Lawmakers gave first-round approval April 9 to a bill that would change the bonding power of any joint public agency (JPA).<\/p>\n
LB132, introduced by Crete Sen. Laura Ebke, would require a JPA to follow the bond issuance procedures required by law for the participating public agency from which the JPA derived taxation powers.<\/p>\n
Ebke said the JPA Act\u2014created in 1999 to encourage cooperation among local public agencies\u2014contains a loophole that allows JPAs to issue bonds without public hearings or a public vote.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy closing this loophole, it returns JPAs to their original purpose,\u201d Ebke said. \u201cWe\u2019re ensuring that citizens have a say in taxation that might affect them.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee amendment, adopted 27-0, specifies election procedures that would be required prior to a JPA issuing a general obligation bond paid by a property tax.<\/p>\n
The amendment also clarifies the electorate that would vote on a bond issue if the participating public agencies have overlapping jurisdiction of a geographic area.<\/p>\n
Lincoln Sen. Adam Morfeld supported the bill, but said some concerns remained regarding the authority to refinance bonds at a better rate. Morfeld suggested that an amendment on select file might address those concerns.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can save a few million of taxpayers\u2019 funds by refinancing, I think it\u2019s important to allow for that explicitly in the bill,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The bill advanced from general file on a 28-0 vote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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