105th Nebraska Legislature, Second Session

The Second Session of the 105th Nebraska Legislature convened on January 3, 2018. This Dirt Alert provides an update on certain bills introduced during the first five days of the Session related to economic development, municipal law, real estate, renewable energy, taxation and water/natural resources law. Here is a list of the bills we are tracking and their current status. Bills of interest carried over from the First Session of the 105th Nebraska Legislature are available below the 2018 chart.

Through the first five days of the Session, we have identified 11 bills warranting particular vigilance. These bills are:

LB 722 (mandating that large public power districts operating in Nebraska acquire at least 25 percent of their electric power from renewable energy resources by 2020);
LB 723 (increasing the maximum capacity of a Qualifying Facility eligible for net metering from 25 kilowatts to 100 kilowatts);
LB 820 (instituting a penalty and remedial actions for a private electric supplier’s failure to adhere to the rules of the Nebraska Power Review Board);
LB 752 (eliminating a public entity’s ability to acquire right-of-ways for electric energy transmission on behalf of a private electric supplier);
LB 901 (heightening the regulations and oversight for the approval process governing construction of certain structures, e.g., wind turbines, from the Nebraska Director of Aeronautics);
LB 854 (expanding the ability to establish a land bank from cities of the metropolitan class to all cities and villages in the state);
LB 756 (prohibiting any municipal ordinance regulating/discouraging short-term residential rentals, e.g., Airbnb);
LB 846 (bolstering the transparency, documentation and oversight of the approval process for redevelopment projects utilizing tax increment financing);
LB 874 (full-scale change to the community redevelopment and tax increment financing laws);
LB 905 (shifting the burden of proof in a tax protest to the county assessor to show that his or her assessed value complies with the law); and
LB 919 (expediting the expiration of Nebraska Historic Tax Credit program by three years).

We will provide summaries of these bills in the coming weeks and an update after bill introductions conclude on January 18, 2018. Copies of all bills are available on the Nebraska Legislature’s website at http://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/. Please contact us if you have questions about these bills or any others. Thank you.

David C. Levy
Michael D. Sands
Vanessa A. Silke
Benjamin E. Busboom