105th Nebraska Legislature Adjourns Sine Die
The Nebraska Legislature adjourned sine die on May 23, 2017. The Legislature considered 667 bills, enacted 173, and enacted 67 additional bills via amendments to other bills. Highlights of the session included significant debate on various budget cuts to close the projected $1 billion budget gap and a variety of proposals to reform income and property taxes.
The biennial budget for fiscal years 2017–18 and 2018–19 holds annual spending growth at or below 1.5 percent. Efforts to reduce income taxes, limit growth in property taxes, and rewrite Nebraska’s laws on tax incentives were all unsuccessful. Efforts to eliminate the historic tax credit program and new markets tax credit program were also rebuffed.
Senators introduced 126 interim studies for possible discussion before January 2018. As in prior years, the Legislature will consider changes to state and local economic development programs, including the use of tax increment financing (LR 60, LR 138, and LR 224), expansion of broadband telecommunication services (LR 176), and regulation of utilities and renewable energy projects (LR 125, LR 211, LR 239, and LR 245).
This chart provides a final update on bills and interim studies related to economic development, municipal law, real estate, renewable energy, and taxation. Copies of the bills and interim studies are available on the Nebraska Legislature’s website at http://www.nebraskalegislature.gov.
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