By John Dickerson, CPM

The 2015 Nebraska Unicameral session is in full swing and all bills have now been introduced for a total of 663 bills. The Nebraska Association of Commercial Property Owners (NACPO) is monitoring, supporting or opposing 57 of these bills.

Every year certain Nebraska state senators raise objections and criticisms about the use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF). This year is no different. There are currently three bills (LB 238, LB 540 and LB 596) that restrict or eliminate provisions for TIF.  The other issue that continues to come up is reducing agriculture land valuation percentages below the current 75 percent. There are three bills this session (LB 178, LB 293 and LB 350) on this issue. The bills on both of these issues are being opposed by the NACPO.

Here is a quick summary of other bills being supported or opposed by the NACPO:

SUPPORTED
LB 34 Carbon Monoxide Safety Act
LB 168 Expansion of existing business improvement districts
LB 221 Disposition of tenant’s personal property in case of death
LB 364 Allocation of State funds for property tax credits (LB 387, LB 442 and LB 528)
LB 375 Allows real estate brokers to do valuation appeals
LB 385 Allows for three-day notices to evict dangerous tenants
LB 96/392/421 Learning Community: eliminate funding, boundary restrictions for the Learning Community organization

OPPOSED
LB 68 Eliminating stepped up basis on inherited real estate
LB 73 Modern Tax Act: 5.5 percent tax on loan interest
LB 213 Withholding of insurance proceeds for severely damaged property and City approval required to disperse

For questions or comments about legislative issues, please contact
John Dickerson at 402.778.7521. John is the current President of the Nebraska Association of Commercial Property Owners.

This article appeared in our quarterly newsletter from March of 2015. The full newsletter is available at http://files.investorsomaha.com/download/online_newsletter_3-2015.pdf