CARSON CITY, Nevada (AP) – In the Nevada desert, a cryptocurrency tycoon hopes to turn dreams of a futuristic “smart city” into reality. To do this, he is asking the state to allow corporations like his local governments on the land they own, which would give them power over everything from schools to law enforcement agencies.
Jeffrey Berns, CEO of Blockchains LLC, based in Nevada, envisions a city where people not only buy goods and services in digital currency, but also log their entire online footprint – financial reports, medical records, and personal information – on blockchain. Blockchain is a digital ledger best known for recording cryptocurrency transactions, but has also been adopted by some local governments for everything from documenting marriage certificates to facilitating elections.
The company plans to break new ground in rural Storey County, 12 miles east of Reno, by 2022. It is proposed to build 15,000 houses and 3 million square feet of commercial and industrial space within 75 years. Berns, whose idea is the basis for draft legislation some lawmakers saw behind closed doors last week, said traditional government does not offer enough flexibility to create a community where people can invent new uses for its technology.
“There has to be a place somewhere on this planet where people are willing to just start over and say, ‘We’re not going to do things this way just because we did it that way,” said Berns.
He wants Nevada to change its laws to allow for “zones of innovation” where corporations have powers like district government, including creating court systems, implementing taxes, and building infrastructure while making land and property decisions Meet water management.
The prospect has been met with intrigue and skepticism by Nevada lawmakers, although the legislation has not yet been formally tabled or discussed in public hearings. Most in the democratically controlled legislature strive to diversify Nevada’s tourism-dependent economy, but many fear a backlash against business incentives as they struggle to fund health care and education.
This proposal is different from the big tax breaks they can no longer offer, like the $ 1.3 billion Tesla was given to build its northern Nevada battery factory or the billions New York and Virginia Amazon for offered to build a new corporate headquarters.
However, it does raise deeper questions about how tech companies are getting a better grip on everyday life at a time when antitrust authorities and Democrats in Congress claim tech giants like Facebook and Google control markets and compromise people’s privacy.
Blockchains LLC and so-called innovation zones were an integral part of Governor Steve Sisolak’s January speech when he outlined plans to rebuild a diversified economy after the coronavirus pandemic.
Sisolak, whose campaign and affiliate political action committee collectively received $ 60,000 from the company, said the proposal would turn Nevada into “the epicenter of this emerging industry, and create the high-paying jobs and revenue that goes with it.”
The governor’s office declined to comment on innovation zones. But with Sisolak’s support, the idea could spark serious legislative considerations.
“I don’t know enough yet to say whether I’m happy with this as the next step or not. But look, it’s a big idea, and Nevada was built on big ideas. Let’s listen, ”said Senator Ben Kieckhefer, a Republican who sponsored blockchain-related laws in 2017 and 2019.
If lawmakers back the proposal, tech companies with 200 square kilometers of land promising a $ 1 billion investment could create zones governed by three people like county officials. The bill says two of them would originally come from the company itself.
In Storey County, where Tesla’s factory is located, officials are waiting for more information before giving opinions, but say questions remain to be answered.
Commissioner Lance Gilman, who owns the Mustang Ranch brothel and bought most of the county’s land decades ago to turn it into an industrial park, has helped it attract tech companies to the area and increase the population. However, Gilman, who worked in marketing for Blockchains LLC from 2018 to 2019, said there are many strangers to relinquishing control to a new jurisdiction that is within the county lines.
“(The bill) wants the host district to let them form, become successful, not pay them a lot of money, and eventually let them take over the entire county and all operations if they become successful,” Gilman said. “If it doesn’t work out, who will be responsible for all that has been built in the meantime?”
The county master plan does not include residential development in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, which is where most of Blockchain LLC’s property is located. However, it envisages 3,500 homes in Painted Rock, part of the 271 square kilometer company.
Berns said officials told him in an informal discussion two years ago that they were not interested in building more houses, a meeting former district chief Pat Whitten confirmed. Berns understands that Storey County’s elected leaders may not want an experimental town in their backyard, but believes the idea should be a state decision as it has the potential to “uniquely define Nevada in the future.”
“We bought 70,000 acres in the county. What did you think we would do? ” he said.
The former consumer lawyer said the idea came from how he viewed the government as an unnecessary mediator between people and ideas.
“In order for us to be able to take risks and be lithe, nimble and figure out how you do when you design new products, that’s not how government works. So why not just create a government that lets us do these things? “Said Berns.
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Associate press writer Michelle L. Price reported from Las Vegas. Metz is a corps member of the Associated Press / Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a not-for-profit national service program that places journalists on newsrooms to cover undercover issues.
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