Nebraska’s Legislative Session Moves into the Fourth Quarter as Zoning, Municipal, and Energy Bills Advance

The Second Regular Session of the 109th Nebraska Legislature commenced on January 7, 2026.  Following the conclusion of bill introduction, we analyzed and summarized newly introduced bills of interest, which are available here.  We also previously summarized bills that passed or made substantial legislative progress, which can be found here.

As the 2026 legislative enters the fourth quarter, we summarize below significant bills of interest that have passed or substantially advanced since the midpoint.

Municipal Authority

LB 384 (Storer).  The bill amends the Property Tax Request Act to include new attendance requirements for certain property tax increase hearings.  

The Legislature approved LB 384 on Final Reading on February 5, 2026.  Governor Pillen signed it into law on February 10, 2026.  The law will take effect three months after adjournment, approximately July of 2026.  

LB 548 (Lippincott, Raybould and G. Meyer).  LB 548 would enable certain cities that own and operate natural gas systems to offer tax‑exempt prepay transactions to large industrial consumers located within 100 miles and requiring at least three billion British thermal units of gas per day.  The bill excludes consumers that currently receive or have recently received gas from another system and requires each prepay transaction to involve a competitive natural gas provider.

Governor Pillen signed LB 548 into law on March 3, 2026.  Because the bill does not contain an emergency clause, it will take effect three months after adjournment.  Baird Holm attorneys drafted the legislation, advocated for its passage, and negotiated amendments that ultimately allowed the bill to become law.

LB 663 (Storer).  LB 663 significantly changes how counties review conditional use permits by creating a presumption of compliance, limiting consideration to zoning regulations, imposing firm decision-making deadlines, and raising the standard of proof for appeals.  We provided a full summary previously.

On February 24, 2026, Governor Pillen signed LB 663 into law.  Because the bill does not include an emergency clause, it will take effect three months after adjournment, likely in July 2026. 

Economic Development

LB 719 (Jacobson).  LB 719 amends the Nebraska Rural Projects Act by expanding the definition of eligible projects to include “infrastructure development costs.”  The bill specifically allows inclusion of natural gas infrastructure costs, even when the applicant does not own the infrastructure.  Governor Pillen approved LB 719 on February 25, 2026.  Because the bill contains an emergency clause, it took effect immediately upon the Governor’s signature.

LB 749 (Sorrentino).  LB 749 makes technical changes to how counties calculate tax levies for purposes of distributing state aid to municipalities.  The bill removes the Auditor of Public Accounts from providing tax request data and instead directs the Property Tax Administrator to rely on the prior year’s certificate of taxes levied.  The Legislature advanced the bill to Final Reading on March 3, 2026.

LB 778 (Dungan).  LB 778 would amend the Civic and Community Center Financing Act by temporarily removing the requirement that municipalities partner with a certified creative district to qualify for certain grants.  The change applies for the period from July 1, 2027, through June 30, 2028.  The Legislature advanced LB 778 to Select File on March 17, 2026. 

LB 839 (Rountree).  LB 839 would amend cities’ biannual housing reporting requirements under the Municipal Density and Missing Middle Housing Act, including additional disclosures related to multifamily housing and accessibility.  The Legislature advanced LB 839 to Select File on February 24, 2026.

LB 954 (von Gillern).  LB 954 would amend the Nebraska Advantage Act by requiring the Department of Revenue to recalculate a Tier 6 taxpayer’s base‑year employees when part of a business conveys outside the same unitary group, subject to limited exceptions.  The Legislature advanced LB 954 to Select File on February 26, 2026, and Final Reading on March 17, 2026.

Energy / Renewable Energy

LB 1010 (Brandt).  LB 1010 would regulate energy storage resources.  Consistent with current guidance, energy storage resources “associated” with a wind or solar farm would remain legally a part of the wind or solar farm.  Standalone energy storage resources would need Power Review Board approval to operate.

In its current form, LB 1010 would allow any public entity to apply for Power Review Board approval.  Private entities would first need a power purchase agreement or similar contract to sell all of the resource’s electric energy and electric capacity to a consumer-owned electric supplier.  Private entities would also need a written consent from any consumer-owned electric supplier in whose chartered territory or retail service area the resource would operate.  The bill would subject privately owned energy storage resources to a nameplate capacity tax rate of $3,518 per megawatt of nameplate capacity.

LB 1010 advanced from the Natural Resources Committee as one of the Committee’s two priority packages.  The Legislature advanced LB 1010 to Select File on March 12, 2026.

LB 1064 (Bostar).  LB 1064 would apply to customers seeking new or expanded electric service exceeding 20 megawatts at a single site and defines them as “large load customers.”  It would require public power utilities to establish standards for serving large loads, impose upfront study fees and timelines, require disclosure and site control, address on‑site backup generation, allow negotiated rates and cost recovery, and require demand flexibility and emergency response capabilities.

On March 12, 2026, the Legislature adopted Natural Resources Committee Amendment AM2422, which incorporated the provisions of LB1064 into LB 1010.  As we explain above, LB 1010 is now on Select File.

LB 1261 (DeKay, at the request of Governor Pillen).  LB1261 would protect privately owned, on‑site electric generation facilities from eminent domain when they serve an on‑site industrial customer, connect to the grid at an equivalent point and receive Power Review Board approval.  The facility owner would need to enter a long‑term commercial agreement with a consumer‑owned electric supplier that preserves the utility’s exclusive service rights, provides commercial benefits, prohibits electricity resale and waives condemnation rights.  The bill excludes contracts executed after December 31, 2031.  On March 18, 2026, the Legislature advanced LB 1261 to Select File.

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Attorneys at Baird Holm LLP have experience in government relations and lobbying, municipal law, and energy development.  Please reach out with any questions.