I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate those who participated in the Dixon County Fair July 5-10. Good luck to those participating in the Dakota-Thurston County Fair and the Wayne County Fair coming up in a few weeks. I look forward to watching our grandkids, friends, and neighbors as they participate in this year’s fairs.

The Winnebago Tribe is having their 158th Homecoming Celebration “Commemorating the Return of Chief Little Priest and the Ft. Omaha Company A Scouts” on July 26th at the Winnebago Veterans Memorial Park in Winnebago. This is a great opportunity to interact with their community and the Winnebago culture. For more information, go to https://winnebagotribe.com/winnebago-pow-wow-2024/.

Bill Update
This week I would like to finish going over portions of LB1317, one of the two Revenue Committee priority bills. LB1317 makes changes intended to improve the accuracy of currently required reports on inheritance tax collected by counties and creates a collection system to intercept an individual’s gambling winnings to pay off any child support debts or unpaid taxes. This bill also allows a publicly owned stadium in a metropolitan class city to qualify for state assistance under the Sports Arena Facility Financing Assistance Act.

• LB1218, introduced by Senator Bostar, imposes an excise tax of 3 cents per kilowatt hour on the electricity used to charge electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles at a commercial electric vehicle charging station beginning January 1, 2028. This bill also increases the additional registration fee for each motor vehicle powered by an alternative fuel from $75 to $150. The additional fee for a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is $75. An electric supplier may own, maintain and operate a direct-current, fast-charging station for retail services only at a location that is at least 15 miles from a privately owned station and at least one mile from a federally designated alternative fuel corridor.
• LB1295, introduced by Senator von Gillern, creates the Financial Institution Data Match Act. The measure requires the state Department of Revenue to operate a data match system with each financial institution doing business in Nebraska. Under the system, the department will provide financial institutions a list of individuals with unpaid taxes that the institutions will match to their account records. Institutions will provide the department with a list of all matches.
• LB1305, introduced by Senator Ben Hansen of Blair, expands the definition of bullion and adds or subtracts net capital gains or losses to or from federal adjusted gross income, unless the gain or loss is derived from the sale of bullion as a taxable distribution from a retirement plan account. The Good Life Transformational Projects Art, passed by the Legislature last year, authorizes the state Department of Economic Development to approve for “good life districts” that meet certain thresholds related to investment and job creation. Transactions within a district are subject to a reduced state sales tax rate of 2.75%.
• LB1374, introduced by Senator Linehan, a city may–with voter approval–establish an economic development program for an area of the city included in a good life district and appropriate local sources of revenue to pay for development costs.
• LB1389, introduced by Senator Bostar, exempts broadband equipment from personal property tax if it is deployed in an area using federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program funds or in a qualified census tract located in a metropolitan class city and used to provide internet access at certain speeds.
• LB1397, introduced by Senator Dave Murman of Glenvil, excludes land used for commercial purposes that are not agricultural or horticultural–such as land used for a solar farm or wind farm–from the definition of agricultural and horticultural for valuation purposes.
  (“Session Review: Revenue”. Unicameral Update. 13 May, 2024. https://update.legislature.ne.gov/?p=36628)

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