Legislation Introduced to Amend the Local Option Municipal Economic Development Act
The Nebraska Legislature is considering two bills that would amend the Local Option Municipal Economic Development Act. The Legislature’s Urban Affairs committee will hear testimony on LBs 808 and 860 on February 9, 2016.
LB 808 (Hansen) removes the requirement for a vote of a city’s registered voters for amendments that (1) add or remove qualifying businesses from eligibility to participate in economic development programs, (2) make corrective changes to comply with the Local Option Municipal Economic Development Act, or (3) make changes to comply with any other state or federal law.
LB 860 (Hughes) expands the availability of economic development programs to include “workforce housing plans.” The bill defines a workforce housing plan as a program to construct or rehabilitate housing to address housing shortages that impair the ability of businesses to recruit employees. LB 860 allows cities of the first and second classes to enact economic development programs that offer grants or loans for the construction or rehabilitation of housing as part of workforce housing plans.
We will continue to monitor the progress of these bills and other bills of interest, and we will send updates when additional information becomes available.