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

AuthorHayley Roth
PositionJ.D., Georgetown University Law Center (expected May 2022); B.A., Princeton University (2017)
Pages1285-1299
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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