LB424 LB424
2023 2023
LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH LEGISLATURE
FIRST SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 424
Introduced by DeBoer, 10; Wayne, 13.
Read first time January 13, 2023
Committee: Urban Affairs
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to state government; to amend sections
2 19-5503, 19-5504, 20-139, 58-226, 58-241, 58-703, 58-705, 58-708,
3 58-709, 58-711, 68-1603, 71-15,141, and 81-1281, Reissue Revised
4 Statutes of Nebraska, and sections 81-101, 81-102, 81-1201.07,
5 81-1211, 81-1226, 81-1227, 81-1228, 81-1229, 81-1230, 81-1231,
6 81-1232, 81-1233, 81-1234, 81-1235, 81-1236, 81-1237, 81-1238,
7 81-1239, 81-1240, 81-1241, 81-1242, and 81-1243, Revised Statutes
8 Cumulative Supplement, 2022; to state legislative findings; to
9 create the Department of Housing and Urban Development; to provide
10 duties; to provide for a director and staff; to create the Housing
11 Advisory Commission; to provide for an annual report; to transfer
12 duties, functions, responsibilities, and jurisdiction as prescribed;
13 to provide for an updated housing affordability strategy; to change
14 membership and duties of the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority;
15 to change provisions relating to the source and use of the
16 Affordable Housing Trust Fund; to eliminate a housing advisory
17 committee; to remove obsolete provisions; to harmonize provisions;
18 to provide a duty for the Revisor of Statutes; to provide an
19 operative date; to repeal the original sections; and to outright
20 repeal section 58-704, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska.
21 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. The Legislature finds that:
2 (1) Efforts to address issues related to housing in the state are
3 fragmented between multiple state agencies;
4 (2) Both urban and rural communities across the state lack an
5 adequate supply of housing, with an acute lack of affordable housing;
6 (3) The lack of adequate housing supply in the state has created
7 significant challenges and exacerbated existing challenges for Nebraska
8 residents and businesses, including:
9 (a) The cost of purchasing or renting a home outpacing personal
10 income;
11 (b) Many employers being unable to expand their businesses or
12 recruit additional employees due to a lack of available housing; and
13 (c) The increased material costs for new residential construction
14 increasing the cost of housing development, particularly affordable
15 housing development;
16 (4) Every resident of the state should have access to safe, decent,
17 and affordable housing; and
18 (5) Efforts to address issues related to housing in the state should
19 be consolidated into a single state agency which oversees all state
20 housing programs.
21 Sec. 2. The Department of Housing and Urban Development is created
22 as an executive department of state government. The purpose of the
23 department shall be to:
24 (1) Administer programs that provide for the housing needs of all
25 Nebraska residents, with a focus on affordable housing, workforce
26 housing, and missing middle housing;
27 (2) Contribute to the preservation, development, and redevelopment
28 of neighborhoods and communities in the state;
29 (3) Improve investments in housing by promoting coordination,
30 collaboration, and housing intelligence between federal, state, and local
31 governments;
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1 (4) Recommend statutory and policy changes to the Legislature that
2 would improve the development of housing in the state;
3 (5) Provide state oversight of and assistance to housing agencies
4 established under the Nebraska Housing Agency Act; and
5 (6) Serve as the lead state agency for:
6 (a) Addressing the shortage of all types of housing in the state;
7 (b) Addressing the problem of homelessness at the state level; and
8 (c) Coordinating interagency and intergovernmental efforts to
9 address housing shortages, homelessness, and other housing-related issues
10 in the state.
11 Sec. 3. The chief executive officer of the Department of Housing
12 and Urban Development shall be the Director of Housing and Urban
13 Development, who shall be appointed by the Governor subject to
14 confirmation by the Legislature. The director shall administer the
15 affairs of the department and shall serve at the pleasure of the
16 Governor. The director shall have equal rank with the heads of other
17 state departments, and the director's salary shall be fixed by the
18 Governor. The director shall employ a deputy director and assistants,
19 professional staff, and other employees as the director deems necessary
20 to effectively carry out the duties of the department within the
21 appropriations provided by the Legislature.
