NRS332.360. Authority of local government to enter into performance contract; purpose of performance contract; operational audits; third-party consultants.

      1.  Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter and chapter 338 of NRS to the contrary, a local government may enter into a performance contract with a qualified service company for the purchase and installation of an operating cost-savings measure to reduce costs related to energy, water and the disposal of waste, and related labor costs. Such a performance contract may be in the form of an installment payment contract or a lease-purchase contract. Any operating cost-savings measures put into place as a result of a performance contract must comply with all applicable building codes.

      2.  If a local government is interested in entering into a performance contract, the local government shall notify each appropriate qualified service company and coordinate an opportunity for each such qualified service company to:

      (a) Perform a preliminary and comprehensive audit and assessment of all potential operating cost-savings measures that might be implemented within the buildings of the local government, including any operating cost-savings measures specifically requested by the local government; and

      (b) Submit a proposal and make a related presentation to the local government for all such operating cost-savings measures that the qualified service company determines would be practicable to implement.

      3.  The local government shall:

      (a) Evaluate the proposals and presentations made pursuant to subsection 2; and

      (b) Select a qualified service company,

Ê pursuant to the provisions of NRS 332.300 to 332.440, inclusive.

      4.  The local government may enter into a contract with the Office of Energy or retain the professional services of a third-party consultant with the requisite technical expertise to assist the local government in evaluating the proposals and presentations pursuant to subsection 3. If the local government retains the professional services of a third-party consultant, the third-party consultant must possess a business license issued pursuant to chapter 76 of NRS and any other applicable licenses issued by a licensing board in this State in the same discipline in which the consultant will be advising the local government.

      5.  The qualified service company selected by the local government pursuant to subsection 3 shall prepare a financial-grade operational audit. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the audit prepared by the qualified service company becomes, upon acceptance, a part of the final performance contract and the costs incurred by the qualified service company in preparing the audit shall be deemed to be part of the performance contract. If, after the audit is prepared, the local government decides not to execute the performance contract, the local government shall pay the qualified service company that prepared the audit the costs incurred by the qualified service company in preparing the audit if the local government has specifically appropriated money for that purpose.

      6.  The local government shall enter into a contract with the Office of Energy or retain the professional services of a third-party consultant with the requisite technical expertise to assist the local government in reviewing the operating cost-savings measures proposed by the qualified service company and may procure sufficient funding from the qualified service company, through negotiation, to pay for the costs incurred by the Office of Energy or the third-party consultant. If the local government retains the professional services of a third-party consultant, the third-party consultant must be licensed pursuant to chapter 625 of NRS and certified by the Association of Energy Engineers as a “Certified Energy Manager” or hold similar credentials from a comparable nationally recognized organization. The Office of Energy or a third-party consultant retained pursuant to this subsection shall work on behalf and for the benefit of the local government in coordination with the qualified service company.

      (Added to NRS by 2003, 3051; A 2009, 967; 2013, 2120)