LB 398 updates Nebraska's motor vehicle laws to align with federal standards and introduces new license plate options. It creates permanent Arbor Day license plates for vehicles, updates fees for organizational, military honor, prisoner-of-war, disabled veteran, and Purple Heart plates, and establishes a dedicated fund to support Arbor Day plate grants. The bill also modifies commercial driver's license requirements, changes fees for DMV record requests, and updates trailer plate rules for commercial fertilizer transport. These changes directly affect drivers, commercial vehicle operators, and the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles.
LB 625 requires Nebraska's Department of Revenue to create and maintain a public database of school district financial data on its website. School districts must annually submit detailed information including revenue sources, expenditures, and balance sheets showing assets and liabilities (both committed and uncommitted funds). The database must be updated within 30 days of receiving new data, with implementation required by January 1, 2026. This affects all Nebraska school districts and provides the public with standardized financial information, while excluding confidential or legally protected data.
LB 475 would add tianeptine to Nebraska's Schedule I controlled substances list under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. This classification would make tianeptine illegal without a prescription, directly affecting individuals who use it without medical authorization. The bill amends existing law to include tianeptine specifically in Schedule I, which prohibits substances with no accepted medical use and high abuse potential. This change would require prescriptions for any medical use and criminalize unauthorized possession or distribution. The bill is currently pending in the Judiciary Committee.
LB 622 establishes Nebraska's Statewide Housing Assistance Program, using the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to provide direct financial aid like downpayment assistance to low- and very low-income homebuyers. It expands eligible uses of the Trust Fund to include weatherization, energy improvements, and housing education programs, while requiring nonprofits and local groups to receive priority for funding. The bill mandates that at least 30% of annual Trust Fund dollars be allocated to each congressional district and prioritizes projects serving the lowest-income residents in blighted areas or enterprise zones. This program directly affects low-income households seeking homeownership and community organizations administering housing assistance across Nebraska.
Nebraska bill LB 562 revises fees and rules for permits issued by the Game and Parks Commission. It sets annual resident permits at a maximum of $35 (nonresident at $60), provides free disabled veteran permits for eligible Nebraskans (based on VA disability rating), and establishes a $5 fee for active-duty military permits. The bill also updates rules for electronic permit sales, temporary permits, and mountain sheep hunting permits, including auction procedures for limited permits. These changes directly affect hunters, veterans, active-duty military members, and permit sellers across Nebraska.
LB 287 amends Nebraska's Housing Agency Act to expand cities' authority to regulate housing through local ordinances. The bill adds specific powers for cities to address public health, safety, and property maintenance - including requiring weed/litter removal, regulating animal control (like dogs and livestock), and enforcing food safety standards. It directly affects cities (especially metropolitan class) and property owners by establishing new ordinance requirements for sanitation, street cleanliness, and animal management. The bill does not include provisions about bed bugs as referenced in its title, based on the provided text. This is a substantive policy change to municipal regulatory authority under the Housing Agency Act.
LB 709 creates a Nebraska income tax credit for residents who pay adoption expenses, directly affecting individuals or families adopting children who qualify for the federal adoption tax credit under 26 U.S.C. § 23. The bill establishes a refundable credit equal to 10% of the federal credit amount claimed in the same tax year, effective for 2026 tax returns. This harmonizes Nebraska tax law by adding adoption credit as a specific line item within existing credit provisions. The credit applies to all eligible Nebraska taxpayers regardless of federal credit limitations, making it refundable (meaning it can reduce tax liability below zero).
LB 644 requires individuals acting as agents for "adversary nations" (countries on a U.S. government list as of April 2025) or foreign terrorist organizations to register with Nebraska authorities. It specifically mandates transparency for lobbyists or consultants working on behalf of Chinese military companies and prohibits certain foreign entities from receiving state incentive program benefits. The bill also adds new rules for medical and research facilities, restricting how they store and remotely access genetic sequencing data. These provisions directly affect lobbyists, consultants, foreign entities seeking state contracts, and healthcare/research organizations handling genetic information.
This bill modifies Nebraska's Liquor Control Act to adjust licensing rules for craft breweries and microdistilleries. It requires craft breweries exceeding 20,000 barrels of annual production to obtain a manufacturer's license, which allows continued retail sales but limits them to up to eight existing retail locations (requiring divestment of excess locations). The bill also clarifies self-distribution rights for craft breweries (up to 250 barrels annually to Nebraska retailers), permits offsite storage of tax-paid products with commission approval, and maintains the 100,000-gallon annual production cap for microdistilleries. These changes primarily affect small beverage producers scaling operations within Nebraska.
LB 78, now law after being signed by the governor on May 20, 2025, creates a new housing assistance program for victims of domestic violence and sex trafficking. It establishes the Domestic Violence and Sex Trafficking Survivor Housing Assistance Fund, managed by the Department of Health and Human Services, to provide rental payments, security deposits, and other housing-related support. The bill also modifies juvenile sentencing rules to require courts to consider if an offender was a victim of abuse or trafficking when deciding whether to impose imprisonment. These changes directly affect survivors seeking housing stability and offenders in juvenile court cases where victimization is relevant.
LB 606 eliminates Nebraska's Division of Parole Supervision and its director position, transferring all parole supervision duties to the Department of Correctional Services. It updates rules for handling correctional system overcrowding emergencies and removes outdated legal provisions. This change directly affects current parole staff, who will be reorganized under Correctional Services, and people under parole supervision, who will now be managed by the same department overseeing prisons. The bill simplifies oversight by consolidating parole and correctional functions into one agency while modernizing emergency response protocols.
Nebraska's LB 610 amends the Medical Assistance Act to change how Medicaid reimburses ground emergency medical transport providers. It sets a 100% cap on total reimbursement (combining state, federal, and other sources) for transport services to Medicaid beneficiaries, ensuring payments never exceed actual costs. The bill requires providers and local governments to certify claims against federal standards and submit supporting data to the Department of Health and Human Services for federal approval. These changes apply directly to emergency medical transport providers and the state agency managing Medicaid reimbursements.
