LB 1235 — Change provisions of the Nebraska Liquor Control Act and the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation Act

Any person whose entertainment district license is canceled may appeal to the commission in accordance with section 53-134.

(10) (9) A local governing body may regulate by ordinance, not inconsistent with the Nebraska Liquor Control Act, any area it designates as an entertainment district.

(11) (10) Violation of any provision of this section or any rules or regulations adopted and promulgated pursuant to this section by an entertainment district licensee may be cause to revoke, cancel, or suspend the retail license issued under subsection (6) of section 53-124, craft brewery license, microdistillery license, or manufacturer's license held by such licensee.

(12) (11) For purposes of this section:

(a)(i) Commons area means an area:

(A) Within an entertainment district designated by a local governing body;

(B) Shared by authorized licensees with entertainment district licenses, including consumption-only entertainment district licensees;

(C) Abutting the licensed premises of such licensees;

(D) With reasonable safety measures in place to protect pedestrians, including signage, lighting, and reduced motor vehicle speeds when motor vehicles will be in close proximity to pedestrians;

and (E) With a prohibition on the carrying of open alcoholic liquor containers and the consumption of alcoholic liquor on any open street or highway except when necessary to cross the same at a designated crosswalk.

(ii) Commons area may include any area of a public or private right-of-way if the area otherwise meets the requirements of this section;

and (b) Local governing body means the governing body of the city or village in which the entertainment district licensee is located.

Sec.

3.

Section 53-132, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2024, is amended to read:

53-132 (1) If no hearing is required pursuant to subdivision (1)(a) or (b) of section 53-133 and the commission has no objections pursuant to subdivision (1)(c) of such section, the commission may waive the forty-five-day objection period and, if not otherwise prohibited by law, cause a retail license, bottle club license, craft brewery license, or microdistillery license to be signed by its chairperson, attested by its executive director over the seal of the commission, and issued in the manner provided in subsection (4) of this section as a matter of course.

(2) A retail license, bottle club license, craft brewery license, or microdistillery license may be issued to any qualified applicant if the commission finds that (a) the applicant is fit, willing, and able to properly provide the service proposed within the city, village, or county where the premises described in the application are located, (b) the applicant can conform to all provisions and requirements of and rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the Nebraska Liquor Control Act, (c) the applicant has demonstrated that the type of management and control to be exercised over the premises described in the application will be sufficient to insure that the licensed business can conform to all provisions and requirements of and rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the act, and (d) the issuance of the license is or will be required by the present or future public convenience and necessity.

-2- LB1235 LB1235 2026 (3) In making its determination pursuant to subsection (2) of this section the commission shall consider:

(a) The recommendation of the local governing body;

(b) The existence of a citizens' protest made in accordance with section 53-133;

(c) The existing population of the city, village, or county and its projected growth;

(d) The nature of the neighborhood or community of the location of the proposed licensed premises;

(e) The existence or absence of other retail licenses, bottle club licenses, craft brewery licenses, or microdistillery licenses with similar privileges within the neighborhood or community of the location of the proposed licensed premises and whether, as evidenced by substantive, corroborative documentation, the issuance of such license would result in or add to an undue concentration of licenses with similar privileges and, as a result, require the use of additional law enforcement resources;

(f) The existing motor vehicle and pedestrian traffic flow in the vicinity of the proposed licensed premises;

(g) The adequacy of existing law enforcement;

(h) Zoning restrictions;

(i) The sanitation or sanitary conditions on or about the proposed licensed premises;

and (j) Whether the type of business or activity proposed to be operated in conjunction with the proposed license is and will be consistent with the public interest;

and .

(k) Whether the applicant or any affiliated entity of the applicant is delinquent on any federal, state, or local taxes.

For purposes of this subdivision, affiliated entity means any other corporation, partnership, or limited liability company (i) in which the applicant holds an ownership interest and (ii) that holds a liquor license under the Nebraska Liquor Control Act.

(4) Retail licenses, bottle club licenses, craft brewery licenses, or microdistillery licenses issued or renewed by the commission shall be mailed or delivered electronically to:

(a) The clerk of the city, village, or county who shall deliver the same to the licensee upon receipt from the licensee of proof of payment of (i) the license fee if by the terms of subsection (6) of section 53-124 the fee is payable to the treasurer of such city, village, or county, (ii) any fee for publication of notice of hearing before the local governing body upon the application for the license, (iii) the fee for publication of notice of renewal as provided in section 53-135.01, and (iv) occupation taxes, if any, imposed by such city, village, or county except as otherwise provided in subsection (7) of this section;

or (b) The licensee, upon confirmation from the clerk of the city, village, or county that the necessary fees and taxes described in subdivision (4)(a) of this section have been received by the clerk of such city, village, or county.

