LB784 harmonizes conflicting sections in the Nebraska Budget Act and the County Budget Act to allow counties to have more access to funds during the period between July 1 and the adoption of the budget on September 20. Both Acts limit expenditures to a proportion of the budgeted amount during this period but the Nebraska Budget Act also allows the governing body to approve additional expenditures from the budgeted funds upon a showing of necessity. LB784 adds this language to the County Budget Act. Because the bill carries an emergency clause and was signed on April 6, it is already in effect.

 

LB938 places coordination of the plan for next-generation 911 under the oversight of the Public Service Commission (PSC). LB938 requires the PSC to appoint a state 911 director to manage the department within the Commission. The PSC and state 911 director will develop a plan for a 911 service system and hold two public hearings on the plan. The plan must include, at minimum, the costs associated with the implementation and estimated ongoing operation and maintenance of the 911 service system, including which costs that are to be paid from funds collected by the state and which costs will be the obligation of local governing bodies. The plan must also contain a recommendation of the number of public safety answering points that should be maintained in the state that are capable of next-generation 911 service.

 

LB1038 provides local weed control authorities, weed management entities, and natural resources districts with $1 million in state funding to help control of phragmites and other invasive species in waterways. The funding, which was originally introduced as LB711, will be used to continue riparian weed management efforts to increase flow conveyance, improve wildlife habitat, and increase water available for human consumption. The bill reinstates the Riparian Vegetation Management Task Force to help oversee the process. Other provisions of the bill address a water rights agreement between the Nebraska Public Power District and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission regarding the Spencer Dam, revise procedures for the Niobrara Council, and create a permitting procedure through the Department of Roads for trimming vegetation that obstructs advertising signs.

 

LB876 allows all public bodies to record votes using an electronic voting device. Existing provisions of the Open Meetings Act list the public bodies that can use such devices, including counties, municipalities, learning communities, joint public agencies and others. This change will require an update to the Open Meetings Act posters that must be available at every public meeting. NACO will make the revised language available online.

 

LB742 updates references to population thresholds that primarily affect Lancaster County. It is estimated that Lancaster County will exceed 300,000 in the 2020 census. The bill is not intended to change county practices but to adjust references that trigger automatic changes in county structure or operation.

 

LB881 expands the use of energy financing contracts for participating governmental units. Such contracts provide for cost recovery through utility and operation and maintenance savings.

 

LB1082 requires counties, cities, villages, and natural resources districts to be given notice and copies of Class II commercial underground injection well permit applications. The bill was introduced in response to concerns last year about fracking and the regulatory authority of the Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

 

LB936, a bill to adjust inheritance tax exemption amounts and tax rates, did not advance from the Revenue Committee.

 

LB188, a bill to clarify there are circumstances when a passenger in a fleeing vehicle should not be considered an innocent third party under law enforcement pursuit laws, fell two votes short of a cloture motion on Select File and was killed.

 

LB693, which would have increased the time frame to file a tort claim against a county from one to two years, did not advance from the Judiciary Committee.

 

LB935, which would have imposed a penalty on governing bodies that failed to provide the State Auditor with annual information regarding interlocal and joint public agency agreements, was vetoed by Governor Ricketts. He did not object to the reporting penalty, but opposed a Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee amendment based on LB1099 that would have changed the state process for reimbursing employees for expenses from an itemized system to a per diem basis. He and State Auditor Charlie Janssen are reported to have reached an agreement on the reimbursement process and both issues are likely to be introduced again next year.

  

LB958 grants $20 million in property tax credits to agricultural and horticultural lands. Beginning with tax year 2017, the Property Tax Administrator will determine the amount to be distributed to each county based on a ratio using the credit allocation valuation of the county. Like the existing property tax credit, which remains unchanged, county treasurers will calculate the distribution for each parcel and it will appear as a credit on property tax statements. The total appropriation for both tax credits is $224 million.

 

The bill was one of Governor Pete Ricketts's property tax relief proposals. As introduced, LB958 would have capped aggregate agland valuation at 3 percent statewide, eliminated budget exceptions for interlocal agreements, and capped unused budget authority. A second public hearing on the bill was needed to discuss the tax credit concept and restricting community college levies. The community college provisions were removed from the bill before passage.

LB959 was also part of the governor's property tax relief package. It increases state aid to schools by more than $8.5 million by changing the aid formula.

