NEWS
Update on LB531: Bill to Fund Projects in North & South Omaha gains second round approval
Published: Tuesday, May 23, 2023
The bill to provide funding for North Omaha and South Omaha continues to make its way through the Nebraska State Legislature. The legislation once referred to as the North Omaha and South Omaha Recovery plan, LB1024 in 2022, LB531 this year and now amendment AM 1880 received 2nd round approval on Thursday, May 18 with a 37-3 vote. AM1880 was submitted by Senator McKinney and incorporates more funding and additional projects.
Read the most up to date bill here: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/Final/LB531.pdf
The third and final vote should occur sometime this week and is expected to be signed into law by Governor Jim Pillen.
With support from the community and nearly 50 testifiers in 2022, State Senators Justin Wayne and Terrell McKinney introduced the legislation and worked with South Omaha senators Tony Vargas and Mike McDonnell to gain approval of $335 million in 2022.
Some projects were identified in the legislation to move forward immediately through an RFP process implemented by the Department of Economic Development. Projects including internships, IHUB, business park planning grant, tourism and others were approved for funding. The process to approve these funds has been slow, but dollars are starting to reach the community.
The Economic Recovery program can be tracked here: https://opportunity.nebraska.gov/programs/recovery/
The funding allocated can be tracked at https://opportunity.nebraska.gov/programs/recovery/#dashboard
For the remaining funds, $225 million, the state legislature instructed the Economic Recovery Committee to contract with an engineering firm to put together a master plan. The North and South Omaha communities were then engaged in stakeholder meetings, planning sessions and then submitted over 300 applications.
Olsson, the engineering firm which was selected to collect the submissions and develop the master plan, reviewed the proposals and made recommendations to approve 35 of the plans for funding. Other projects were identified as high scoring and listed as supplemental plans that could be funded if more dollars were allocated by the State. Find the Olsson report here: https://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/pdf/reports/committee/select_special/econrec/LB1024_2023.pdf
After some concerns were voiced by the community, small group meetings and two large town halls were held to attempt to address additional high priorities that were not among the initial recommendations.
Groups and individuals representing small businesses, contractors, the Malcolm X Foundation, Charles Drew, arts and culture organizations, immigrants and refugees, and potential economic development projects along the corridors of Ames, Sorensen and 30th Street all made their case to be considered for funding. The community also recommended an additional $200 million in funding and a desire to have an accountability committee.
State senators agreed to take the additional amendments to the Economic Recovery committee for consideration. With that agreement, nearly 50 residents, leaders, small business owners, neighborhood representatives, organizational leaders and others traveled to Lincoln to support the legislation. Others wrote letters, sent emails and made phone calls.
State Senator McKinney has said he shared the other suggested amendments with the committee but had difficulty gaining support with the limited time available and the filibustering that has taken place during the entire session.
Three amendments were introduced. One for a museum tied to an individual listed in the hall of fame. A second for federally qualified health centers. And, a third for a cultural museum in a district introduced by Senator McDonnell.
Senator McKinney said the best way for the other groups to be considered is to resubmit their proposals to the Department of Economic Development once the bill is approved in the final round and signed by Governor Pillen.
What happens next?
The process moving forward after legislative approval is that DED will issue RFPs and accept proposals as early as July. DED will then review and score the proposals.
State Senators are encouraging DED to use the recommendations and amendments identified in the Olsson report, but the current understanding is that DED will review and score everything again using the criteria outlined in the legislation with a heavy emphasis and focus on economic development, entrepreneurship, job creation, housing and tourism.
State senators are recommending that all proposals that were submitted to Olsson be considered eligible for funding.
Because of the filibustering that has occurred this session, State Senators have been combining bills into “mega bills” incorporating as many as 10-25 bills in one vote.
Even LB 531, now has multiple amendments and bills included. In addition, the current legislation has switched funding from ARPA to general funds to allow more flexibility and more time for projects to get completed. The use of ARPA funds comes with more restrictions than general funds. And, the ARPA funds must be used by 2026.
State Senators representing the Economic Recovery Plan and Governor Pillen agreed the switch to general funds was a good move.
The legislative update regarding LB531 can be found here: http://update.legislature.ne.gov/?p=34381
