§ 77-1030 — Application; form; contents; confidentiality; fee; municipality; duties; certification; written agreement; contents; modification

(1)
In order to utilize the incentives set forth in the Nebraska Advantage Transformational
Tourism and Redevelopment Act, the taxpayer shall file an application, on
a form developed by an association of municipalities organized statewide,
requesting an agreement.
(2) The application shall contain:
(a) A written statement describing the plan of employment
and investment for a qualified business in this state;
(b) Sufficient documents, plans, and specifications as required
by the municipality to support the plan and to define a project and a feasibility
study. The plans shall include evidence that demonstrates that the project
is feasible only with the incentives provided by the act;
(c) A nonrefundable application fee of two thousand five hundred
dollars; and
(d) A timetable showing the expected local option sales tax
refunds and what year they are expected to be claimed.
The application and all supporting information shall be confidential
except for the name of the taxpayer, the location of the project, and the
amounts of increased employment and investment.
(3) An application must be complete to establish the date
of the application. An application shall be considered complete once it contains
the items listed in subsection (2) of this section, regardless of the municipality's
additional needs pertaining to information or clarification in order to approve
or not approve the application.
(4) The municipality shall conduct an internal review of the
feasibility study. If the municipality determines that the feasibility study
demonstrates that the project can meet the requirements of the act, then the
municipality shall conduct its own study with an independent third party,
the cost of which shall be paid in full by the applicant. The cost of the
study required under this subsection shall be in addition to the fee required
under subsection (2) of this section. The purpose of the study is to verify
or nullify the results of the feasibility study provided by the applicant.
Additionally, the study shall examine the ability of the applicant to meet
the requirements of the act. The study shall make a recommendation to the
municipality on whether to proceed with the project or not.
(5) Once satisfied that the plan in the application defines
a project consistent with the purposes stated in the Nebraska Advantage Transformational
Tourism and Redevelopment Act in one or more qualified business activities
within this state, that the taxpayer and the plan will qualify for incentives
under the act, and that the required levels of employment and investment for
the project will be met prior to the end of the fourth year after the year
in which the application was submitted, the municipality shall certify the
application. Certification shall require approval by a majority vote by the
members of the governing body of the municipality. A municipality shall notify the Department of Revenue of
any application certified under this section on or before January 1 immediately
following such certification. For any application certified under this section
prior to July 18, 2014, the certifying municipality shall notify the Department
of Revenue of such application on or before January 1, 2015.
(6) After certification, the taxpayer and the municipality
shall enter into a written agreement. The taxpayer shall agree to complete
the project, and the municipality shall designate the approved plan of the
taxpayer as a project and, in consideration of the taxpayer's agreement, agree
to allow the taxpayer to use the incentives contained in the Nebraska Advantage
Transformational Tourism and Redevelopment Act. The application, and all supporting
documentation, to the extent approved, shall be considered a part of the agreement.
The agreement shall state:
(a) The levels of employment and investment required by the
act for the project;
(b) The time period under the act in which the required levels
must be met;
(c) The documentation the taxpayer will need to supply when
claiming an incentive under the act;
(d) The date the application was filed; and
(e) A requirement that the company update the municipality
annually on any changes in plans or circumstances which affect the timetable
of local option sales tax refunds as set out in the application. If the company
fails to comply with this requirement, the municipality may defer any pending
local option sales tax refunds until the company does comply.
(7) A taxpayer and a municipality may enter into agreements
for more than one project and may include more than one project in a single
agreement. The projects may be either sequential or concurrent. A project
may involve the same location as another project. No new employment or new
investment shall be included in more than one project for either the meeting
of the employment or investment requirements or the creation of incentives.
When projects overlap and the plans do not clearly specify, then the taxpayer
shall specify in which project the employment or investment belongs.
(8) The taxpayer may request that an agreement be modified
if the modification is consistent with the purposes of the act and does not
require a change in the description of the project. Once satisfied that the
modification to the agreement is consistent with the purposes stated in the
act, the municipality and taxpayer may amend the agreement.
(9) The agreement shall include performance-based metrics
to insure compliance with the act.

Legislative History

Source: Laws 2010, LB1018, § 30; Laws 2014, LB851, § 8.