February 28, 2025

109th Legislature, 1st Session

Today marks day 35 of the 90-day session, closing out a full five-day week of floor debate and committee hearings. The Legislature will resume on Monday morning with floor debate and only four more weeks of hearings. Thus far, a majority of the bills introduced have already received a public hearing.

Much of the debate this week was focused on LB 504, introduced by Senator Carolyn Bosn (Lincoln). The bill would adopt the Age-Appropriate Online Design Code Act, aimed at protecting children from certain social media features. The week closed out with the passage of LB 241, after some extended debate. Introduced by Senator Bob Hallstrom (Syracuse), LB 241 would provide a definition for a cybersecurity event for the unauthorized access to or disruption of information systems of private entities. It would further require that in order to maintain a class action lawsuit against a private entity for such an event, a person would need to demonstrate the cybersecurity event was the result of willful, wanton, or gross negligence on the part of the private entity. LB 241 creates a heightened standard for class action lawsuits and is aimed at curbing class action lawsuits where customers face no actual monetary loss. The bill is supported by the NBA and advanced to Final Reading on a vote of 29-9.

Committee Hearings Continue

Committee hearings this week featured the following bills:

• LB 415, introduced by Senator Beau Ballard (Lincoln), is a "clean-up bill" for the Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, also known as the Paid Sick Leave Ballot or Initiative 436. The bill would clarify that paid sick leave does not need to be provided to independent contractors, that existing paid-time-off programs that meet the minimum hours comply with the act, and that paid sick leave does not need to be paid out upon termination of employment. (NBA Position: Support)
• LB 258, introduced by Senator Jane Raybould (Lincoln), would change the minimum wage law to provide a youth and training wage, and lower the increase from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to the lower of 1.5% or CPI beyond 2027. (NBA Position: Support)

• LB 215, introduced by Senator Rick Holdcroft (Bellevue), adopts the Clean Slate Act and provides for a program for "second chance relief" to obtain a commutation from the Board of Pardons. The NBA worked with Senator Holdcroft to ensure banks could still inquire about certain criminal convictions to comply with the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. (NBA Position: Support)

• LB 559 - introduced by Senator Bosn, would define skimmer device as electronic or other device used to capture, record, store, or transmit data from the financial transaction device to capture or record the holder's personal identification code. The bill would create offense of installation of a skimmer device, with violation of such offense categorized as Class IV felony. The measure also includes violation for use of a skimmer device, with violation punished according to the total value of money, credit, property, or thing of value obtained, with categories of penalties being Class IIA felony for value $5,000 or more; Class IV felony with a value of $1,500 or more but less than $5,000; Class I misdemeanor when value is more than $500 but less than $1,500; and Class II misdemeanor when such value is $500 or less, with any second or subsequent conviction of Class I misdemeanor being a Class IV felony, and any second conviction of a Class II misdemeanor also being guilty of a Class IV felony, with requirement of prior convictions having occurred no more than 10 years prior to the date of the commission of the current offense. Additionally, LB 559 would allow for aggregation of value in determining the classification of offense but not allowed to be aggregated to create more than one offense and would define financial transaction offense with violations, punishable as a felony and contained definitions of leadership position, engaged in continuing criminal enterprise, and such offense as part of a continuing series of financial transaction offenses, such series of offenses were in concert with two or more persons to whom such person acted in a leadership position, and such person obtained substantial income or resources from activities. Finally, it would establish classifications of punishments as different levels of felonies, depending upon the number of other persons involved in the enterprise and the value of dollars and would authorize a sentencing court to order forfeiture of property for violations of such acts. (NBA Position: Support)

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• LR 19CA, introduced by Senator Rob Dover (Norfolk), and LR 27CA, introduced by Senator Megan Hunt (Omaha), would provide for a ballot vote to change the constitutional limitation on term limits for legislators from two terms to three terms. (NBA Position: Support)

NBA General Counsel Ryan McIntosh also testified on the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance's budget hearing on Wednesday. McIntosh cautioned the committee from sweeping approximately $3 million from the Financial Institution Assessment Cash Fund to the General Fund to cover the projected budget shortfall. He specifically noted the recent approval of a digital asset depository institution charter and the increased costs for supervision of this first-of-its-kind entity.

Next Week's Action

Floor debate will resume Monday morning with debate on LB140, introduced by Senator Rita Sanders (Bellevue) at the request of Governor Pillen, which would require schools to adopt policies limiting use of cell phones and other devices by students.
 
Committee hearings next week will feature the following bills:

• LB 651, introduced by Senator Danielle Conrad (Lincoln), and LB 677, introduced by Senator Ben Hansen (Blair), to change provisions of the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation Act and provide for regulation of medical cannabis following the November ballot initiative. (NBA Position: Watch)

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• LB 254, introduced by Senator Hallstrom, to appropriate $25 million to the Rural Workforce Housing Investment Fund in each of the next two budget cycles. (NBA Position: Support)

Dates of Importance

• March 14: Deadline for designation of committee and senator priority bills
• March 17: Speaker priority bills announced
• March 28: Last day of public hearings
• March 31: Full day floor debate begins
• June 9: Day 90 of the legislative session

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