Lawmakers started a new study committee regarding a state economic development-related proposal that, if approved, would let tech companies owning land exercise government-like powers if they promise investment. Blockchains Incorporated and Nevada’s Governor Steve Sisolak want legislators to make semi-autonomous jurisdictions known as Innovation Zones. If the proposal is approved, three supervisors, including the zone owner tech company-appointed supervisors, would govern the jurisdictions.
Notwithstanding the tepid reception to the proposal, DuAne Young from the Governor’s Office, as well as Blockchains lobbyists and representatives, appeared to stay fully committed to it. They presented a bill that was nearly the same as the proposal originally presented to legislators away from public view.
Blockchains representatives stated that they could experiment with their distributed ledger technology applications if they got more autonomy as compared to what the local government permitted. Blockchains Executive VP Lee Weiss stated that it is not fairly feasible to fit a fresh Innovation Zone (IZ) community into a county. Weiss also said that rural county commission members could not reasonably invest time in governing their county as well as an innovation zone having fully different goals and infrastructure.
The proposal came first in Governor Sisolak’s annual speech in Nevada. However, it was not brought to the Nevada State Legislature following the opposition of local officials, progressive groups and environmentalists who compared it to company towns of the 19th century.
Sisolak framed this idea as a way of diversifying the economy of Nevada. However, amid opposition, the proposal was scaled down to a new study to alleviate concerns as well as let legislators, the public, and local officials get their queries answered.
There was no mention of Blockchains Incorporated in the draft language used for the proposal, but the company lobbyists pushed it away from public view. For your information, Blockchains is a Nevada-based digital record keeper owning many of Storey County’s rural areas.
Favoring the proposal, trade and construction unions stated that building a new smart city in Nevada could create high-paying jobs in construction. Storey County’s representatives supported attempts to incentivize technology businesses to move to the state. However, the representatives did not understand the reason why Blockchains thought that they could not construct their city as per present governmental structures.
As per the first proposal, any tech company possessing 78 square miles of land that promised to make a $1.25 billion investment could apply for an Innovation Zone. For your information, it is a zone in which a new governing body can make court systems, make water and land management decisions and impose taxes.
