Municipal development measure expanded, advanced to final reading

An Urban Affairs Committee package advanced to the final round of debate April 1 after lawmakers amended it to include a proposal that would allow Nebraska cities and villages of all sizes to create stand-alone land banks.

LB1135, introduced by the committee, would modify land bank membership and reporting requirements under the Nebraska Municipal Land Bank Act.

Land banks are tax-exempt political subdivisions that acquire, manage and develop vacant, abandoned and tax-delinquent properties.

As amended on general file, the measure would require the board of a land bank created by a single municipality to include at least one voting member who resides in a qualified census tract within the municipality, if there is one.

Omaha Sen. Terrell McKinney offered a select file amendment, adopted 37-0, that instead would require a board to include at least one voting member who resides in the city council district that includes a majority of the census tracts containing a certain percentage of people in poverty.

The provision would apply only to a land bank created by a metropolitan class city. Omaha is the state’s only metropolitan class city.

As amended on the first round of debate, LB1135 includes provisions of four other bills considered by the committee this session, including McKinney’s LB799.

The proposal would require a metropolitan class city, counties with a population of more than 500,000 and state agencies to submit an annual report to the materiel division of the state Department of Administrative Services that contains information on service contracts awarded during the prior year.

The division would compile the information and submit it in an annual report to the governor, the Clerk of the Legislature and the committee.

McKinney introduced an amendment under which contracts would have to reach a certain value threshold before they would have to be reported, starting at $70,000 or more for contracts entered into prior to Jan. 1, 2029.

The amendment, adopted 36-0, also would require the reports to be submitted beginning in 2028 rather than 2026, as originally proposed.

Sen. Robert Dover of Norfolk introduced an amendment to include a modified version of his LB811. The proposal would authorize all Nebraska municipalities to establish stand-alone land banks, something only primary and metropolitan class cities currently are allowed to do.

Lincoln is the state’s only primary class city.

Two other provisions in Dover’s amendment would apply only to land banks not created by Lincoln or Omaha. The first would apply to property intended for residential development and would require a land bank to advertise the property for sale for 90 days after acquisition or until an offer is accepted.

Under the other provision, a land bank could include a contractual provision allowing it to reacquire the property at the original purchase price if construction has not commenced within a specified timeframe.

After adopting a technical amendment offered by Dover, senators voted 38-1 to adopt the underlying amendment.

Omaha Sen. Dunixi Guereca introduced an amendment to include provisions of his LB1250. They would allow primary, first and second class cities or villages to sell or transfer any waterworks, sewer system or water system to an Indian tribe under certain conditions.

The infrastructure must be located entirely within the tribe’s lands, the tribe’s headquarters must be located in the city or village and the sale or transfer must be approved by city or village voters.

Guereca said the measure is intended to allow the village of Winnebago to transfer its water and sewer systems to the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.

After voting 43-0 to adopt Guereca’s amendment, senators advanced LB1135 to final reading by voice vote.