During his optimistic State of the State address, Republican Governor Joe Lombardo declared that “Nevada is open for business, effective immediately.” Following his state address, Lombardo quipped he was looking forward to “getting shit done.”

During his address, Lombardo challenged the Democratic majority to reduce the modified business tax rate by 15 percent and adjust the commerce tax by raising the exemption from $4 million to $6 million. The Governor stated that “these tax reductions ensure that rising prices don’t create increased burdens for Nevada business.”

According to a new study, Nevada is now ranked second in the nation for business, beating out Texas which came in third with Wyoming taking first place.

Research conducted by the law firm Schmidt & Clark based their study, in part, on business applications generated over one year ending in November 2023.

The law firm also looked at the states’ annual real gross domestic income changes in the third quarter, and how the states ranked for the year in customer friendliness and business failures for the year since March 2022.

“Business is the driving force of America,” the law firm said in a press release. “In fact, small businesses generate 1.5 million jobs per year in the United States.”

In Nevada, “the annual change of GDP was 7% in the third quarter of 2023, 47% higher than the national average,” the report said. “Also, only 19% of the state’s businesses failed within one year, meaning businesses are 16.6% more likely to succeed in Nevada.”

Recently, Elon Musk moved his legal corporate home of his brain implant company Neuralink from Delaware to Nevada after a Delaware judge struck down Musk’s $55.8 billion pay package as CEO of Tesla. Prior to his move, Musk encouraged companies to incorporate in Nevada or Texas.

Following his state address, Lombardo joined Musk to announce Tesla’s new $3.6B giga factory in Northern Nevada.

The facility will have four million square feet of new manufacturing space and two new manufacturing facilities which will be home to a cell factory and a high-volume electric semi factory. The expansion is expected to provide 3,000 new jobs.

In an interview last fall with Business Facilities, the Governor cited that from 2012 through 2022, manufacturing jobs in Nevada increased by 61%, while overall employment in the state grew 26%.

“By positioning itself as a business friendly, logistically attractive, low tax, and low regulatory climate, Nevada has seen significant growth in manufacturing,” Lombardo said.

The governor is targeting the following industries for economic expansion and economic diversification: Advanced Manufacturing, Transportation & Logistics, Natural Resources & Technologies, Information Technology, and Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports and Creative Industries.