Judiciary Committee

Jury statutes would be reorganized and updated under a bill introduced by Senator Patty Pansing Brooks on behalf of NACO and clerks of the district court. LB192 would rearrange Chapter 25, Article 16 by topic and define terms such as grand jury, petit jury and tales juror in order to make the statutes easier to follow. The Nebraska State Bar Association and ACLU submitted letters in support of LB192.

 

The committee advanced another bill introduced by Senator Pansing Brooks on behalf of counties. LB193 would modernize court terminology and recordkeeping procedures to reflect the statewide electronic case management system.

 

The committee also heard LB367, which would transfer costs for transportation of juvenile offenders to counties when a peace officer takes a juvenile into temporary custody and a probation officer determines the need for detention or an alternative placement. The issue was identified in a 2014 study of unfunded mandates and has been part of the ongoing discussion of juvenile justice reform costs.

 

Urban Affairs Committee

County assessors would be responsible for accepting applications for tax increment financing (TIF) projects and forwarding them to the Tax Commissioner under a bill heard by the Urban Affairs Committee on Tuesday. The introducer, Senator Mike Groene, called the bill an attempt to put state oversight over municipalities in the TIF process. Under LB597, a governing body seeking to use TIF would need approval from the Tax Commissioner before the rest of the project could move forward. Opponents testified that the process could slow down projects and might be unconstitutional. NACO testified neutral, comparing the process to accepting homestead exemption applications and asking for technical changes if the bill advances. The committee also heard LB489 that would redefine the term redevelopment project to strike a reference to "other improvements". The phrase was cited in a study of TIF projects by the State Auditor as being unclear. A third bill, LB262, would prohibit the use of TIF on certain undeveloped vacant land. Testifiers discussed whether such parcels should be both blighted and substandard to be eligible for TIF.

 

The committee will hear other bills on TIF and the Community Development Law next Tuesday, February 28. LB95 would expand hearing and notice provisions to counties and other local entities of proposed TIF projects so that there is more opportunity for those boards to meet and review the proposals. LB496 would expand the definition of redevelopment project to include the construction of workforce housing in cities of the first and second class and villages. LR16CA would allow cities to pledge taxes in a redevelopment project for up to 20 years if the area is extremely blighted.

 

Revenue Committee

LB602, which would change the valuation of ag land to a productivity-based system was heard by the Revenue Committee on Friday. An amendment that would replace the bill would provide for the appointment of a Crop Values Committee to develop the gross income per acre as a starting point for the calculation. As originally written, the bill would provide for a statutory 6 percent capitalization rate.

 

Real property taxes and special assessments would have to be current before developers could combine multiple lots through a Form 191 process under LB236. Senator Steve Erdman introduced the bill at NACO's request to prevent taxes from falling through the cracks when parcels are physically combined. NACO asked for the bill to address recordkeeping concerns but much of the discussion focused on the policy of allowing developers to combine lots for tax benefits. A real estate development group opposed the bill because many sanitary and improvement districts use special assessments in the beginning stages of development.

 

The Revenue Committee also heard LB238 that would allow counties to certify values to other taxing entities by mail, electronically, or on the county's website. An amendment was suggested to add authority for the recipient to request the information by mail.

 

LB288 would expand the types of service of notice that a tax deed was being pursued to include certified mail or designated delivery service. An amendment was offered to require the property owner's name to be included in the notice. The bill would also provide that tax sales certificates sold between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2017 would be governed by the laws in effect on December 31, 2009. Existing law ends the period on December 31, 2014.

Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee

LB567 would eliminate a requirement for counties to provide office space to the Department of Health and Human Services for the administration of public assistance programs as the facilities existed on April 1, 1983. Instead, the state would have to pay for the costs. An amendment was offered at the hearing to limit the state's obligation to costs for the rental of privately owned facilities. NACO supports LB567.

 

Transportation and Telecommunications Committee

Telecommunications providers could use small cell technology to deliver a new generation of wireless technology under LB389, the Small Wireless Facilities Act, that was heard by the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee on Tuesday. The Act would allow poles and wireless facilities to be placed in the county right-of-way. Another bill heard by the committee would terminate a 2018 sunset date on the 911 Service System Act that was adopted last year to facilitate the development of NextGen 911 in Nebraska.