(1)(a) Sales and use taxes shall not be imposed on the gross receipts from the sale, lease, or rental of and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of purchases by the state, including public educational institutions recognized or established under the provisions of Chapter 85, or by any county, township, city, village, rural or suburban fire protection district, city airport authority, county airport authority, joint airport authority, drainage district organized under sections 31-401 to 31-450, sanitary drainage district organized under sections 31-501 to 31-553, land bank created under the Nebraska Municipal Land Bank Act, natural resources district, county agricultural society, elected county fair board, housing agency as defined in section 71-1575 except for purchases for any commercial operation that does not exclusively benefit the residents of an affordable housing project, cemetery created under section 12-101, or joint entity or agency formed by any combination of two or more counties, townships, cities, villages, or other exempt governmental units pursuant to the Interlocal Cooperation Act, the Integrated Solid Waste Management Act, or the Joint Public Agency Act, except for purchases for use in the business of furnishing gas, water, electricity, or heat, or by any irrigation or reclamation district, the irrigation division of any public power and irrigation district, or public schools or learning communities established under Chapter 79.

(b) For purposes of this subsection, purchases by the state or by a governmental unit listed in subdivision (a) of this subsection include purchases by any nonprofit corporation under a lease-purchase agreement, financing lease, or other instrument which provides for transfer of title to the property to the state or governmental unit upon payment of all amounts due thereunder. If any nonprofit corporation will be making purchases under a lease-purchase agreement, financing lease, or other instrument as part of a project with a total estimated cost that exceeds the threshold amount, then such purchases shall qualify for an exemption under this section only if the question of proceeding with such project has been submitted at a primary, general, or special election held within the governmental unit that will be a party to the lease-purchase agreement, financing lease, or other instrument and has been approved by the voters of such governmental unit or the governmental unit's expenditure towards the project is paid in whole or in part with redevelopment bonds. For purposes of this subdivision, (i) project means the acquisition of real property or the construction of a public building and (ii) threshold amount means the greater of fifty thousand dollars or six-tenths of one percent of the total actual value of real and personal property of the governmental unit that will be a party to the lease-purchase agreement, financing lease, or other instrument as of the end of the governmental unit's prior fiscal year.

(2) The appointment of purchasing agents shall be recognized for the purpose of altering the status of the construction contractor as the ultimate consumer of building materials which are physically annexed to the structure and which subsequently belong to the state or the governmental unit. The appointment of purchasing agents shall be in writing and occur prior to having any building materials annexed to real estate in the construction, improvement, or repair. The contractor who has been appointed as a purchasing agent may apply for a refund of or use as a credit against a future use tax liability the tax paid on inventory items annexed to real estate in the construction, improvement, or repair of a project for the state or a governmental unit.

(3) Any governmental unit listed in subsection (1) of this section, except the state, which enters into a contract of construction, improvement, or repair upon property annexed to real estate without first issuing a purchasing agent authorization to a contractor or repairperson prior to the building materials being annexed to real estate in the project may apply to the Tax Commissioner for a refund of any sales and use tax paid by the contractor or repairperson on the building materials physically annexed to real estate in the construction, improvement, or repair.