Session Review: Banking, Commerce and Insurance
Protecting agricultural data, enhancing the state’s affordable housing efforts and strengthening regulations and consumer protections across a variety of business sectors were among the issues considered by the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee this session.
Consumer protections
Lawmakers approved a measure aimed at creating comprehensive privacy protections for Nebraska agricultural data and strengthening regulation of conversational artificial intelligence.
LB525, introduced last session by North Platte Sen. Mike Jacobson on behalf of Gov. Jim Pillen, requires controllers and potential controllers of agricultural data to enter into written consent agreements with agricultural producers before providing, using or selling that data.
Among other provisions, the bill prohibits the sale of an agricultural producer’s raw data by anyone other than the producer who controls or processes that data, and requires any controller or processor in possession of such data to establish, implement and maintain reasonable security practices to protect the information.
Under the bill, starting Jan. 1, 2027, every new contract or agreement involving the collection or processing of agricultural data in Nebraska must include a specific provision that prohibits the selling of that data unless the producer has given express written consent.
Any contract entered into after that date that waives or limits the requirements of the bill will be void and unenforceable. The state attorney general may bring an action for violations to either seek injunctive relief or a civil penalty of $1,000 per violation.
Also included in the bill are the provisions of LB1185, sponsored by Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln, which adopt the Conversational Artificial Intelligence Safety Act. The provisions require disclosure when a user reasonably could believe that they are interacting with a human being and add additional safeguards for minor account holders.
The measure also requires a protocol to respond to prompts involving suicidal ideation or self-harm that includes referral to crisis services, and prohibits a service from claiming to be designed to provide professional mental or behavioral health care.
The attorney general is empowered to enforce the provisions through civil action.
LB525 passed on a 49-0 vote.
Also sponsored by Jacobson, LB838 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 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 Bostar, 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 will not apply to remittance transfers to or from U.S. active-duty service members or their dependents, or remittances sent to Cuba or Venezuela.
LB838 passed on a 46-3 vote and took effect immediately.
A measure that would have required “large frontier” AI developers and large chatbot providers to create and publicly post plans describing how they assess and attempt to reduce “catastrophic” risks to the public and to children specifically was heard by the committee.
LB1083, introduced by Whitman Sen. Tanya Storer, was advanced to general file but was not scheduled for debate.
Housing
LB768, sponsored by Sen. Robert Dover of Norfolk and passed 49-0, makes a number of changes to the powers of the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority, the Rural Workforce Housing Investment Act and the Middle Income Workforce Housing Investment Act.
The bill authorizes NIFA to establish and own nonprofit subsidiaries that further housing goals. NIFA will not be responsible for the debts, liabilities and obligations of any nonprofit subsidiary it creates.
LB768 also dissolves the Housing Authority Committee and grants the state Department of Economic Development the power to contract with statewide nonprofits to serve as agents for workforce and middle income housing programs. Among other provisions, the bill also:
● shortens the NIFA grant and loan application period from 90 to 60 days;
● allows funds held in any escrow account to be recaptured by DED; and
● provides that a building constructed or repaired using state grant funds will not be subject to state energy code compliance and mandatory plan reviews if it will not be owned or managed by the state.
The measure includes provisions of LB1246, also introduced by Dover.
Those provisions require NIFA to record all instances of revenue, fund balance and expenditure within a formal accounting system and submit, at least 20 days before the start of each legislative session, a report on the condition of all public funds for grants or loan programs involving public funds pursuant to an agreement with a state agency.
NIFA also is required to provide monthly accountings of all such transactions and detailed annual reports, beginning July 1, 2027.
Finally, the bill includes provisions of Hallstrom’s LB819, which extend sunset dates for the Rural Workforce Housing Investment Act and the Middle Income Workforce Housing Investment Act to July 1, 2032.
The provisions also change definitions in the Middle Income Workforce Housing Investment Act to include construction cost in determining a property’s value, and increase the construction cap on owner-occupied housing units under the Rural Workforce Housing Program from no more than $325,000 to $375,000 and on rental units from no more than $250,000 to $300,000.
Other measures
A bill intended to increase licensure access to those seeking to become certified public accountants received final approval this session.
Currently, to sit for the CPA exam in Nebraska, one must have completed 150 semester-hours of postsecondary academic credit, earned a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited college or university and demonstrated professional competency.
LB718, sponsored by Jacobson and passed 48-0, instead creates three distinct licensure pathways in the state:
● a master’s degree plus one year of experience;
● a bachelor’s degree plus 30 additional credit hours and one year of experience; or
● a bachelor’s degree plus two years of professional experience.
The measure also clarifies that passing the exam is not the same as being credentialed as a CPA, aligns Nebraska law with the Uniform Accountancy Act and clarifies that administrative lapses are not considered ethical violations for disciplinary purposes.
Lawmakers also passed a bill that requires Nebraska insurers to cover treatments for two related pediatric autoimmune disorders that manifest as mental health and behavioral disorders.
LB762, sponsored by Lincoln Sen. George Dungan, requires coverage of treatment for pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS) and pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS), a subset of PANS.
Required PANS/PANDAS treatments must be recommended by the patient’s licensed physician and include, but are not limited to, antibiotics, medication and behavioral therapies to manage neuropsychiatric symptoms, plasma exchange and immunoglobulin.
LB762 passed on a 45-4 vote and takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.
A program aimed at benefitting Nebraska’s small businesses is required to award a minimum dollar amount of grant funds under a bill passed this session.
Currently, the state Department of Economic Development has the option to distribute up to $3 million in grants annually through the Microenterprise Assistance Program under the Business Innovation Act. LB1205, sponsored by Kearney Sen. Stan Clouse, requires DED to do so beginning in fiscal year 2027-28.
LB1205 passed on a 49-0 vote.
LB717, introduced by Jacobson at the request of the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance, is the department’s annual administrative update. Among other technical changes, the bill harmonizes state law with federal law and preserves the “wild card” powers of state banks, credit unions and savings associations.
The measure also provides a number of consumer protections, such as requiring a “net tangible benefit” analysis for borrowers financing installment or mortgage loans and authorizing the emergency closure of financial institutions in the event of a cybersecurity breach.
In addition, LB717 expands the definition of financial institutions to include credit unions under the Nebraska Financial Innovation Act, broadens the scope of controllable electronic record kiosks and updates lending limits by increasing the usury rate exemption cap from $25,000 to $100,000.
The bill also provides an exemption from the Nebraska Money Transmitters Act for payroll processors that have fewer than 25 full-time employees and provide services to fewer than 50 clients who reside in Nebraska.
LB717 passed on a vote of 48-0.
Finally, a proposal advanced by the committee to general file was later amended into a bill out of the Business and Labor Committee.
LB1044, sponsored by Lincoln Sen. Jason Prokop, appropriates $15 million in fiscal year 2026-27 from the Business Innovation Cash Fund for grants under the Business Innovation Act and requires that at least $4 million in grants be awarded annually.
The measure was amended into LB847, an omnibus workforce package, to which lawmakers gave final approval.
