LB 116 — Change provisions of the Convention Center Facility Financing Assistance Act and the Nebraska Visitors Development Act

LB116 LB116 2025 LEGISLATURELEGISLATIVE OFBILL NEBRASKA116 ONEApproved HUNDREDby NINTHthe LEGISLATUREGovernor FIRSTMarch SESSION25, LEGISLATIVE2025 BILL 116 FINAL READING   Introduced by Ballard, 21;

Read  firstA timeBILL JanuaryFOR 10,AN 2025ACT Committee:relating to revenue and taxation;

Revenue A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to revenue and taxation;

Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska, -1- LB116 LB116 2025 Section 1.

(4) (3) Bond means a general obligation bond, redevelopment bond, lease-purchaselease- purchase bond, revenue bond, or combination of any such bonds;

(5) (4) Convention and meeting center facility means a temperature- -2- LB116 LB116 2025 controlled building and personal property primarily used as a convention and meeting center, including an auditorium, an exhibition hall, a facility for onsite food preparation and serving, an onsite, directly connected parking facility for the use of the convention and meeting center facility, a nearby parking facility for the use of the convention and meeting center facility, and an onsite administrative office of the convention and meeting center facility;

(9) (7) Nearby parking facility means any parking lot, parking -3- LB116 LB116 2025 garage, or other parking structure that is not directly connected to a convention and meeting center facility but which is located, in whole or in part, within six hundred yards of a convention and meeting center facility, measured from any point of the exterior perimeter of such facility but not from any other parking facility or other structure;

(10) (8) Nearby retailer means a retailer as defined in section 77-2701.32 that is located, in whole or in part, within six hundred yards of an eligible -1- LB116 LB116 2025 facility the application for which is approved on or after June 7, 2023, measured from any point of the exterior perimeter of the eligible facility but not from any parking facility or other structure, except that if the eligible facility is within six hundred yards of the State Capitol, the area used in determining nearby retailers shall be one or more contiguous or noncontiguous areas within the territorial boundaries of the applicant which are selected by the applicant and which aggregate the same total amount of square footage that such area would have contained had the eligible facility not been within six hundred yards of the State Capitol.

and (13) (11) Sports arena facility means any enclosed temperature-temperature-controlled controlled building primarily used for competitive sports, including arenas, dressing and locker facilities, concession areas, parking facilities, and onsite administrative offices connected with operating the facilities.

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(b) Documentation of local financial commitment to support the -5- LB116 LB116 2025 project, including all public and private resources pledged or committed to the project;

(5) Approval of an application for state assistance by the board after June 7, 2023, pursuant to section 13-2607 shall establish the area to be used for determining associated hotels and nearby retailers as the aggregate area or areas depicted in the map or maps accompanying the application for state assistance as submitted pursuant to subdivision (2)(2)(c) (c) of this section.

Any money in the Convention Center Support Fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment -6- LB116 LB116 2025 officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

(2)(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate from the fund to any political subdivision for which an application for state assistance under -2- LB116 LB116 2025 the Convention Center Facility Financing Assistance Act has been approved (i) an annual amount not to exceed (i) seventy percent of the state sales tax revenue collected by retailers and operators doing business at such facilities on sales at such facilities, state sales tax revenue collected on primary and secondary box office sales of admissions to such facilities, and state sales tax revenue collected by associated hotels and nearby retailers , and (ii) an aggregate amount of not more than the maximum aggregate appropriation one hundred fifty million dollars for any one approved project, or (iii) the total cost of acquiring, constructing, improving, repairing, replacing, or equipping the eligible facilities of the political subdivision.

Forty-five percent of such funds shall be -7- LB116 LB116 2025 used to assist with small business and entrepreneurship growth in such areas.

(iii) Two residents of the area with a high concentration of poverty, appointed by the two members of the committee described in subdivisions (3)(c)(i)(3)(c) (i) and (ii) of this section.

-8- LB116 LB116 2025 Applications may be submitted to either of the committee members described in subdivisions (3)(c)(i) and (ii) of this section.

(f) Each recipient of funding from a committee formed under subdivision (3)(b) of this section shall submit an itemized report to -9- LB116 LB116 2025 such committee on the use of such funds.

A recipient shall not be eligible to receive funding for more than three consecutive years unless such recipient is able to justify -3- LB116 LB116 2025 continued funding based on the following criteria:

(4)(a) Ten percent of the funds appropriated to a city of the primary class under subdivision (2)(a) of this section may, if the city determines by consent of the city council that such funds are not currently needed for the purposes described in section 13-2604, be used -10- LB116 LB116 2025 as follows:

(6) The remaining thirty percent of state sales tax revenue collected by retailers and operators doing business at such facilities on sales at such facilities, state sales tax revenue collected on primary and secondary box office sales of admissions to such facilities, and state sales tax revenue collected by associated hotels and nearby retailers, shall be appropriated by the Legislature to the Civic and -11- LB116 LB116 2025 Community Center Financing Fund.

If the visitors committee determines that the visitor attractions in the county are adequate and do not require expansion, improvement, or maintenance, the governing body of the county, with the advice -4- LB116 LB116 2025 of the committee, may only use the County Visitors -12- LB116 LB116 2025 Improvement Fund to promote, encourage, and attract visitors to the county to use the county's travel and tourism facilities or, with the advice of the visitors committee, make grants to organizations to promote, encourage, and attract visitors to the county to use the county's travel and tourism facilities.

(b) Grants shall be available for any visitor attraction in the county owned by the public or any nonprofit organization, the primary -13- LB116 LB116 2025 purpose of which is to operate the visitor attraction.

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