March 7, 2025

109th Legislature, 1st Session

This week was a relatively quiet week for floor debate in the Unicameral. Senators advanced a number of bills from General File to Select File and ended the week with Final Reading, advancing 19 bills, including LB 609, introduced by Senator Eliot Bostar (Lincoln). LB 609 would adopt the Controllable Electronic Record Fraud Prevention Act to require registration and licensure of cryptocurrency kiosks. The bill would also enact consumer protection measures for gift cards and prepaid cards for businesses, other than financial institutions. In what seemed like déjà vu, the Legislature adjourned during a filibuster on LB 229, introduced by Senator Bob Hallstrom (Syracuse). The bill clarifies that "network contractors working for marketplace network platforms" (e.g. Uber and Lyft) are independent contractors, rather than employees. Earlier this year, LB 229 was the first bill to be filibustered to the point of requiring a Motion to Invoke Cloture. The Legislature will continue where it left off with Final Reading on LB 229 on Monday.

Coming into the session, there was a projected budget shortfall of $432 million. Fortunately, the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board met again on February 28 and revised the forecast, shrinking the shortfall to approximately $198.8 million. This is in large part due to a projected increase in corporate income tax receipts. However, the budget took a hit when Senator Rob Clements (Elmwood) announced on Thursday that the federal government is again planning to decrease its contribution to state Medicaid costs, resulting in Nebraska being on the hook for an additional $90.3 million this budget cycle.

Hearings This Week

The following bills of interest were heard in committee this week:
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LB 254 - Funding for Rural Workforce Housing
Introduced by Senator Hallstrom, LB 254 would transfer $25 million from the General Fund for FY 2025-26 to the Rural Workforce Housing Investment Fund and an additional $25 million for FY 2026-27. (NBA Position: Support)

LB 651 - Amend Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation Act and Provide Regulations
Introduced by Senator Danielle Conrad (Lincoln), LB 651 would prohibit a qualified patient or registered caregiver to be subject to citation, arrest, prosecution, or penalty in any manner, or denied any right or privilege, including, but not limited to, civil penalty or disciplinary action by a court or occupational or professional licensing board for acting as prescribed in the legislation. The bill would also prohibit smoking or inhaling cannabis by vaporization, in addition to other locations, a public place or place of employment, other than with an aerosol inhaler. Nothing in Act: (1) requires employer to permit/accommodate growing, possession, consumption, use, distribution, display, transfer, transportation, or sale of cannabis; (2) effects ability of employer to restrict use of cannabis by employees; (3) requires employer to accommodate the use of cannabis; or (4) requires medical assistance program, employer, or insurance carrier pursuant to the Workers' Compensation Act to reimburse person for costs associated with medical use of cannabis. Nothing in act shall be construed to: (1) prohibit employers from prohibiting the use of cannabis; (2) permit cause of action against employer for wrongful discharge or discrimination; (3) prohibit person, employer, corporation, or other entity which occupies, owns or controls property from prohibiting or otherwise regulating growing, possession, consumption, etc. on or in the property, or (4) prohibit employer from establishing and enforcing drug testing policy, drug-free workplace policy, or zero-tolerance from drug policy. Any employee discharge from employment for identified related cannabis consumption or testing positive for controlled substance shall be disqualified from unemployment benefits. Finally, the bill would amend Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation Act which, among other items, authorizes financial institution to loan money to, accept deposits from, and otherwise do business with any licensee as defined in the act to the same extent as other persons, subject to restrictions in the Act. (NBA Position: Watch)

LB 677 - Amend Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation Act and Provide Regulations
Introduced by Senator Ben Hansen (Blair), LB 677 would authorize financial institution to loan money to, accept deposits from, and do business with any licensee, subject to restrictions of the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation Act, and would define financial institution. (NBA Position: Watch)

Hearings Next Week

The following bills of interest are scheduled to be heard in committee next 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, create new sales taxes for telephone conference bridging services, interstate telecommunication services, animal grooming performed by a licensed veterinarian or a licensed veterinarian 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, sightseeing 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 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 the 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. Nebraska has continued to perpetuate, condone, and often profit from practices that continued to disadvantage Nebraskans, including the unjust generational wealth gap, unequal education, substandard housing, loss of property, and decreased property value. 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. Additionally, the bill would establish a task force consisting of seven voting members: two from the Commission on African American Affairs; three from the second congressional districts; one from the first congressional district; and one from the third congressional district. Finally, the bill would, from effective date of act until November 1, 2028, receive all proceeds from taxes collected from Nebraska's Marijuana and Controlled Substance Tax Act. (NBA Position: Neutral)

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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