Omnibus consumer protection measure approved

A measure aimed at strengthening consumer protections was approved by lawmakers April 10.

LB838, sponsored by Sen. Mike Jacobson of North Platte, authorizes an optional program for financial institutions under which a vulnerable or senior adult may designate an authorized contact to be notified by a financial institution in the event of an emergency, loss of contact with the customer or suspected financial exploitation.

The measure also includes provisions from the following bills:
• LB837, also introduced by Jacobson, which addresses how merchants treat transactions involving physical currency now that the U.S. Mint has stopped producing pennies;
• LB875, sponsored by Syracuse Sen. Bob Hallstrom, which prohibits suppliers from including clauses in contracts that waive compliance with the Equipment Business Regulation Act or mandate that legal disputes be resolved in out-of-state forums or by other state laws;
• LB1063, introduced by Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln, which modernizes the Nebraska Money Transmitters Act to exclude influence from foreign adversaries and regulates informal transfer systems;
• LB1118, sponsored by Lincoln Sen. Carolyn Bosn, which updates the state’s Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act to treat certain conduct by social media platforms that accept paid advertising as a deceptive trade practice;
• LB1119, also introduced by Bosn, which updates the Age-Appropriate Online Design Code Act passed by lawmakers last year;
• LB1160, sponsored by Hallstrom, which modernizes Nebraska’s estate and trust laws by synchronizing the Uniform Probate Code with the Uniform Trust Code and strengthening the rights of surviving families; and
• LB1174, introduced by Omaha Sen. Kathleen Kauth, which imposes a 25% excise tax on a remittance transfer using cash, money order or cashier’s check by a licensee or authorized delegate to a resident of a foreign adversary country as determined by the federal government. The tax would not apply to remittance transfers to or from U.S. active-duty service members or their dependents, or remittances sent to Cuba or Venezuela.

Lawmakers passed LB838 on a 46-3 vote. The measure takes effect immediately.