81-12,149.

Department; allocate funds; qualified action plan; contents; powers of department; applicability of section.

(1) During each calendar year in which funds are available from the Site and Building Development Fund for use by the Department of Economic Development pursuant to subdivisions (1)(a) through (g) of section 81-12,147, the department shall allocate a specific amount of funds, not less than forty percent, to nonmetropolitan areas. For purposes of this section, nonmetropolitan areas means counties with fewer than one hundred thousand inhabitants according to the most recent federal decennial census. In selecting projects to receive such fund assistance, the department shall develop a qualified action plan by January 1 of each even-numbered year. The plan shall give first priority to financially viable projects that have an agreement with a business that will locate a site within ninety days of the signed agreement and to financially viable projects located in whole or in part within an enterprise zone designated pursuant to the Enterprise Zone Act or an opportunity zone designated pursuant to the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Public Law 115-97. The plan shall set forth selection criteria to be used to determine priorities of the fund for activities pursuant to subdivisions (1)(a) through (g) of section 81-12,147 which are appropriate to local conditions, including the community's immediate need for site and building development, proposed increases in jobs and investment, private dollars leveraged, level of local government support and participation, and repayment, in part or in whole, of financial assistance awarded by the fund. The Director of Economic Development shall submit the plan to the Governor for approval.

(2) The department shall fund in order of priority as many applications for activities pursuant to subdivisions (1)(a) through (g) of section 81-12,147 as will utilize available money in the Site and Building Development Fund less actual administrative costs of the department in administering the fund. In administering the fund, the department may contract for services or directly provide money to other governmental entities or instrumentalities.

(3) This section does not apply to any inland port authority receiving assistance under subsection (2) of section 81-12,147.