Today marks the 22nd day of the First Session of the 106th Legislature. With the first quarter of the 90-day session nearly completed, senators continue to engage in floor debate in the mornings and committee hearings in the afternoons. Committee hearings are scheduled to conclude on March 28 and full days of debate will begin on April 2.

 

Senators have begun designating their personal priority bills for the session. Senator Tom Brewer has selected LB155, a bill to eliminate the ability of electric suppliers to use eminent domain to acquire land for power transmission lines and facilities. Senator Anna Wishart has selected LB110, a bill to authorize the use of medical marijuana. Senators and committees must designate their priority bills by March 19. Senators must submit requests for speaker priority bills by March 14.

County treasurers, attorneys, bankers, property owners, tax sales investors, and NACO staff testified Friday in support of a measure to revise procedures for issuing treasurer's tax deeds. NACO hosted stakeholder meetings over the summer and worked with a group formed by Senator Matt Williams to develop the bill as introduced.

 

LB463 would create a checklist of items that must be submitted with an application for a treasurer's deed. A title search by a registered abstracter would be needed. Investors applying for a treasurer's deed who could not locate the property owner by other means would have to publish in a newspaper designated by the county board.

 

Revenue Committee members asked questions about the notice given to delinquent property owners by county treasurers and investors and opportunities to redeem the property in the three years before a tax deed is issued. Senator Williams stressed that the bill is not intended to incentivize bad behavior but to encourage the payment of taxes.

 

The committee took no action on the bill on Friday.

At Friday's hearing on LB490, Senator Justin Wayne asked the Judiciary Committee to hold both the introduced version of the bill to consolidate the offices of clerks of the district court and clerk magistrates and an amendment to limit the changes to ex officio clerks of the district court. He suggested a two-part interim study by the Judiciary Committee to examine court issues and the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee to review issues related to elected officials.

 

His interest in the bill stemmed from confusion about whether courts would be open when President Trump declared a federal holiday for former president George H.W. Bush's funeral. Senator Wayne supported the concept of the Chief Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court being responsible for all court officials and employees, rather than some personnel being elected.

 

The Administrative Office of the Nebraska Supreme Court also testified in support of the concept of judicial branch oversight.

 

Senator Mark Kolterman, Chair of the Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee, reminded the Judiciary Committee of a legislative rule requiring an actuarial study before legislation can be enacted that would have a fiscal impact on the state-administered retirement plans. Clerks of the district court and their employees would become participants in the state's retirement plan under the bill.

 

Clerks of the district court testified in opposition to LB490.

Three comprehensive tax reform proposals, LB314, LB497, and LB677, have been set for hearing by the Revenue Committee on Thursday, February 14. The hearings will begin at 12:30 p.m., rather than the regular hearing time of 1:30 p.m., to accommodate expected extensive testimony.

 

LB314, by Senator Tom Briese, and LB497, by Senator Curt Friesen, contain elements that would increase sales and use taxes, eliminate sales tax exemptions, and increase cigarette and alcohol taxes, among other tools intended to provide property tax relief.

 

LB677, by Senator Mike Groene, would reduce school district levies and send at least $224 million to schools through a revised state aid formula.

 

Revenue Committee Bills Advanced from General File

The Revenue Committee advanced two bills that were debated and advanced from General File on Friday. LB185 would require the owner or lessee of land consisting of five contiguous acres or less to provide an IRS Schedule F to document a profit or loss from farming for two out of the last three years in order to qualify for special valuation. The bill would take effect on January 1, 2020.

 

LB372 would change land capability groups used to value agricultural land to the use applied by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Currently these are based on dryland farming categories.

 

The Legislature also advanced LB4 that would set the minimum fee for filing a case with the Tax Equalization and Review Commission (TERC) at $40 and increase filing fees based on the value of the property. It would also allow commissioners to be reimbursed for mileage for daily travel from their residences to their offices in Lincoln and to the location of hearings. From 1996 to 2003, mileage costs were reimbursed to help offset expenses for the commissioner residing in the third congressional district. During the last biennium, a moratorium was imposed on travel by the courts so hearings were held almost exclusively in Lincoln. Senators discussed possibilities for creating efficiencies and further fee increases to help pay for travel costs before advancing the bill.

 

Bills Reported out of the Revenue Committee

The committee also sent LB183 and LB103 to the floor. LB183 would value ag land at one percent of its actual value for school district taxes levied to pay the principal and interest on bonds. The valuation for county purposes would not be affected. A committee amendment would change the proposed value from one percent to 30 percent of market value. It would clarify that the reduced value would apply to bonds issued after the effective date of the bill.

 

Under LB103, counties and other taxing entities proposing an increase in their tax asking from the prior year would have to hold a public hearing separate from the annual budget meeting and give at least 30 days' notice of the meeting through detailed criteria.

