The next session of the Nebraska Legislature begins in January 2026. The following bills and resolutions received final approval in this year’s session:
LR158 will conduct an interim study to determine the feasibility of the State of Nebraska assuming the administration of the designated Wild and Scenic River stretch of the Niobrara River from Valentine to Newport, Nebraska. Input regarding what should be included in the study can be provided to Mr. Tom Brandt, Chairperson of the Natural Resources Committee of the Nebraska legislature. A public hearing will be scheduled for September 2025.
LB36 (Omnibus Bill) includes a provision that creates the Safe Battery Collection and Recycling Act which requires Battery Stewardship Organizations to provide for the collection of all covered batteries on a free, continuous, convenient, visible, and accessible basis. Covered batteries are portable and medium format batteries such as those used in power tools. LB36 includes provisions of LB344 to modify groundwater allocations for municipalities in fully or over-appropriated areas. Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, any new or expanded commercial or industrial user served by a municipal water source that uses more than 25 million gallons of water annually is subject to the controls of an integrated management plan, rule, or order and is required to provide a mitigation report to the applicable natural resources district.
LB36 also includes amended provisions of LB590 authorizing the state Department of Transportation to establish a mitigation bank or in-lieu-fee program to offset the environmental effects of transportation projects, including impacts to threatened or endangered species. The measure requires any state agency or other entity that owns a mitigation bank to pay a sum in lieu of ad valorem taxes lost by the county.
LB260 reappropriates funds, including lowering the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s General Fund (used for administration and operation) budget by $5M.
LB317 merged the Department of Natural Resources with the Department of Environment and Energy to form the Department of Water, Energy, and Environment. The director of the Department of Environment and Energy would lead the new agency. The Department of Natural Resources director would become the Chief Water Officer, who would head the new Division of Water and report directly to the DWEE director. An amendment to the original proposal will ensure the merger does not affect a 1923 interstate compact. In 2022, the Legislature authorized the Department of Natural Resources to build the Perkins County Canal Project to divert South Platte River water from Colorado to Nebraska under the terms of the 1923 compact.
Photo: Nebraska State Capitol by Warren LeMay
