Merit Institute Merit

The Nevada Merit-Based Credentialing Act (NV-ACSA)

Nevada state companion to ACSA. Given Nevada levies no personal or corporate income tax, the skills-based hiring incentive is structured as a Modified Business Tax credit under NRS Ch. 363A / 363B and a Workforce Innovations for a New Nevada (WINN) fund grant.

THE NEVADA MERIT-BASED CREDENTIALING ACT (NV-ACSA)

Vehicle: State passage. Nevada Legislature, regular session. Primary referral to Assembly / Senate Commerce and Labor / Revenue / Finance.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE

This Act may be cited as the “Nevada Merit-Based Credentialing Act (NV-ACSA).”

SECTION 2. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT

The Legislature finds that Nevada levies no personal income tax and no general corporate income tax; that Nevada enacted universal occupational-licensure recognition under NRS Sec. 622.360 and related provisions; that the Nevada System of Higher Education operates under NRS Ch. 396; that the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation operates under NRS Ch. 232; that the Governor’s Office of Economic Development administers the Workforce Innovations for a New Nevada (“WINN”) fund under NRS Sec. 231A; that Nevada imposes a Modified Business Tax under NRS Ch. 363A and Ch. 363B and a Commerce Tax under NRS Ch. 363C; and that tax credits against these are available under existing programs (e.g., NRS Sec. 363A.130 Opportunity Scholarship credit). This Act extends these frameworks.

TITLE I — DEFINITIONS & COORDINATION WITH NEVADA LAW

Sec. 101. Definitions

  1. (a) “Nevada Recognized Merit Credential” or “NVRMC” means a competency-based credential designated by the Chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education in coordination with the Director of DETR under Sec. 201.
  2. (b) “Federal FRAC” means a Federally Recognized Alternative Credential under Section 202 of the federal ACSA.
  3. (c) “Covered State licensing authority” means an agency issuing an occupational license under NRS Title 54.

Sec. 102. Coordination with Existing Nevada Law

  1. (a) Consistent with:
  • NRS Sec. 622.360 (universal recognition).
  • NRS Ch. 396 (Nevada System of Higher Education).
  • NRS Ch. 232 (DETR).
  • NRS Ch. 363A, 363B, 363C (Modified Business Tax; Commerce Tax).
  • NRS Sec. 231A (GOED; WINN fund).

TITLE II — NEVADA RECOGNIZED MERIT CREDENTIALS

Sec. 201. Designation Authority

  1. (a) The Chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education, in coordination with the Director of DETR, shall maintain a Nevada Recognized Merit Credentials registry (“NVRMC Registry”) in machine-readable form, updated at least annually, crosswalked to Federal FRAC.

Sec. 202. Degree-Optional State Employment

  1. (a) NRS Ch. 284 (State Personnel System) shall be applied so that an NVRMC-holder satisfies any position qualification stated in terms of a college degree, unless expressly required by Nevada statute.

TITLE III — INCENTIVE FOR SKILLS-BASED HIRING (No-Corporate-Tax Rewire)

Sec. 301. Skills-Based Hiring Modified Business Tax Credit / WINN Grant

  1. (a) Given that Nevada levies no individual or general corporate income tax, no income-tax credit is imposed. The incentive is structured as:
  • (i) A credit against the Modified Business Tax under NRS Ch. 363A or Ch. 363B equal to a percentage of qualified first-year wages for NVRMC- or Federal FRAC-tied hires, and/or
  • (ii) A WINN-fund workforce grant under NRS Sec. 231A for qualifying hires, subject to the availability of appropriations.
  1. (b) Department of Taxation and GOED jointly administer.

TITLE IV — OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE PORTABILITY

Sec. 401. Licensure by Demonstrated Competency

  1. (a) Demonstrated-competency pathway accepting NVRMC, Federal FRAC, or examination-plus-supervised-experience.

Sec. 402. Interstate Recognition for Federal-Fund Recipients

  1. (a) Recognition by federally-funded authorities, consistent with Section 401 of the federal ACSA and NRS Sec. 622.360.

TITLE V — IMPLEMENTATION & GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 501. Severability

If any provision is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect the remainder.

Sec. 502. Effective Date

This Act shall take effect July 1 of the year following enactment.

Canonical federal version: ACSA. Other Nevada bills: NV-MEWRA, NV-GT&P, NV-AI-Workforce.