22 Sec. 4. (1) The Housing Advisory Commission is created. The
23 commission shall advise the Department of Housing and Urban Development
24 on all matters within the department's jurisdiction. The commission shall
25 consist of nine members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the
26 Legislature. Members of the commission shall include:
27 (a) One member representing homeowners who own their primary
28 residence in the State of Nebraska;
29 (b) One member representing renters who rent their primary residence
30 in the State of Nebraska;
31 (c) One member representing real estate developers;
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1 (d) Two members representing homebuilders;
2 (e) Two members representing nonprofit entities, with one member
3 representing nonprofit entities that work in affordable housing
4 construction and one member representing nonprofit entities that work to
5 address homelessness; and
6 (f) Two members representing municipalities, with one member
7 representing a city of the metropolitan class or a city of the primary
8 class and one member representing a city of the first class, a city of
9 the second class, or a village.
10 (2) Members of the commission shall serve four-year terms. In the
11 event of a vacancy, a successor appointed by the Governor shall serve out
12 the remainder of the unexpired term. Members of the commission shall each
13 receive fifty dollars for each day spent in the performance of their
14 duties and shall be reimbursed for expenses as provided in sections
15 81-1174 to 81-1177. The commission shall meet at least once each calendar
16 quarter at the call of the Director of Housing and Urban Development.
17 Sec. 5. On or before December 1, 2024, and annually by each
18 December 1 thereafter, the Housing Advisory Commission shall submit a
19 report to the Department of Housing and Urban Development on the status
20 of housing in the state. The department shall submit such report
21 electronically to the Urban Affairs Committee of the Legislature no later
22 than December 15, 2024, and annually by each December 15 thereafter, with
23 department comments, if any. The Urban Affairs Committee of the
24 Legislature may require the Director of Housing and Urban Development or
25 the director's designee to present testimony on the report required under
26 this section at a public hearing following submission of the report by
27 the department.
28 Sec. 6. (1) The Department of Housing and Urban Development shall
29 develop and implement short-term and long-term strategies for the
30 preservation, development, and redevelopment of housing and for the
31 prevention of homelessness in the state.
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1 (2) The department shall serve as a clearinghouse for data,
2 information, and material which may be helpful or necessary to the
3 preservation, development, and redevelopment of housing and for the
4 prevention of homelessness in the state.
5 Sec. 7. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section,
6 the Department of Housing and Urban Development shall administer any and
7 all federal funds and programs related to housing and homelessness
8 received by the State of Nebraska. The department shall submit and adopt
9 all necessary plans, enter into contracts, and accept gifts, grants, and
10 other funds necessary to administer such funds and programs as may be
11 required under federal law.
12 (2) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to (a) federal
13 community development block grants, (b) federal low-income home energy
14 assistance programs, or (c) departments, centers, programs, or institutes
15 on child and family policy services located at the University of
16 Nebraska.
17 Sec. 8. (1) Effective July 1, 2024:
18 (a) All duties and functions of the Housing Division of the
19 Department of Economic Development and the duties and functions of the
20 Department of Economic Development under the Middle Income Workforce
21 Housing Investment Act, the Municipal Density and Missing Middle Housing
22 Act, the Nebraska Affordable Housing Act, and the Rural Workforce Housing
23 Investment Act shall be transferred to the Department of Housing and
24 Urban Development; and
25 (b) All duties and functions of the Department of Health and Human
26 Services under the Homeless Shelter Assistance Trust Fund Act, federal
27 behavioral health housing assistance programs, and the federal Housing
28 Opportunities for Persons with AIDS program shall be transferred to the
29 Department of Housing and Urban Development.
30 (2) The Department of Housing and Urban Development may adopt and
31 promulgate rules and regulations to carry out all duties and functions
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1 transferred under subsection (1) of this section.