 

LB729 amends the Real Property Appraiser Act to allow county assessors to retain the services of unlicensed persons to assist in appraisal. Because many small counties cannot afford to have a full-time certified appraiser on staff, various contractual arrangements have been made for those services. All of the work performed by such individuals will continue to be under the oversight of the county assessor. The bill also repeals last year's moratorium on enforcement actions against mass appraisers by the Real Property Appraisal Board. LB729 took effect following the governor's signature on March 9.

 

LB731 updates the Nebraska Real Property Appraiser Act to comply with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) and federal licensing requirements.

 

LB131 increases the collection fee retained by county treasurers for collecting sanitary and improvement district (SID) funds from one percent to two percent. A 2015 Nebraska Supreme Court case held that statutory language limits collection fees to one percent but many counties had been collecting two percent prior to the court's decision. The language was introduced as LB827 and amended into LB131. Other sections of LB131 prohibit SIDs from spending assets that are used by a municipality to determine the feasibility of an annexation.

 

LB683 aligns Nebraska's homestead exemption criteria with eligibility for federal veterans benefits. The bill allows surviving spouses of veterans who remarry before age 57 to retain their current homestead exemption status. The bill takes effect on January 1, 2017.

 

LB776 is a technical bill from the Department of Revenue. Among other things it eliminates annual medical recertification for homestead exemption applicants who are certified as totally disabled by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and no change in medical condition has occurred. The Tax Commissioner or county assessor may request certification to verify that no change has occurred. This language takes effect on January 1, 2017.

 

LB774 is an omnibus tax measure that was amended to incorporate other bills. It grants sales tax exemptions to nonprofit substance abuse treatment centers, county agricultural societies (LB542), certain independent living centers (LB1088), and purchases by museums (LB1015). The bill allows county airport authorities to exceed levy limits for bonds (LB1014).

 

Several property tax relief proposals were introduced but not adopted. LB1037 was intended to address differences in the valuation of non-agricultural land associated with agland by valuing land associated with farm sites and home sites at their agland value. LB717 would have frozen valuation at 2105 levels and changed the assessment history to five years. LB825 would have required reporting values of exempt properties

 

LB960 creates the Transportation Innovation Act, which enacts new programs to expedite road, bridge, expressway, and economic development projects. The program will receive a one-time transfer of $50 million from the state's cash reserve. Up to $40 million will be placed in a newly-created infrastructure bank for use with a new County Bridge Match Program to provide additional funding to accelerate the repair and replacement of deficient bridges in the county road system. The Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) will develop the program, including participation criteria and matching fund requirements, with input from NACO. The program will create efficiencies by bundling bridges with similar engineering and using design build for certain projects. County participation in the bridge match program is voluntary. The program will terminate on June 20, 2023.

 

More than $400 million in state motor fuel tax generated between July 2016 and June 2033 will also be added to the fund. Twenty million will be directed to the Economic Opportunity Program to finance transportation improvements to attract and support new businesses and business expansion in the state.

LB671, a bill to repeal the Build Nebraska Act, was killed. The Act directs a portion of sales tax revenue to counties through the Highway Allocation Fund. In FY14-15, counties and cities received a combined $11.1 million.

 

LB874 is an omnibus election bill that contains concepts from four other bills. It allows voters to take photos of their marked ballots and reveal the photograph. These "ballot selfies" are often posted on social media (LB787). Language from LB741 allows the display of yard signs on private property within 200 feet of a polling place or building designated as a place for voters to cast ballots, subject to local ordinance. The property cannot be under common ownership with the property on which the polling place or building is located. Language incorporated from LB682 changes the deadline to request mailed ballots and procedures to petition onto the general election ballot. Existing law requires requests for ballots to be received by 4 p.m. on the Wednesday before the election. Beginning June 1, 2016, applications must be received no later than the close of business on the second Friday before the election. Changes in the U.S. Postal Service delivery and sorting procedures have sometimes made it difficult for voters to receive the ballots and return them before the election under the previous deadline. The bill allows county clerks and election commissioners to mail out ballots two days earlier. Language from LB879 changes the signature requirements to place a candidate's name on the partisan ballot for the general election by petition.

 

LB400 revises the timeline for candidates to file financial disclosures from April 1 to March 1 for the prior fiscal year. Under existing law, if a candidate files before January 1, he or she must file a C-1 financial statement for the prior year, then file a second statement for the next year by April 1. If the second filing deadline is not met, the candidate's name cannot appear on the ballot. However, due to the timing of election laws, it may be too late to remove the candidate's name from the ballot.

 

LB695 clarifies procedures for returning ballots in sanitary and improvement district elections and specifically states that each ballot must be returned in a separate envelope.

