As the Legislature enters the closing days of the 2026 session, time is quickly running short for bills still seeking to advance., with only five legislative days remaining in the session; April 7, 8, 9, 10, and 17, making this upcoming week the last major opportunity for measures to move through Select File and Final Reading before adjournment on Day 60. Against that backdrop, lawmakers this week continued advancing legislation tied to foreign adversaries and community improvement districts, while also passing the state budget adjustments needed to close the projected deficit. For the business community, the focus remains clear: protecting Nebraska employers from unintended consequences, preserving tools that support growth and development, and maintaining a stable fiscal and tax environment that supports long-term competitiveness.
Clarifying Foreign Adversaries Provisions
This week, the Legislature advanced LB1096, Sen. Eliot Bostar’s priority bill addressing foreign principals, agricultural threats, and critical infrastructure protections. Of particular importance to the business community, the bill carries language intended to address questions created by last year’s LB644 foreign adversaries law. As originally enacted, portions of LB644’s incentive restrictions were interpreted broadly enough to create uncertainty for Nebraska employers with legitimate international business ties, raising concerns that in-state companies could be swept into restrictions that were not intended for them.
The clarification included in LB1096 is aimed at making that framework more targeted and workable. Under the amendment language filed earlier this session, a company that is itself a foreign adversarial company would remain ineligible for state incentive benefits, but companies within the same broader corporate group that are not foreign adversarial companies could still use those benefits against their own tax liability. In practical terms, that means the restriction would apply to the affected entity without unnecessarily disqualifying an entire corporate group.
The Greater Omaha Chamber has supported a more targeted and workable approach, one that preserves Nebraska’s ability to respond to true foreign-adversary concerns without creating unintended consequences for employers, investment, and job growth. Nebraska can and should take foreign threats seriously, but it must also ensure state statute is clear enough that businesses are not unnecessarily placed in a bind. LB1096, which includes the clarification of last year’s legislation, advanced to Select File on a 31-9-6 vote.
Community Improvement Districts Advance
Lawmakers also continued moving LB1114, a broad Urban Affairs package that now includes language to create the new Community Improvement District Act. Of particular interest to the Greater Omaha Chamber, that portion of the bill would allow property owners to voluntarily form Community Improvement Districts (CIDs) to help finance, construct, and maintain public infrastructure and amenities within city or village limits. As communities work to support growth, redevelopment, and new investment, CIDs would provide another tool to help deliver the kinds of improvements that make projects viable and sites more development-ready.
For the business community, the value of CIDs is their flexibility. Infrastructure needs, shared public spaces, and other place-based improvements can often be barriers to development, particularly in areas where there is strong market potential but limited existing financing tools. Community Improvement Districts would help address that gap by giving property owners and local stakeholders an additional mechanism to support improvements that strengthen commercial corridors, encourage private investment, and enhance the overall competitiveness of growing areas.
The Greater Omaha Chamber has supported the CID concept as a practical economic development tool that can help communities better align infrastructure investment with market opportunity, and testified in support earlier this session alongside other business organizations. As amended into LB1114, the proposal continues to move forward as part of a broader package of redevelopment and housing-related measures. LB1114 advanced to Select File this week on a 32-0-11 vote, keeping the CID proposal in play as lawmakers continue debate on tools to support growth and development across Nebraska.
Legislature Passes Budget Adjustments
The Legislature completed final passage of the state’s two-year budget package this week, with both LB1071, the main budget adjustment bill, and LB1072, the cash funds transfer bill, passing on 35-13 votes and advancing to the Governor for consideration. Their passage brings to a closeone of the most challenging budget cycles in recent years, as lawmakers worked to address a budget shortfall that grew significantly during the session following updated economic forecasts.
The final package relies on a combination of spending reductions, cash fund transfers, and use of reserve funds to narrow what had grown into a projected deficit of more than $646 million. Among the larger components were a $50 million transfer from the Tobacco Settlement Fund and $152 million from the state’s rainy day fund. After the budget bills passed, lawmakers also advanced several revenue-related measures intended to help close the remaining gap and move the budget closer to balance.
While the process was lengthy and at times difficult, the Legislature’s completion of its required budget work provides needed certainty as the session enters its final stretch. Just as importantly, lawmakers did not reopen the state’s planned income tax reductions. For the Greater Omaha Chamber, preserving that previously enacted tax policy is the right decision. A predictable and competitive tax environment remains important to business confidence, long-term planning, capital investment, and Nebraska’s overall economic competitiveness.
You’re Invited – Upcoming Events
If you’d like to hear more about these bills, and other legislation we are monitoring, our next In the Legislative Loop series of Zoom briefings is Monday, April 6 at 11:30 a.m. This members-only, biweekly Zoom call provides a 30-minute update on the latest developments from the State Capitol. It will include behind-the-scenes insights from the session as well as a look ahead at key issues coming before the Legislature. You can sign up for the biweekly series here.
Additionally, please save the date for our next Politics & Eggs breakfast on Friday, May 8. Politics & Eggs is our quarterly power breakfast and an opportunity to connect with local, state, and federal elected officials who shape the policies that impact your business and community. In our unique “on the stump” format, attendees hear directly from elected leaders about what is happening in the metro, the region, and the state. Registration information will be shared soon.
While your Greater Omaha Chamber Public Policy team continues its work at the State Capitol advocating for a stronger business climate and advancing the Omaha COMPETES agenda, we encourage you to share your insights on state legislative priorities at advocacy@omahachamber.org.
Jennifer Creager
Senior Vice President, Public Policy
808 Conagra Dr., Ste. 400, Omaha, NE 68102
Lincoln Office: 402-474-4960
For more information, visit our Public Policy page or contact Jennifer Creager at 402.474.4960.
You can read the Legislature’s Update to learn more about the happenings in Lincoln.