(5) Notwithstanding any ordinance or charter power to the contrary, no city, village, or county shall impose an occupation tax on the business of any person, firm, or corporation licensed under the act and doing business within the corporate limits of such city or village or within the boundaries of such county in any sum which exceeds two times the amount of the license fee required to be paid under the act to obtain such license.

(6) Each license shall designate the name of the licensee, the place of business licensed, and the type of license issued.

(7) Class J retail licensees shall not be subject to occupation taxes under subsection (4) of this section.

Sec.

4.

Section 53-1,100, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended to read:

53-1,100 (1) Any person (a) who imports alcoholic liquor for distribution as a wholesaler or distributes or sells alcoholic liquor, other than sale at retail, at any place within the state without having first obtained a valid license to do so under the Nebraska Liquor Control Act, (b) who manufactures alcoholic liquor other than spirits within the state without having first obtained a valid license to do so under the act, (c) who makes any false statement or otherwise violates any of the provisions of the act in obtaining any license under the act, (d) who, having obtained a license under the act, violates any of the provisions of the act with respect to the manufacture, possession, distribution, or sale of alcoholic liquor or with respect to the maintenance of the licensed premises, or (e) who violates any other provision of the act for which a penalty is not otherwise provided, shall for a first offense be guilty of a Class IV misdemeanor and for a second or subsequent offense shall be guilty of a Class II misdemeanor.

(2) Any person who (a) manufactures spirits at any place within the state without having first obtained a valid license to do so under the act or (b) sells alcoholic liquor at retail without having first obtained a valid license to do so under the act shall be guilty of a Class I misdemeanor for a first offense and a Class IV felony for a second or subsequent offense.

(3) Each day any person engages in business as a manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, or bottle club in violation of the act shall constitute a separate offense.

(4) In any prosecution in which a person is charged with an offense arising out of the failure to obtain a valid license as provided in subdivision (1)(a) or (b) or subsection (2) of this section, evidence of the failure of the -3- LB1235 LB1235 2026 accused to produce such license upon demand shall constitute prima facie proof that a license has not been issued by the commission to such person.

Sec.

5.

Section 71-24,106, Revised Statutes Supplement, 2025, is amended to read:

71-24,106 Sections 71-24,106 to 71-24,111 and sections 7 to 9 of this act shall be known and may be cited as the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation Act.

Sec.

6.

Section 71-24,109, Revised Statutes Supplement, 2025, is amended to read:

71-24,109 (1) For purposes of providing the necessary registration and regulation of persons that possess, manufacture, distribute, deliver, and dispense cannabis for medical purposes pursuant to the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation Act, the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission is created.

(2) The commission shall consist of no fewer than three and no more than five members.

(3) The three members of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission shall be ex officio members of the commission, serving terms and receiving appointment in the same manner as provided in section 53-105.

(4) The Governor may appoint two additional members, subject to confirmation by a majority of the members elected to the Legislature, to serve with the members of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission as members of the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission.

The members appointed pursuant to this subsection shall serve six-year terms.

(5) The Governor may reappoint members of the commission, subject to approval by a majority of the members elected to the Legislature.

(6) Each member of the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission shall receive an annual salary of twelve thousand five hundred dollars.

Such salary shall be paid in equal installments.

Sec.

7.

(1) The Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission Cash Fund is created.

The fund shall consist of transfers from the Legislature and all fees, gifts, grants, and other money, excluding civil penalties, received or collected by the commission under the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation Act.

(2) The commission shall use the fund for the administration and enforcement of the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation Act.

(3) Any money in the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission Cash Fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

Sec.

8.

The commission may by rule and regulation provide for a schedule of fees related to the administration of applications, registrations, and renewals of registrations.

No fee shall exceed fifty thousand dollars.

Sec.

9.

 The commission shall require an applicant for initial issuance of a registration to submit two legible sets of fingerprints to be furnished to the Federal Bureau of Investigation through the Nebraska State Patrol for a national criminal history information record check and the fee for such record check payable to the patrol.

The applicant shall authorize release of the national criminal history record check to the commission.

Sec.

10.

Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, and 11 of this act become operative three calendar months after the adjournment of this legislative session.

The other sections of this act become operative on their effective date.

Sec.

11.

Original sections 53-103.47 and 53-1,100, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, section 53-132, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2024, and section 53-123.17, Revised Statutes Supplement, 2025, are repealed.

Sec.

12.

Original sections 71-24,106 and 71-24,109, Revised Statutes Supplement, 2025, are repealed.

Sec.

13.

Since an emergency exists, this act takes effect when passed and approved according to law.

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