May 31, 2019

LEGISLATURE ADJOURNS

The Legislature adjourned on Friday, May 31, having concluded all of its work for the 2019 Legislative Session. Adjournment occurred after day 84, rather than the scheduled June 6 date. Lawmakers will reconvene the 2020 Legislative Session on January 8, 2020, at which time floor debate on carryover bills and introduction of new bills will commence.

The Legislature completed the session having passed 260 individual bills, with another 32 measures adopted by way of amendments to those bills. The major accomplishment of the session was balancing the state’s budget in the face of an initial $125 million budget shortfall.

ACTION ON BILLS OF INTEREST

The Legislature gave final approval in the waning days of the session, to the following bills of interest to banking industry:

LB 610 – College Savings Plans: Introduced and designated as a priority bill by Senator Brett Lindstrom (Omaha), LB 610, as amended, would grant state incentive payments to employers who contribute to an employee’s college savings plan. The incentive payments would be equal to 25 percent of the employer’s contributions, up to $2,000 per employee. The bill establishes a cap of $250,000 per year in incentive payments.

The measure also contains provisions to provide state matching funds for college savings plans established for children of low–income families ($1 for every $1 that is contributed to a college savings plan account for children whose families make between 200 percent and 250 percent of the federal poverty level and $2 for every $1 contributed for children of families making less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level). The state matching program would also be capped at $250,000 annually.

Finally, LB 610 creates a program under which each child born to a Nebraska resident after January 1, 2020, is eligible to have a Nebraska educational savings trust account opened for him or her, with funding to be provided from a proportionate amount of the previous year’s investment income derived from an associated trust fund.

LB 186 – Remote Electronic Notarial Act: Introduced by Senator Brett Lindstrom (Omaha), LB 186 will authorize the performance of an electronic notarial act if the signer of the electronic document is not in the physical presence of the electronic notary public at the time of notarization, provided the signer and electronic notary use video and audio conference technology meeting specified requirements and permitting the electronic notary to communicate and identify the signer at the time of the electronic notarial act.

LB 593 - Medical Assistance Recovery: LB 593, introduced by Senator (Albion), and designated as a priority bill by Senator (Peru), would eliminate provisions relating to medical assistance reimbursement claims and liens by retroactively repealing provisions relating to Medicaid notice or waiver applications and provisions relating to transfers of property pursuant to a revocable trust following death without prior approval.

LB 657 - Nebraska Hemp Act: Nebraska farmers will be authorized to grow industrial hemp under LB 657. Hemp, and one of its chemical derivatives, cannabidiol, also referred to as CBD, will be legalized with passage of the legislation. Introduced by Senator Justin Wayne (Omaha), and designated as a priority bill by Senator Tom Brandt (Plymouth), LB 657 will allow for the cultivation, harvesting, handling, marketing and processing of hemp, as permitted by the recently adopted federal farm bill. The measure defines industrial hemp as strains of the cannabis plant with less than 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.

The bill calls for the state plan established by LB 657 for the monitoring and regulation of hemp production in compliance with the Federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, to be submitted to the United States Secretary of Agriculture for approval no later than December 31, 2019.

GOVERNOR SIGNS BUDGET BILLS

Governor Ricketts signed the state’s next two-year $9.3 billion budget into law without issuing any line-item vetoes. The budget calls for a 2.9 percent increase in spending, provides $550 million in direct property tax relief (an additional $51 million in funding over the next two years), includes over $2 billion in state aid to K-12 education ($135 million increase over the next two years), as well as new resources for public safety and corrections initiatives.

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2020

All legislation that was not adopted or indefinitely postponed this session will be carried over to the 2020 Legislative Session. Among the issues on the NBA Affirmative Legislative Agenda to be addressed next session, are the following:

LB 257 – Collateral Insurance/Loss Payee: LB 257, introduced by Senator (Seward) would provide additional protection to lenders named as “loss payees” under polices insuring the collateral for their loans. The bill would require insurers issuing checks for payment of damages to automobiles in excess of $2,500 and to homes or commercial buildings in excess of $7,500 to be made payable to the insured and to the loss payee or repair person.

LB 453 – Credit Union Field of Membership/Notification Requirements: LB 453, introduced by Senator Rob Clements (Elmwood) would require state-chartered credit unions to provide notice to the state bankers associations when making application to amend their bylaws or articles of association for the purpose of expanding their field of membership.

Each of these measures are currently held in the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee. 2

SESSION WRAP-UP

A complete review of action taken by the Legislature on bills of interest to the banking industry will be contained in the NBA Legislative Update Wrap-Up edition, which will be finalized within the next few weeks. The NBA has begun preparation for the 2020 Legislative Session as the Government Relations Committee summer meeting will be conducted on June 7th. During the meeting, recommendations for legislation to be introduced during the 2020 Session will be voted upon and forwarded to the NBA Board of Directors for further consideration. Please feel free to contact the NBA if you have suggestions regarding the need for banking legislation on the state level. In addition, a number of interim studies will be conducted by the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee and other committees of the Legislature that will keep the NBA busy in the months to come.

The NBA Government Relations staff, with excellent support and input from member bankers, successfully promoted adoption of the majority of bills on the NBA Affirmative Legislative Agenda and also turned back legislative proposals that would have adversely impacted the banking industry, with none of the bills opposed by the NBA being adopted, and only two of such bills having advanced from Committee. Thanks for your continued support of the NBA Government Relations program.

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