This week I will finish telling you about the bills in the omnibus Revenue Committee bill LB727–Change provisions relating to revenue and taxation.

• LB407 extends the application deadline of the Nebraska Transformational Projects Act from December 31, 2023 to December 31, 2025.
• LB491 reinstates the Nebraska Advantage Research and Development Act which ended in 2022. Businesses can claim credits under the act until December 31, 2033.
• LB584 imposes a tax on electronic nicotine delivery systems of 5 cents per milliliter of consumable material for purposes of recouping negative public costs caused by these addictive products, which largely target consumers who are minors and other young Nebraskans, to the Nebraska General Fund.
• Under the amended provisions of LB692 the state Department of Economic Development could approve applications to create “good life districts”. Proposed projects within a district would have to meet certain thresholds related to development costs and job creation. For a project located in a county with 100,000 or more inhabitants, an applicant would also have to demonstrate that, upon completion of the project, at least 20 percent of the project’s sales would be made to out-of-state residents, would attract new-to-market retail business, and draw at least 3 million visitors per year. Transactions occurring within a district would be subject to a reduced state sales tax rate of 2.75 percent.
• Under the provisions of LB704, the owner of an ABLE account or the representative of the account’s beneficiary could distribute the account balance to specified individuals if it is less than or equal to $5,000 on the date of the beneficiary’s death. This eliminates the need to open an estate or enter probate.
• LB732 extends the application deadline for the convention Center Facility Financing Assistance Act from 2012 to 2030. The act turns back a portion of state sales tax revenue collected by convention centers and associated hotels to cities to help finance the facilities.
• LB623 added live music performances open to the public and have a capacity to hold at least 2,500 but not more than 3,500 persons, including music stages, dressing rooms, concession areas, parking facilities, lobby areas, and onsite administrative offices connecting with operating facilities to the Sports Arena Facility Financing Assistance Act.
• LB577 updates Nebraska’s tax sale certificate process to help address “equity theft”. This measure allows someone who purchases a tax sale certificate to apply to a county for a tax deed if the difference between 110 percent of the property’s assessed value and the amount needed to redeem the property is $25,000 or less. If the difference is great, the purchaser would have to foreclose the lien represented by the certificate in district court. Within 30 days of the county’s granting of a deed, the grantee would have to pay any surplus–calculated using either the property’s sale price or its assessed value–to the property’s previous owner.
  (Portions taken from “Revenue omnibus bill that includes retail tax break advances”. Unicameral Update. May 17, 2023. http://update.legislature.ne.gov/?p=34348)

CONGRATULATIONS TO SOUTH SIOUX CITY AND DAKOTA COUNTY
     I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Dakota County for topping the Nation’s Economic Development by finishing third in all counties nationally per capita. The results tabulated by Sites Selection Magazine of Peachtree Corners, Georgia was labeled as America’s Best Counties projects per capita. This list included all U. S. counties with populations with at least 10,000 residents.
     Pat Boeshart, president and owner of LiteForm Technologies in South Sioux City, likes doing business in Dakota County and the greater tri-state Siouxland region because of the quality of life, attention to safety, ease of getting around, location, and access to Class I rail service.
     Congratulations on this honor! (“Heroes of the Heartland”. July, 2023. https://siteselection.com/issues/2023/july/heroes-of-the-heartland-cover.cfm)

As always, I invite you to let me know your thoughts, ideas, concerns, or suggestions by contacting me by calling (402) 471-2716 or emailing me at jalbrecht@leg.ne.gov.