due at the rate most recently established 23
pursuant to NRS 99.040 for each month, or portion thereof, from the 24
last day of the month following the period for which the payment 25
would have been made had the partial abatement not been approved 26
until the date of payment of the tax. 27
9. The Director, in consultation with the Office of Economic 28
Development, shall adopt regulations: 29
(a) Establishing the qualifications and methods to determine 30
eligibility for and the duration of the abatement; 31
(b) Prescribing such forms as will ensure that all information 32
and other documentation necessary to make an appropriate 33
determination is filed with the Director; [and] 34
(c) Prescribing the criteria for determining when there is a 35
significant change in the scope of a project for the purposes of 36
subparagraph (1) of paragraph (b) of subsection 1 [,] ; 37
(d) Prescribing a procedure whereby the State or a local 38
government, if the State or local government owns a building or 39
structure which is approved for an abatement pursuant to this 40
section, may, in exchange for compensation, assign the amount of 41
the abatement approved for the building or structure of the State 42
or local government to another building or structure in the same 43
county which has been approved for an abatement pursuant to this 44
– 10 –
- *AB528*
section, thereby allowing the other building to claim both 1
abatements; and 2
(e) Requiring recipients of a partial abatement pursuant to this 3
section to submit annually to the Office, for the duration of the 4
partial abatement, a benchmarking report which includes the total 5
energy and water consumption for the building or other structure 6
that is subject to the abatement and such other information as the 7
Director may prescribe, 8
and the Department of Taxation shall adopt such additional 9
regulations as it determines to be appropriate to carry out the 10
provisions of this section. 11
10. The Director shall: 12
(a) Cooperate with the Office of Economic Development in 13
carrying out the provisions of this section; [and] 14
(b) Cooperate with the Office of Economic Development to 15
publicize the availability of the partial abatements pursuant to this 16
section; and 17
(c) Submit to the Office of Economic Development an annual 18
report, at such a time [and containing such information] as the 19
Office may require, regarding the partial abatements granted 20
pursuant to this section [.] and containing: 21
(1) The anticipated and actual energy and water savings of 22
buildings and other structures receiving the abatement, both 23
cumulatively and disaggregated by such characteristics as the 24
Office may require; and 25
(2) Such additional information as the Office may require. 26
11. The Director may charge and collect a fee from each 27
applicant who submits an application for a partial abatement 28
pursuant to this section. The amount of the fee must not exceed the 29
actual cost to the Director for processing the application and 30
evaluating the proof submitted by the applicant pursuant to 31
subsection 1 and making the determination concerning eligibility for 32
the partial abatement required by subsection 3. 33
12. As used in this section: 34
(a) “Building or other structure” does not include any building 35
or other structure for which the principal use is as a residential 36
dwelling for not more than four families. 37
(b) “Director” means the Director of the Office of Energy 38
appointed pursuant to NRS 701.150. 39
(c) “Taxes imposed for public education” means: 40
(1) Any ad valorem tax authorized or required by chapter 41
387 of NRS; 42
(2) Any ad valorem tax authorized or required by chapter 43
350 of NRS for the obligations of a school district, including, 44
– 11 –
- *AB528*
without limitation, any ad valorem tax necessary to carry out the 1
provisions of subsection 5 of NRS 350.020; and 2
(3) Any other ad valorem tax for which the proceeds thereof 3
are dedicated to the public education of pupils in kindergarten 4
through grade 12. 5
Sec. 3. 1. This section becomes effective upon passage and 6
approval. 7
2. Sections 1 and 2 of this act become effective: 8
(a) Upon passage and approval for the purpose of adopting 9
regulations and performing preparatory administrative tasks; and 10
(b) On January 1, 2026, for all other purposes. 11
H