Omnibus municipal measure clears final round

Senators passed a bill April 12 that makes several changes to state laws governing Nebraska municipalities.

LB800, as introduced by the Urban Affairs Committee, makes grammatical and technical changes and replaces outdated language in state law regarding metropolitan class cities.

The bill includes provisions of seven other measures:
• LB555, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Matt Hansen, which requires that reports filed under the Municipal Density and Missing Middle Housing Act include the percentage of residential areas a city has declared substandard and blighted or extremely blighted;
• LB724, also introduced by Hansen, which authorizes funds generated under the Local Option Municipal Economic Development Act to be used to develop and implement affordable housing action plans and authorizes first and second class cities and villages to include grants, loans and construction funds as part of an affordable housing action plan;
• LB727, introduced by Hansen, which eliminates unnecessary language in state law regarding sanitary and improvement district elections;
• LB799, introduced by the committee, which updates and clarifies reporting requirements under the Municipal Density and Missing Middle Housing Act;
• LB842, introduced by Gordon Sen. Tom Brewer, which authorizes tribal governments to apply for grants under the Civic and Community Center Financing Act;
• LB1176, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Eliot Bostar, which amends the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Act to clarify that only individuals who became partners or members of a partnership, limited liability corporation or subchapter S corporation, or who acquired shares of stock prior to Feb. 15 of the year in which a tax return is filed for the credit, are eligible to claim it; and
• LB1189, introduced by Norfolk Sen. Michael Flood, which transfers all funds, property, property rights, legal obligations, taxes or assessments owned by or owed to a sanitary drainage district that lies solely within the zoning jurisdiction of a city to that city, or a riverfront development authority created by the city, if the sanitary drainage district is discontinued.

LB800 passed on a 48-0 vote and took effect immediately.