 

LR403 creates the Election Technology Committee to examine the longevity of election technology and the feasibility of updating or replacing it. The committee will study options for acquiring hardware and software or other methods of voting and how costs should be allocated between the state and counties. Seven members of the Legislature will sit on the committee and will request information from the Secretary of State, election commissioners from counties of various sizes, NACO, individuals with disabilities, voting rights groups, and election technology manufacturers. The committee will issue a report no later than December 15, 2016.

 

The Legislature considered but did not adopt a bill to change to a winner-take-all primary system. In addition, Governor Ricketts vetoed LB580, a bill to create an independent citizen's commission to assist the legislature in redistricting after the 2020 census.

 

LB894 is a comprehensive juvenile justice bill that requires the appointment of an attorney for juvenile cases in counties over 150,000. It incorporates language from LB709 to replace existing classifications of  secure detention and nonsecure detention for juveniles with new classifications of detention and alternatives to detention. This provision also establishes additional court review of the use of these programs and facilities. Provisions from LB845 create documentation and reporting requirements related to the use of room confinement of juveniles. Language from LB893 creates a minimum age of 11 years in juvenile court delinquency and status offense cases, beginning July 1, 2017. Provisions from LB673 allow county boards to create a county guardian ad litem division. Unless there is a conflict of interest or court determines that appointment of outside counsel is more appropriate to serve the child's best interest, the court shall appoint from within the division. An interim study, LR576, will continue the examination of children's access to legal counsel in juvenile proceedings across the state.

 

LB1010 removes the requirement for an affidavit when a petition is filed in juvenile court. Instead, the written petition would need to be signed by the county attorney. The change allows for direct e-filing of original documents without having them notarized or sworn by a clerk of the court.

 

LB954 clearly grants the Inspector General of Nebraska Child Welfare access to juvenile records for purposes of investigations being conducted by that office. The Inspector General must submit a request to the probation administrator for access to the records of juvenile probation officers related to a specific case. The bill carries an emergency clause and took effect upon the Governor's signature.

 

LB919 authorizes the creation of problem solving courts for drugs, veterans, mental health, driving under the influence, reentry and other issues. The courts are alternatives to incarceration and seen as a possible way to reduce prison overcrowding, as well as prevent recidivism. The companion appropriations bills provides funding for a veterans treatment court for Douglas County.

 

LB1098 increases the Legal Aid and Services Fund charged in court filings by $1.00, from $5.25 to $6.25. The Fund is administered through the Commission on Public Advocacy to provide grants for providers of civil legal services for low income Nebraskans. An interim study, LR560, will examine the use of court fees as a source of funding in Nebraska. A second interim study, LR584, will look at possible funding sources for providing access to civil legal services.

 

LB505 seals criminal history records after acquittal or successful completion of a drug or other problem-solving court. People whose records have been sealed will not have to disclose the arrest or charges on job or licensing applications. The bill will take effect on January 1, 2017.

LB1094 revises provisions from LB605, last year's bill on prison overcrowding. Concepts from this year's LB910 were incorporated into the bill to require additional reporting about inmates, including the number of inmates diagnosed with mental illness and behavioral disorders, and those who are held in restrictive housing. Data reporting will also be the focus of an interim study, LR550, which will examine reporting needed for for LB605's County Justice Reinvestment Grant Program. Mandatory minimum sentences, which were discussed during last year's debate, will be studied under LR527.

 

LB1000 requires the Crime Commission to develop model policies on the use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement agencies by December 1, 2016. Agencies must develop their own written policies or adopt the model policies by January 1, 2017. Law enforcement agencies are also required to adopt written policies on eyewitness suspect identifications pursuant to language from LB846 that was incorporated into the bill. Language amended into LB1000 from LB1055 opens grand jury proceedings for deaths occurring during apprehension or while in the custody of a law enforcement officer or detention personnel. Cases are to be treated as open, ongoing matters until all evidence, reports, and other relevant materials are transferred to the county attorney or the member of his or her staff that will serve as the prosecuting attorney. Unless a physician certifies that the death is from natural causes, a team of three peace officers must be selected to investigate the evidence concerning the cause of death and present their findings to the prosecuting attorney. If the grand jury returns a no true bill, it must create a grand jury report with the assistance of the prosecuting attorney. The report must contain findings and recommendations by the grand jury. A transcript, including exhibits, must be prepared at the court's expense. The transcript, report, and the no true bill must be filed with the court and available for public review.

