105th Nebraska Legislature: Updated Activity on Bills of Interest
The Second Session of the 105th Nebraska Legislature convened on January 3, 2018. Bill introductions concluded on January 18, 2018. At the conclusion of bill introductions, we identified 20 bills warranting particular diligence. Summaries of these bills are available here. Below is an update of those bills that have had notable activity.
LB 874 (full-scale changes to the community redevelopment and tax-increment financing laws): Since our last update, the Urban Affairs Committee adopted an amendment to LB 874 and advanced the bill to General File. As amended, LB 874 would:
- No longer allow an appointee from the county and school district to serve as non-voting members on the municipality’s redevelopment agency;
- Require a planning commission public hearing for all blight and substandard determinations and all redevelopment plan approvals or substantial amendments;
- Require written findings of the governing body’s but-for analysis (i.e., that the redevelopment project would not be economically feasible without the use of TIF);
- Require an annual report by the governing body on active TIF projects in lieu of the requirement that each governing body establish a local auditing plan;
- Limit the record retention requirements (of the governing body and developer) to only those documents actually generated or received;
- Limit the record retention requirements to documentation for only those portions of a redevelopment project that are funded by TIF;
- Reinstate a governing body’s ability to consider a blight and substandard study if the planning commission fails to make a recommendation within 30 days of the study’s submission; and
- Consolidate all notice provisions into one section.
LB 756 (prohibiting any municipal ordinance regulating/discouraging short-term residential rentals, e.g., Airbnb): Since our last update, the Urban Affairs Committee adopted an amendment to LB 756. As amended, LB 756 would allow the Tax Commissioner to enter into agreements with online hosting platforms for short-term residential rentals (e.g., Airbnb) to pay state sales tax as part of the online booking process. Under this arrangement, the owner of the rental would not need to pay the sales tax back to the state. LB 756 remains in Committee.
LB 821 (providing the Power Review Board additional authority to levy assessments against public power districts, public power and irrigation districts, electric membership associations, electric cooperative companies, and municipalities to cover the Power Review Board’s expenses): Since our last update, Senator Hughes withdrew LB 821.
LB 1054 (eliminating wind energy facilities from the definition of a “privately developed renewable energy generation facility” and allowing members of the public to intervene and present evidence as part of the Nebraska Power Review Board’s approval process): Since our last update, Senator Brewer submitted amendments to LB 1054. As amended, LB 1054 no longer allows members of the public to intervene and present evidence as part of the Power Review Board’s approval process. Wind facilities are still excluded from the definition of “privately developed renewable energy generation facility.” LB 1054 remains in Committee.
LB 752 (eliminating a public entity’s ability to acquire right-of-ways for electric energy transmission on behalf of a private electric supplier): Since our last update, Senator Brewer submitted an amendment to LB 752. In addition to the changes to section 70-301 of the Nebraska Revised Statutes, the amended version of LB 752 eliminates the clause under Section 70-1014.02 classifying the exercise of eminent domain to provide transmission to private electric suppliers as a “public use.” LB 752 remains in Committee.
LB 846 (increasing the transparency, documentation and oversight of the approval process for redevelopment projects utilizing tax-increment financing): Since our last update, the Committee indefinitely postponed LB 846.
LB 967 (eliminating a municipality’s ability to treat undeveloped vacant land and land outside of the city limits—not located within a blighted or substandard area—as redevelopment areas for the purpose of tax-increment financing): Since our last update, the Committee indefinitely postponed LB 967.
LB 1085 (creating 20-year tax-increment financing for projects in “extremely blighted” areas): Since our last update, the Committee indefinitely postponed LB 1085.
Since our last update, the Committee indefinitely postponed LB 95, LB 262 and LB 489 (tax-increment financing bills carried-over from the prior legislative session).
An updated chart of all Second Session bills related to economic development, municipal law, real estate, energy/renewable energy, telecommunications, taxation and water/natural resources law is available here.
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.