March 21, 2025

109th Legislature, 1st Session

The Nebraska Legislature adjourned yesterday to begin a four-day weekend for the Senators. This week marked the halfway point for the 109th Legislature's First Session. Next week is the final week of committee hearings, though most committees have already completed their hearings for the year. After that, the Legislature will begin all-day floor debate with the focus on bills that have received a priority designation.

Debate began Thursday on LB 415, introduced by Senator Beau Ballard (Lincoln). LB 415 has been labeled the "clean-up bill" for the Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, also known as Initiative 426 or the Paid Sick Leave Ballot Initiative. However, the Business and Labor Committee advanced LB 415 with a committee amendment that combines the bill with LB 698, introduced by Senator Paul Strommen (Sidney). As combined, the bill would do the following: (a) exempt businesses with 10 or fewer employees from being required to comply with the Act; (b) exempt owners, independent contractors, temporary and seasonal agricultural workers, and employees under 16 years old from accruing paid sick time, or counting towards the number of employees; (c) provides a method for providing paid sick leave to employees who are paid by commission, mileage, or fee-for-service rather than hourly; (d) clarifies that existing vacation time and paid time off programs could be used as sick leave under the Act; (e) provides that employees do not begin accruing paid sick leave until after 80 hours of consecutive employment rather than immediately; (f) provides that paid sick time provided to an employee on or after January 1, 2025, and before October 1, 2025, shall be counted toward an employer's obligations under the Act for calendar year 2025; (g) clarifies that an employer is not required to pay an employee for unused paid sick time upon the employee's separation from employment; and (h) provides additional flexibility for employers to direct how requests for paid sick leave should be made. The bill is currently undergoing a filibuster, which is expected to resume on Tuesday.

Committe Activity

The Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee held its final hearing on Monday, which included LB 686 and LB 687.

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. Lastly, 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)

Nick Vrba of RVR Bank in Fremont testified on behalf of the NBA in opposition to LB 687. In his testimony, he stated: "Banks should be free to lend to, invest in, and generally do business with any entity or activity that is legal, without government interference. Banks should be free not to lend, invest, or otherwise engage so long as they do not violate statutory, regulatory, fair lending or other anti-discrimination laws. Banks know who they should and should not lend to."

Dates of Importance

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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