LB 710 increases Nebraska's earned income tax credit (EITC) for low- and moderate-income residents who qualify for the federal EITC. It raises the state refundable credit rate from 10% to 20% of the federal EITC amount for tax years beginning January 1, 2025, and adjusts income thresholds. The credit phases out for individuals with federal adjusted gross income above $22,000, reducing by 10% for each $1,000 earned over that amount. This change directly benefits eligible Nebraska residents who currently receive the federal EITC, providing them with additional state tax relief.
Nebraska's LB 21 adopts the Uniform Unlawful Restrictions in Land Records Act to remove discriminatory property restrictions from land records. It directly affects property owners and homeowners' associations (HOAs) holding restrictions based on race, religion, sex, or other protected characteristics that violate state or federal law. The bill creates a streamlined process: owners can submit amendments to remove unlawful restrictions from their own property, while HOA governing bodies must remove such restrictions within 90 days of a member request without requiring a member vote. Amendments must be recorded in land records with specific language clarifying they only remove unlawful restrictions, not valid ones, and do not affect property conveyances.
Nebraska's LB 96 requires the Department of Health and Human Services to submit federal waiver applications for two specific programs. First, it mandates a waiver to reimburse two designated medical respite facilities (one in a large city, one in a smaller city) for services to homeless adults in the Medicaid expansion population. Second, it requires a waiver to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage from 60 days to at least 6 months for beneficiaries. The bill also requires annual reports to the legislature on program usage, costs, and healthcare savings. This bill directly affects homeless adults in Medicaid expansion and postpartum patients by enabling federal approval for these expanded services.
Nebraska's LB 487 establishes a task force to study the historical and ongoing impacts of redlining in Omaha, which systematically denied financial services to Black, Latino, Hispanic, and immigrant neighborhoods based on race from the 1930s onward. The task force will examine economic, educational, and health disparities in historically redlined communities and develop reparations proposals for affected residents and their descendants. Composed of seven nonpartisan members representing impacted communities - including two from the Commission on African American Affairs and members from three congressional districts - the task force will research how institutions benefited from redlining and recommend public education and remedies. It will submit a final report to the legislature with findings and proposals, focusing on addressing generational wealth gaps and systemic discrimination stemming from these practices.
Nebraska's LB 272 expands homestead tax exemptions to include veterans with 10-99% service-connected disabilities (previously only 100% disability was covered) and their eligible surviving spouses. It directly affects disabled veterans receiving VA compensation for partial disabilities (not total exemption under other sections), as well as their unremarried spouses or surviving spouses who remarried after age 57. The bill adds a new eligibility category (subsection 2(g)) effective January 1, 2026, requiring annual tax exemption applications with VA certification - except for every fifth year. This changes prior rules that limited exemptions to 100% disabled veterans or specific surviving spouse scenarios.
Nebraska's LB 234 redefines eligibility for "economic redevelopment areas" under the Urban Redevelopment Act. It sets specific criteria: an area qualifies if its unemployment rate is at least 150% of the state average and its poverty rate is 20% or higher, based on federal census data. The bill also includes adjacent census tracts meeting these standards. This change directly affects communities meeting these economic hardship thresholds, determining which areas can access redevelopment programs and funding. The bill amends existing law but does not create new programs or funding mechanisms.
LB 78, now law after being signed by the governor on May 20, 2025, creates a new housing assistance program for victims of domestic violence and sex trafficking. It establishes the Domestic Violence and Sex Trafficking Survivor Housing Assistance Fund, managed by the Department of Health and Human Services, to provide rental payments, security deposits, and other housing-related support. The bill also modifies juvenile sentencing rules to require courts to consider if an offender was a victim of abuse or trafficking when deciding whether to impose imprisonment. These changes directly affect survivors seeking housing stability and offenders in juvenile court cases where victimization is relevant.
LB 267 allows tenants facing domestic violence to have the person who committed the violence removed from their rental agreement, whether that person is a roommate or not. To do this, tenants must provide landlords with a court order or certification of domestic violence, plus written notice with the perpetrator's name and a requested termination date. Landlords must then follow specific steps: change locks within 24 hours for non-roommates (or install new locks after removal for roommates), notify the tenant about access, and may recover court costs from the perpetrator. This law directly affects tenants experiencing domestic violence, landlords who must act promptly, and the perpetrators facing eviction.
LB 92, the Residential Tenant Clean Slate Act, allows tenants to have certain eviction records sealed from public view under specific conditions. It directly affects tenants who were evicted for reasons like nonpayment during the 2020-2021 pandemic emergency, wrongful eviction, or if their case was dismissed or reversed. Key provisions require courts to automatically seal records upon dismissal of an eviction case, and allow tenants to petition for sealing if they meet criteria like a reversed judgment or a minor defendant. Once sealed, landlords cannot consider the eviction in housing applications, and tenants can deny the incident occurred in job or housing screenings. The law takes effect January 1, 2026, applying to all eviction cases regardless of when they occurred.
LB 101 amends Nebraska's landlord-tenant law to guarantee tenants the right to a jury trial in eviction cases. It prohibits landlords from including rental agreement clauses that waive tenants' legal rights (including jury trial rights) or require tenants to pay landlord attorney fees. The bill requires courts to inform defendants of their jury trial option at first appearance and mandates that eviction cases seeking possession be scheduled for trial within 10-14 days if tried without a jury. This directly affects tenants facing eviction and landlords initiating eviction proceedings under Nebraska's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.