 

LB311 incorporates language that was introduced in LB875 to eliminate a requirement for driver licensing services to be provided in every county. The bill was introduced due to concerns about the infrequent presence of driver's license examiners in small counties and the lack of appropriate space on site for commercial driver's license (CDL) testing in some counties. Other sections of the bill reflect federal language on gross vehicle weights, revise CDL leaner's permit procedures, and require specific affirmation language on CDL and learner's permit applications. The Department of Motor Vehicles is given authority to cancel or refuse to issue or renew operator's licenses and state identification cards if the payment is returned or not honored due to insufficient funds or other reasons. The bill took effect upon the Governor's signature on March 3.

 

LB47 revises the organ and tissue donor wording on driver's license applications, beginning July 1, 2017.

 

LB814 removes the mileage requirement from school driving permit applications for residents living outside of a city of the metropolitan, primary or first class. Existing law requires applicants to live at least 1.5 miles from the school attended.

 

LB53 allows a single license plate and window decal, rather than two plates, to be issued for passenger cars not manufactured with a front license plate bracket. An annual nonrefundable registration fee of $100, plus the cost of the decal, must be paid to the county treasurer and remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Highway Trust Fund. The new system will take effect on January 1, 2017.

 

LB474 creates specialty Mountain Lion Conservation license plates. Revenue generated from the plates will be used to fund youth education programs relating to wildlife conservation practices.

 

LB865 revises the definition of handicapped or disabled person for purposes of handicapped or disabled license plates and strikes outdated language.

 

LB783 provides for permanent public power district license plates for motor vehicles and trailers operated by public power districts receiving annual gross revenue of at least $40 million as determined by the Nebraska Power Review Board. The plates will be issued in the county in which the district is headquartered. The bill becomes operative on January 1, 2017.

 

LB811 shifts numeric license plates on farm trucks and trailers in Douglas, Lancaster, and Sarpy counties to an alphanumeric system. When legislation was adopted in 1999 to change these three counties from the county number plate system to an alphanumeric system, farm trucks and trailers were not included and remained on the county number system. The change in LB811 will allow these counties to share plates, thereby reducing waste and eliminating confusion among other numbered plate types. The bill takes effect on January 1, 2017.

 

LB977 creates breast cancer awareness license plates. The bill also decreases the number of prepaid applications that must be submitted by organizations to qualify for specialty license plates from 500 to 250. Language incorporated into LB977 from LB918 earmarks one percent of motor vehicle tax proceeds for a fund to help replace the state's motor vehicle titling and registration system. Other elements of LB977 are discussed in the Roads section.

  

LB775 changes the factor used to calculate motor vehicle taxes from the year of acquisition to the year placed in service. It also clarifies that trailers and semitrailers are tangible personal property that is exempt from taxation.

 

LB275 closes a loophole when a driver who has become eligible to have his or her driver's license reinstated on the underlying revocation remains suspended under the initial conviction.

 

LB295 requires cities of the first or second class and villages to give counties written notice and an opportunity to comment when zoning ordinances are proposed within the extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction (ETJ). The city can take action after 30 days from the notice or when comments are received from the county, whichever is sooner. The provisions do not apply to cities or villages located in a county with a population in excess of 100,000 or if the municipalities and the county have a joint planning commission or joint planning department.

 

LB704 clarifies that counties and cities must keep a copy of their local building, construction, plumbing, electrical or other codes available for use and examination by the public as long as the code is in effect. Language from LB705 was incorporated into the bill to clean up statutes related to cities of the first class. An interim study, LR490, will examine the enforcement of state and local building codes.

 

LB864 allows cities of the first or second class and villages to request additional extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction from the county. Currently, if the territory requested is within one-half mile of another city's or village's ETJ, the county cannot approve the request for the additional ETJ. The bill permits the transfer if the other city or village adopts a resolution in support of the request.

 

LB875 requires county planning and public works departments to review planned unit developments located on property outside of the corporate boundaries of a second class city or village before approval of the development. This requirement applies to cities or villages of the second class that are located in whole or part within the boundaries of a county with a population between 100,000 and 200,000 that has adopted a comprehensive development plan and is enforcing subdivision regulations.

 

LB877 requires materials on proposed subdivisions plats or public streets or improvements that are filed with a municipality to also be provided to the county planning commission if the plat lies within the extraterritorial jurisdiction being exercised by the municipality. The commission can officially comment on the appropriateness of the design and improvements proposed in the plat. The bill applies to counties between 100,000 and 250,000.