The long and winding 2023 legislative session concluded on Thursday as the Legislature adjourned sine die at 4:30 p.m. After spending a good portion of the day on Wednesday considering overrides of Gubernatorial vetoes, the Legislature gave final approval to bills relating to criminal justice reform (LB 50), Voter ID provisions (LB 514) and transformational funding for North/South Omaha development projects (LB 531). While only 56 bills were sent to the Governor for his signature this session, amendments to those bills resulted in approximately 290 measures being approved. The total number of bills passed is comparable to prior sessions, even though it required the “packaging” of multiple bills together to get these bills to the finish line. NBA-Supported Bills Receive Final ApprovalLawmakers have given final approval to a series of bills (LB 92, LB 157 and LB 727), all of which were supported by the NBA. LB 92, which was introduced by Senator Julie Slama (Dunbar) and designated as a priority bill by the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee, contains the following measures supported by the NBA:
LB 157, a bill relating to temporary guardians, introduced by Senator Wendy DeBoer (Omaha) and designated as a priority bill by the Planning Committee, included the provisions of LB 330. The bill, in part, revises provisions relating to small estate affidavits and the negotiation of checks made payable "to the estate of" by authorizing a financial institution to accept such a check endorsed by the successor named in a small estate affidavit. This clarification in the law will avoid the need to have a new check issued by the drawer of the check under such circumstances. The Legislature has given final approval to LB 727. Introduced by Senator Lou Ann Linehan (Elkhorn) and designated as a Revenue Committee priority bill, the bill originally provided a sales tax exemption for certain purchases by the state and other public entities. Amendments adopted throughout the process resulted in an additional 25 tax-related bills being added to the tax package. As approved, LB 727 contains, in part, the following bills, which were supported by the NBA:
Workforce Housing Veto Override Falls ShortLast week, Governor Pillen issued a series of line-item vetoes reducing state spending by approximately $119 million for the two years ending June 30, 2025. The Legislature considered motions to override a number of these vetoes on Wednesday but were successful in overriding only a single veto which restored $1.1 million in funding to the State Auditor's office to hire two additional employees and make staff salaries more competitive. The NBA joined many other interested parties in supporting the override of the Governor's veto of $40 million in funding for rural workforce housing and middle-income housing. The motion to override was defeated on the following vote: Voting Yes: 25 Aguilar, Blood, Bostar, Brandt, Cavanaugh, J., Cavanaugh, M., Conrad, Day, DeBoer, Dorn, Dungan, Fredrickson, Hardin, Hughes, Hunt, Lippincott, McDonnell, McKinney, Raybould, Riepe, Slama, Vargas, Walz, Wayne, Wishart. Voting No: 23 Albrecht, Arch, Armendariz, Ballard, Bosn, Bostelman, Brewer, Briese, Clements, DeKay, Erdman, Halloran, Hansen, Holdcroft, Ibach, Jacobson, Kauth, Linehan, Lowe, Moser, Murman, Sanders, von Gillern. Present Not Voting: Dover Other motions to override vetoes which were also unsuccessful included measures to increase Medicaid payment rates for hospitals, nursing homes and other healthcare providers and pay raises for legislative staff. Economic Recovery Act Sent to GovernorThe Legislature has given final approval to LB 531, a bill supported by the NBA. Introduced by Senator Terrel McKinney (Omaha) and designated as a priority bill by the Urban Affairs Committee, LB 51 would provide funding for grants to multiple proposals seeking to revitalize parts of North and South Omaha. Last session, the Legislature allocated approximately $335 million to fund transformational projects in North and South Omaha. While some funds have been directed to specific projects, about $225 million in grants remain to be allocated, which will be awarded to North/South Omaha entities to be selected by the Department of Economic Development. Comments are closed.
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Past Legislative Updates
August 2024
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