 

A committee amendment would remove the 30-day requirement and replace the introduced language. The new language would revise the proposed notice requirements and set out elements that would need to be included in the resolution or ordinance setting the political subdivision's property tax request.

LB183 and LB103 appear on Monday's agenda for first-round debate.

On Thursday, February 14, the Judiciary Committee will hear a series of bills to change juvenile justice provisions, including a measure to redirect funding through the Community-based Juvenile Services Aid Program. LB651 would restrict funding to services provided directly to juveniles or services provided to carry out express statutorily-authorized functions. Counties and other governmental entities that apply for the funds would be required to develop policies governing their distribution. The policies would have to be adopted by the governing board of the entity after a public hearing. Currently, ten percent of the grant funds, which total more than $600,000, are used for system improvements that would not be eligible for funding by the bill.

 

The committee will also hear LB230, LB390, and LB589. LB230 would provide parameters for room confinement in juvenile detention facilities. LB390 would set out duties for school resource officers and security guards. Law enforcement agencies and security agencies would be required to adopt a memorandum of understanding with a school district if they provide security guards to schools. The Crime Commission would develop and distribute a model agreement. LB589 would prohibit peace officers from serving as school resource officers.

Hearings Held this Week

This week the committee heard testimony on bills impacting county jails. LB376 was introduced by Senator Curt Friesen on behalf of NACO and county sheriffs. It would require the Nebraska Department of Correctional Facilities, (NDCS) to provide safekeeping for post-adjudicated inmates that county jails are unable to hold safely. County sheriffs, their representatives, and a deputy county attorney testified in support of the bill and presented examples of situations where they would be assisted by the provisions of LB376. NDCS representatives testified in opposition to the bill suggesting that prisons are not the appropriate placement for persons who have committed misdemeanor crimes.

 

LB216 would prohibit law enforcement officers from releasing a person from custody merely to avoid the cost of necessary medical services. Spokespersons from hospitals testified in favor of the bill by presenting scenarios of security concerns that had occurred at their facilities. NACO and county law enforcement representatives testified in opposition to the bill and explained practices for providing medical care to persons under their jurisdiction.

 

LB108 would limit the placement of NDCS inmates in county jails unless the jail provides the pre-release programming needed by the inmate. Prior to the hearing, an amendment was offered that would define how placements would be prioritized in county jails, including placement at a location in the offender's home county or within 100 miles of it. The Director of the Department of Corrections and a deputy sheriff testified in opposition to the bill. NACO testified in a neutral capacity.

Senators advanced 18 bills from General File, the first round of debate, on Friday, February 8. Some of these bills include:

 

Online Notary Public Act

LB186 would create the Online Notary Public Act. Signers would not have to be in the physical presence of the notary but could appear through communications technology. Online notaries would have to register with the Secretary of State and maintain secure, detailed electronic records. A committee amendment was adopted that would require all counties to begin e-recording real estate documents by July 1, 2020. The amendment would eliminate language creating an exception from formatting requirements for an electronically filed document.

 

Protection of Residential Addresses

LB152 would enumerate rights of National Guard members and grant the same protection of residential addresses that is available to law enforcement. A committee amendment was adopted to narrow the address protection to Guard members who are serving as law enforcement officers. Existing law allows law enforcement officers to request that their residential address is not disclosed in records of the county assessor and register of deeds without a written request.

 

On Friday, the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee heard a related bill, LB118, that would allow physicians and osteopathic physicians to request the same protection of their residential address. Committee members discussed the roles of privacy and security in requests to limit disclosure of residential addresses.The committee has not reported any action on LB118.

 

No hearing has been set for LB633, a bill to prohibit the disclosure of residential addresses unless a written request is made for the information.

 

Pledged Collateral

Banks and other financial institutions could aggregate amounts of collateral pledged to cover public funds in excess of FDIC limits through a single-bank pooled method under LB622. Banks would be allowed to base the amount of pledged collateral on the total of public funds accepted, rather than pledging collateral individually for each public entity's deposits. The Director of the Department of Banking could designate a bank or other financial institution to administer the program. At the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee hearing, Senator Matt Williams, the introducer, proposed an amendment to require, rather than permit, delegation of administrative duties. The amendment would eliminate the costs for the Department of Banking and remove the fiscal note. The amendment was adopted and the bill advanced.

Every bill introduced by the Legislature is the subject of a public hearing. Following is a schedule of bills that are of interest to counties. Due to construction at the Capitol, the Judiciary and Transportation and Telecommunications Committees will meet in the Warner Chamber.

 

Note that bills not appearing on this list may be heard during the same hearing. A complete list of hearings is available on the Legislature's website. For tips about testifying at a hearing, click here.

LB565 (Bolz) State legislative intent relating to a designated beneficiary determination under certain retirement systems