Omnibus transportation bill passed

Lawmakers passed a bill July 31 containing several transportation measures.

LB944, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Suzanne Geist, allows owners to seek a refund on vehicle registration if a vehicle is lost to natural disaster.

Provisions of LB1088, originally introduced by Henderson Sen. Curt Friesen and included in the bill, allow people to purchase a personalized message organizational license plate. The provisions also permit the state Department of Motor Vehicles to discontinue issuance of certain specialty license plates if less than 500 new and renewal applications are received in any consecutive two-year period. The current threshold is 200.

LB944 includes provisions of five bills authorizing new license plates:
• LB843, introduced by Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, which provides for “Donate Life” license plates;
• LB903, introduced by Omaha Sen. Rick Kolowski, which provides for Down syndrome awareness license plates;
• LB921, introduced by Omaha Sen. Robert Hilkemann, which provides for “The Good Life is Outside” license plates;
• LB942, introduced by Omaha Sen. Megan Hunt, which provides for “Support the Arts” license plates; and
• LB1139, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Anna Wishart, which provides for “Pets for Vets” license plates.

Additionally, provisions of the following six bills are incorporated in LB944:
• LB976, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Kate Bolz, which adds neurological impairment to the list of criteria eligible for handicap parking passes within the exiting 200-foot mobility impairment standard;
• LB831, introduced by Brainard Sen. Bruce Bostelman, which allows the state DMV to issue a salvage title for a vehicle manufactured prior to 1940 if it previously was titled as “junk;”
• LB768, introduced by Thurston Sen. Joni Albrecht, which incorporates updated federal regulations related to cabin trailers, low-speed vehicles, handicapped parking, vehicle registration and driver licenses and state identification cards, among others;
• LB785, introduced by Friesen, which provides length, weight and load capacity exceptions for stinger-steered automobile transporters, towaway trailer transporter combinations, battery-powered vehicles, emergency vehicles and certain heavy-duty tow and recovery vehicles;
• LB983, introduced by Bellevue Sen. Sue Crawford, which eliminates the one-point deduction from a person’s driver license for a speeding violation of up to five miles per hour over the speed limit; and
• LB1067, introduced by Bayard Sen. Steve Erdman, which allows all-terrain and utility-type vehicles to cross controlled-access highways of more than two marked lanes, if used for agricultural purposes.
LB944 passed on a 48-0 vote and takes effect immediately.