March 14, 2025

109th Legislature, 1st Session

Senators Designate Priority Bills

Monday will mark day 45, the halfway mark of the 90-day session. Speaker Arch set today as the deadline for all individual and committee priority bill designations. Each Senator is allowed to designate one bill as a priority bill. Additionally, each of the 14 standing committees is entitled to designate two priority bills. A full list of designated priority bills may be found here.

The Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee designated LB 198, introduced by Senator Tony Sorrentino (Elkhorn), which would enact pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform, as well as LB 474, introduced by the Committee, which represents a Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance omnibus bill. The NBA anticipates that LB 232, as amended, will be included as part of the Committee package. LB 232, introduced by Senator Bob Hallstrom (Syracuse) on behalf of the NBA, as amended, would require all life insurance policies issued in Nebraska that are assigned as collateral for a loan to include a provision requiring that notice be provided to the assignee prior to lapse or termination for nonpayment of premium. It would also clarify that assignees have the same legal standing as the policy owner to enforce the notice provisions. LB 232 was advanced from the Committee on February 11 on an 8-0 vote.

Additionally, LB 241 passed on Final Reading on Thursday and was presented to Governor Jim Pillen for his signature. The bill, introduced by Senator Hallstrom on behalf of the NBA, 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.

Committee Hearings This Week

The following bills of interest were heard in committee hearings this week:

LB 169 - Change Sales and Use Tax Exemptions
Introduced by Senator Tom Brandt (Plymouth), LB 169 would impose sales tax on specialty animal services and veterinary services and would create new sales taxes for telephone conference bridging services, interstate telecommunication services, animal grooming performed by a licensed veterinarian or a licensed veterinary technician, chartered flights, cleaning of clothing, dating services, hair care and hair removal services, except for the cutting of hair, interior design and decorating services, lobbying services, local passenger transportation by charter road vehicles, including limousines and similar luxury vehicles, marketing and telemarketing services, massage services, nail care services, personal instruction services for dance, golf, or tennis, sight-seeing services by ground vehicles, skin care services, swimming pool cleaning and maintenance services, tattoo and body modification services, tele-floral delivery services, travel agency services, and weight loss services, mechanical amusement devices and operation of mechanical amusement devices. (NBA Position: Watch)

LB 170 - Impose Sales Tax on Candy and Soft Drinks
Also introduced by Senator Brandt, LB 170 would impose sales tax on candy and sweetened beverages, which would include granola bars and sports drinks. (NBA Position: Watch)

LB 171 - Increase Individual and Corporate Income Tax Rates
Also introduced by Senator Brandt, LB 171 would eliminate the 3.99% individual and corporate income tax rates beginning January 1, 2026, and make 4.99% the lowest individual income and corporate income tax rate. (NBA Position: Watch)

LB 487 - Adopt the Restitution and Redress for Redlining Task Force Act
Introduced by Senator Terrell McKinney (Omaha), LB 487 would adopt Restitution and Redress for Redlining Task Force Act. After the scrubbing of history of state laws and policies that in 1935 Omaha Homeowner Loan Corporation created mapping for range of high risk to low-risk loans, resulting in neighborhoods in Omaha being systematically segregated and such discriminatory policy being adopted and sanctioned by Nebraska. The bill would also create a task force to: study and develop reparation proposals resulting from redlining practices, lingering negative effects of redlining and discrimination, the manner in which instructional resources and technologies are being used to deny legal, economic, educational, and societal harms of redlining and crimes against Nebraskans that live in cities of metropolitan classes, and the ways in which societal institutions, public and private, higher education, corporate, religious, and associational institutions benefited directly from redlining; recommend appropriate ways to educate the public of task force's findings; recommend appropriate remedies in consideration of the task force's findings; and electronically submit a report to the Legislature. (NBA Position: Neutral)

Committee Hearings Next Week

The following bills of interest are scheduled to be heard in committee next week:

LB 686 - Prohibit Government Entities and Officials from Keeping Certain Lists Relating to the Ownership of Firearms and Prohibit Using Merchant Category Codes to Distinguish Firearm Retailers
Introduced by Senator Dan Lonowski (Hastings), LB 686 would prohibit: (a) government entity, official, agent or employee of a government entity or official to knowingly keep or cause to be kept any list, record, or registry of privately owned firearms or the owners of firearms, except for those records kept during the regular course of criminal investigation, prosecution, or otherwise required by law; (b) payment card network to require or incentivize the use of a merchant category code in a manner that distinguishes a firearm retailer from other retailers; and (c) the covered entity from assigning a firearm retailer, a merchant category code that distinguishes the firearm retailer from other retailers. Firearm retailer is defined as any person or entity that is engaged in the lawful selling or trading of firearms or ammunition. Merchant category code is defined as the code, approved by the International Organization for Standardization that is assigned to a retailer based on the type of goods and services offered to retailers’ customers. The law would be enforced by the Attorney General, who would have the authority to seek injunctive relief and civil fines. Last, the bill would provide that it shall be a defense to a proceeding initiated pursuant to this bill that a merchant category code was required to be permitted or assigned by law. (NBA Position: Oppose)

LB 687 - Adopt the Firearm Industry Nondiscrimination Act
Also introduced by Senator Lonowski, LB 687 would adopt the Firearm Industry Nondiscrimination Act, which would prohibit governmental entities from entering into a contract with any company engaged in the discrimination of firearm entities for contracts of at least $100,000 that are to be paid in whole or in part by a governmental entity. Discrimination is defined as refusing to engage in business with, refraining from continuing with existing business relationship with, or terminating an existing business relationship with an entity or association based on its status as a firearm entity or Firearm Trade Association. Discrimination also would not include such a company's refusal to engage in business due to any traditional business reason that is specific to customer or potential customer and not based solely on the status as a firearm entity or Firearm Trade Association. (NBA Position: Oppose)

LB 204 - Biometric Autonomy Liberty Law
Introduced by Senator Kathleen Kauth (Omaha), LB 204 would enact the biometric autonomy liberty law to protect biometric data, including fingerprints, voice prints, retina images, iris images, or unique biological patterns or characteristics. Biometric data does not include any photographs, video recording, or audio recording, information protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The bill would ensure that biometric data is the property of the individual from whom the data was originally collected and prohibits any private entity or public entity from requiring or coercing any individual to be subject to any implantable device, requiring or coercing an individual to wear or be subject to a device that collects biometric data, or requiring any individual to provide or submit to the collection of biometric data. Does not apply to financial institutions or affiliates subject to Title V of the Gramm Leach Bliley Act. (NBA Position: Watch)

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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