June 7, 2014

​NBA Legislative Update: Wrap-Up Edition

​The second session of the 108th Nebraska Legislature is now history, as the Legislature adjourned sine die on April 18, 2024. As always, the Legislature dealt with a number of contentious issues in the waning days of the session. In contrast to the 2023 session, most of the 2024 session was focused on taxation and spending issues, rather than social issues. The next regular session is scheduled to convene in early January 2025. However, in his farewell remarks, Speaker John Arch of LaVista referenced the famous pop song in telling his fellow senators that it’s not goodbye but see you later. This was in reference to Governor Jim Pillen’s promise of a special session to deal with property tax relief.

The final days of the session were spent, in large part, debating LB 388, which would have provided “front-loading” of existing property tax credits and spending caps on cities, villages, and counties. LB 388 would also have eliminated sales tax exemptions for soda, candy, and veterinary and pet services, and added new taxes on edible hemp products, vaping products, skill games, and advertising. The bill was pulled from the agenda on the last day of the session just before proceeding to vote after facing heavy opposition from many business associations. As a result, Governor Pillen has publicly announced his intention to call a special session.

Also of note, the 2024 legislative session will be the last for Senators Joni Albrecht (Thurston), Carol Blood (Omaha), Bruce Bostelman (Brainard), Tom Brewer (Gordon), Steve Erdman (Bayard), Steve Halloran (Hastings), Lou Ann Linehan (Elkhorn), John Lowe (Kearney), Mike McDonnell (Omaha), Tony Vargas (Omaha), Lynne Walz (Fremont), Justin Wayne (Omaha), and Anna Wishart (Lincoln) due to term limits. Senator Fred Meyer (St. Paul) and Senator Julie Slama (Dunbar) have decided not to run for reelection. Elections this year will include 25 of the 49 seats, with 15 of those being open with no incumbent running. However, given Governor Pillen’s comments, the service of these Senators is likely not over yet.

Over 149 bills, amendments to those bills and amendments to other proposals were actively monitored by the NBA this session. We have summarized only the major bills of direct interest to the banking industry, according to subject. Other non-banking legislative measures were disposed of early in the session and were previously covered in the weekly NBA Legislative Update narratives or Bill Summary emails.

During this session, the NBA enjoyed great success with five out of six of the bills on the NBA’s Affirmative Legislative agenda being enacted into law. Additionally, many other bills supported by the NBA were passed by the Legislature. Even more significantly, the Legislature took no final action on any of the bills on which the NBA had established a position of opposition and have been indefinitely postponed (IPP). The success of this session is in large part attributable to the excellent grassroots support provided by Nebraska bankers. When called upon to make contacts with legislators, Nebraska bankers responded promptly and effectively in communicating the NBA’s position on issues of importance to the banking industry. Thank you to each and every Nebraska banker who took time to visit with their state senator during the 2024 Legislative Session.

The NBA has worked hard to defeat opposition which attempts to turn banking issues into social issues. Out-of-state groups attempted to derail updates to UCC Articles 9 and 12 contained in LB 94. The NBA Government Relations team worked with the Uniform Law Commissioners to respond to the The NBA has worked hard to defeat opposition which attempts to turn banking issues into social issues. Out-of-state groups attempted to derail updates to UCC Articles 9 and 12 contained in LB 94. The NBA Government Relations team worked with the Uniform Law Commissioners to respond to the misinformation and pass the necessary updates. 

Additionally, this biennium saw the introduction of four “anti-ESG” bills targeting the banking industry (LB 67, LB 730, LB 743, and LB 925). The NBA was successful in defeating each of these proposals and will continue to lead the charge to preserve the free-market approach that has given our nation the strongest and most resilient financial industry in the world. Nebraska banks should be free to lend to or not lend to any entity, provided they do not violate statutory, regulatory, fair lending or other anti-discrimination laws. As part of this effort, the NBA has continued to engage and educate Senators and worked with other key stakeholders. The NBA worked with the Platte Institute to publish the first “Voices of Industry” column. Kelly Trambly, South Central State Bank, Campbell, authored the inaugural article, which discusses anti-ESG policies in banking. The article can be found here.

Members of the NBA Government Relations Committee spent many hours reviewing potential legislation for introduction on behalf of the NBA and analyzed other legislation introduced throughout the session. The Committee makes recommendations regarding legislation to be introduced on behalf of the NBA and positions to be established by the NBA on legislation of interest. These recommendations are forwarded to the NBA Board of Directors for final action. A special thanks to Krista Prinz, Citizens State Bank, Wisner, who served as Chair of the NBA Government Relations Committee this year, along with all of the members of the Government Relations Committee for their efforts on behalf of the banking industry. A listing of the 2023-2024 members of the Committee is included in this NBA Legislative Update Wrap-Up edition.

If you have any questions regarding any of the bills highlighted below, please feel free to contact the NBA. This NBA Legislative Update Wrap-Up Edition has been prepared as a summary and it does not necessarily constitute a complete or definitive analysis of each bill discussed. The NBA staff is prepared to provide you with further information or to send you copies of bills in which you are interested.

Read the Full Wrap-Up Edition