Opportunity Zones: Whose Opportunity? Remedying Failed Federal Policy via State Pro Bono Policy Toolkits

• Author: Hayley Roth
• Position: J.D., Georgetown University Law Center (expected May 2022); B.A., Princeton University (2017)
• Pages: 1285-1299

Opportunity Zones: Whose Opportunity?

Remedying Failed Federal Policy via State Pro Bono

Policy Toolkits

HAYLEY ROTH*

INTRODUCTION

“The federal government has not shown that it is a partner whom we can

depend on.”

—Mustafa Abdul-Salaam

1

Storey County is an arid, sparsely populated region in the high desert of west-

ern Nevada. Quietly nestled within its boundaries are the lucrative Tahoe-Reno

Industrial center, the Tesla Gigafactory, and a rapidly expanding Google data fa-

cility.

2

As the third-least populous county in the state, Storey County’s median

household income is over $65,000 and its poverty rate is seven percent, well

below the national average of 10.5 percent.

3

In 2018, U.S. Treasury Secretary

Steven Mnuchin instructed his staff to designate Storey County as an Opportunity

Zone—a low-income community eligible for capital gain tax incentives to stimu-

late private investment and bolster economic growth. Staff members did as they

were instructed, despite the fact that Storey County was not low-income and did

not otherwise meet the Opportunity Zone eligibility criteria set forth under the

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

4

At Mnuchin’s behest, Storey County became

one of Nevada’s designated Opportunity Zones.

5

In 2019, a New York Times

* J.D., Georgetown University Law Center (expected May 2022); B.A., Princeton University (2017)

© 2021, Hayley Roth.

1. Mustafa Abdul-Salaam, Class Remarks to Georgetown Law Community Development Seminar (Oct. 6,

2020).

2. Jason Hidalgo, Milken Link to Storey County Opportunity Zone Raises More Concerns about Political

Favors, RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL, Oct. 29, 2019, https://www.rgj.com/story/news/money/business/2019/10/

29/storey-county-opportunity-zones-link-milken-raises-more-concerns/2491377001 [https://perma.cc/DN2L-

DH3M].

3. UNITED STATES CENSUS BUREAU, QUICKFACTS: STOREY COUNTY, NEVADA (2019), https://www.census.

gov/quickfacts/storeycountynevada [https://perma.cc/TU2Z-UTGD]; UNITED STATES CENSUS BUREAU,

INCOME, POVERTY AND HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE IN THE UNITED STATES: 2019 (2020), https://www.

census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/income-poverty.html#:�:text=The%20official%20poverty%20rate

%20in,from%2014.8%25%20to%2010.5%25 [https://perma.cc/MTG7-UMVR].

4. Neal, Wyden Investigate Abuse of Opportunity Zone Program, WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE, Nov. 6,

2019, https://waysandmeans.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/neal-wyden-investigate-abuse-opportunity-

zone-program#:�:text=According%20to%20the%20New%20York,criteria%20in%20the%20Tax%20Codec

[https://perma.cc/AJK7-FCRP].

5. Hidalgo, supra note 2.

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