2 (3) On and after July 1, 2024, positions of employment in the
3 Department of Economic Development and the Department of Health and Human
4 Services related to the powers, duties, and functions transferred to the
5 Department of Housing and Urban Development pursuant to this legislative
6 bill are transferred to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
7 For purposes of the transition, employees of the Department of Economic
8 Development and the Department of Health and Human Services shall be
9 considered employees of the Department of Housing and Urban Development
10 and shall retain their rights under the state personnel system or
11 pertinent bargaining agreement, and their service shall be deemed
12 continuous. This section does not grant employees any new rights or
13 benefits not otherwise provided by law or bargaining agreement or
14 preclude the department or the Director of Housing and Urban Development
15 from exercising any of the prerogatives of management set forth in
16 section 81-1311 or as otherwise provided by law. This section is not an
17 amendment to or substitute for the provisions of any existing bargaining
18 agreements.
19 Sec. 9. Any appropriation and salary limit provided in any
20 legislative bill enacted by the One Hundred Eighth Legislature, First or
21 Second Session, to Agency No. 72, Department of Economic Development:
22 Program No.XXXX, Housing Division, for fiscal year 2024-25, including for
23 purposes of administering any of the acts described in subdivision (1)(a)
24 of section 8 of this act, shall be null and void, and any such amounts
25 are hereby appropriated to the Department of Housing and Urban
26 Development. Any financial obligations of the Housing Division of the
27 Department of Economic Development, including any financial obligations
28 relating to any of the acts described in subdivision (1)(a) of section 8
29 of this act, that remain unpaid as of June 30, 2024, and that are
30 subsequently certified as valid encumbrances to the accounting division
31 of the Department of Administrative Services pursuant to sections
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1 81-138.01 to 81-138.04, shall be paid by the Department of Housing and
2 Urban Development from the unexpended balance of appropriations existing
3 in such program classification on June 30, 2024.
4 Sec. 10. Any appropriation and salary limit provided in any
5 legislative bill enacted by the One Hundred Eighth Legislature, First or
6 Second Session, to Agency No. 25, Department of Health and Human
7 Services, Program No.XXXX, for fiscal year 2024-25 for purposes of
8 administering any of the acts and programs described in subdivision (1)
9 (b) of section 8 of this act, shall be null and void, and any such
10 amounts are hereby appropriated to the Department of Housing and Urban
11 Development. Any financial obligations of the Department of Health and
12 Human Services relating to the acts and programs described in subdivision
13 (1)(b) of section 8 of this act that remain unpaid as of June 30, 2024,
14 and that are subsequently certified as valid encumbrances to the
15 accounting division of the Department of Administrative Services pursuant
16 to sections 81-138.01 to 81-138.04, shall be paid by the Department of
17 Housing and Urban Development from the unexpended balance of
18 appropriations existing in such program classification on June 30, 2024.
19 Sec. 11. On and after July 1, 2024, whenever the Housing Division
20 of the Department of Economic Development, the Department of Economic
21 Development, or the Department of Health and Human Services are referred
22 to or designated by any contract or other document in connection with the
23 duties and functions transferred to the Department of Housing and Urban
24 Development, such reference or designation shall apply to the Department
25 of Housing and Urban Development. All contracts entered into by the
26 Housing Division of the Department of Economic Development, the
27 Department of Economic Development, or the Department of Health and Human
28 Services prior to July 1, 2024, in connection with the duties and
29 functions transferred to the Department of Housing and Urban Development
30 are hereby recognized, with the Department of Housing and Urban
31 Development succeeding to all rights and obligations under such
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1 contracts. Any cash funds, custodial funds, gifts, trusts, grants, and
2 any appropriations of funds from prior fiscal years available to satisfy
3 obligations incurred under such contracts shall be transferred and
4 appropriated to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for