LB1047 LB1047
2024 2024
LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH LEGISLATURE
SECOND SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 1047
Introduced by Brandt, 32; Dorn, 30.
Read first time January 08, 2024
Committee: Revenue
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to motor fuel taxes; to amend section 66-489,
2 Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, and section 66-482, Revised
3 Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2022; to define and redefine terms;
4 to change provisions relating to payment of an excise tax and
5 exemption from a motor fuels tax as prescribed; to eliminate
6 obsolete provisions; to harmonize provisions; to provide an
7 operative date; to repeal the original sections; and to outright
8 repeal section 66-4,146.01, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska.
9 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Section 66-482, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
2 2022, is amended to read:
3 66-482 For purposes of sections 66-482 to 66-4,149:
4 (1) Agricultural ethyl alcohol means ethyl alcohol produced from
5 cereal grains or agricultural commodities grown within the continental
6 United States and which is a finished product that is a nominally
7 anhydrous ethyl alcohol meeting American Society for Testing and
8 Materials D4806 standards. For the purpose of sections 66-482 to
9 66-4,149, the purity of the ethyl alcohol shall be determined excluding
10 denaturant and the volume of alcohol blended with gasoline for motor
11 vehicle fuel shall include the volume of any denaturant required pursuant
12 to law;
13 (2) Alcohol blend means a blend of agricultural ethyl alcohol in
14 gasoline or other motor vehicle fuel, such blend to contain not less than
15 five percent by volume of alcohol;
16 (3) Biodiesel means mono-alkyl esters of long-chain fatty acids
17 derived from vegetable oils or animal fats which conform to American
18 Society for Testing and Materials D6751 specifications for use in diesel
19 engines. Biodiesel refers to the pure fuel before blending with diesel
20 fuel;
21 (4) Biodiesel facility means a plant which produces biodiesel;
22 (5) Biomass feedstock means sugar, starch, polysaccharide, glycerin,
23 lignin, fat, grease, or oil derived from plants, animals, or algae or a
24 protein capable of being converted to a building block chemical by means
25 of a biological or chemical conversion process;
26 (6) Compressed fuel means any fuel defined as compressed fuel in
27 section 66-6,100;
28 (7) Department means the Department of Revenue;
29 (8) Diesel fuel means all combustible liquids and biodiesel which
30 are suitable for the generation of power for diesel-powered vehicles,
31 except that diesel fuel does not include kerosene;
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1 (9) Distributor means any person who acquires ownership of motor
2 fuels directly from a producer or supplier at or from a barge, barge
3 line, pipeline terminal, or ethanol or biodiesel facility in this state;
4 (10) Ethanol facility means a plant which produces agricultural
5 ethyl alcohol;
6 (11) Exporter means any person who acquires ownership of motor fuels
7 from any licensed producer, supplier, distributor, wholesaler, or
8 importer exclusively for use or resale in another state;
9 (12) Gross gallons means measured gallons without adjustment or
10 correction for temperature or barometric pressure;
11 (13) Highway means every way or place generally open to the use of
12 the public for the purpose of vehicular travel, even though such way or
13 place may be temporarily closed or travel thereon restricted for the
14 purpose of construction, maintenance, repair, or reconstruction;
15 (14) Importer means any person who owns motor fuels at the time such
16 fuels enter the State of Nebraska by any means other than barge, barge
17 line, or pipeline. Importer does not include a person who imports motor
18 fuels in a tank directly connected to the engine of a motor vehicle,
19 train, watercraft, or airplane for purposes of providing fuel to the
20 engine to which the tank is connected;
21 (15) Kerosene means kerosene meeting the specifications as found in
22 the American Society for Testing and Materials publication D3699 entitled
23 Standard Specifications for Kerosene;
24 (16) Motor fuels means motor vehicle fuel, diesel fuel, aircraft
25 fuel, or compressed fuel;
26 (17) (1) Motor vehicle has shall have the same meaning definition as
27 in section 60-339;
28 (18) (2) Motor vehicle fuel includes shall include all products and
29 fuel commonly or commercially known as gasoline, including casing head or
30 natural gasoline, and includes shall include any other liquid and such
31 other volatile and inflammable liquids as may be produced, compounded, or
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1 used for the purpose of operating or propelling motor vehicles,
2 motorboats, or aircraft or as an ingredient in the manufacture of such
3 fuel. Motor vehicle fuel includes agricultural Agricultural ethyl alcohol
4 produced for use as a motor vehicle fuel shall be considered a motor
5 vehicle fuel. Motor vehicle fuel does shall not include the products
6 commonly known as methanol, kerosene oil, kerosene distillate, crude
7 petroleum, naphtha, and benzine with a boiling point over two hundred
8 degrees Fahrenheit, residuum gas oil, smudge oil, leaded automotive
9 racing fuel with an American Society of Testing Materials research method
10 octane number in excess of one hundred five, and any petroleum product
11 with an initial boiling point under two hundred degrees Fahrenheit, a
12 ninety-five percent distillation (recovery) temperature in excess of four
13 hundred sixty-four degrees Fahrenheit, an American Society of Testing
14 Materials research method octane number less than seventy, and an end or
15 dry point of distillation of five hundred seventy degrees Fahrenheit
16 maximum;
17 (19) Person means any individual, firm, partnership, limited
18 liability company, company, agency, association, corporation, state,
19 county, municipality, or other political subdivision. Whenever a fine or
20 imprisonment is prescribed or imposed in sections 66-482 to 66-4,149, the
21 word person as applied to a partnership, a limited liability company, or
22 an association means the partners or members thereof;
23 (20) Producer means any person who manufactures agricultural ethyl
24 alcohol or biodiesel at an ethanol or biodiesel facility in this state;
25 (21) Retailer means any person who acquires motor fuels from a
26 producer, supplier, distributor, wholesaler, or importer for resale to
27 consumers of such fuel;
28 (22) Semiannual period means either the period which begins on
29 January 1 and ends on June 30 of each year or the period which begins on
30 July 1 and ends on December 31 of each year;
31 (3) Agricultural ethyl alcohol shall mean ethyl alcohol produced
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1 from cereal grains or agricultural commodities grown within the
2 continental United States and which is a finished product that is a
3 nominally anhydrous ethyl alcohol meeting American Society for Testing
4 and Materials D4806 standards. For the purpose of sections 66-482 to
5 66-4,149, the purity of the ethyl alcohol shall be determined excluding
6 denaturant and the volume of alcohol blended with gasoline for motor
7 vehicle fuel shall include the volume of any denaturant required pursuant
8 to law;
9 (4) Alcohol blend shall mean a blend of agricultural ethyl alcohol
10 in gasoline or other motor vehicle fuel, such blend to contain not less
11 than five percent by volume of alcohol;
12 (23) (5) Supplier means shall mean any person who owns motor fuels
13 imported by barge, barge line, or pipeline and stored at a barge, barge
14 line, or pipeline terminal in this state; and
15 (6) Distributor shall mean any person who acquires ownership of
16 motor fuels directly from a producer or supplier at or from a barge,
17 barge line, pipeline terminal, or ethanol or biodiesel facility in this
18 state;
19 (24) (7) Wholesaler means shall mean any person, other than a
20 producer, supplier, distributor, or importer, who acquires motor fuels
21 for resale. ;
22 (8) Retailer shall mean any person who acquires motor fuels from a
23 producer, supplier, distributor, wholesaler, or importer for resale to
24 consumers of such fuel;
25 (9) Importer shall mean any person who owns motor fuels at the time
26 such fuels enter the State of Nebraska by any means other than barge,
27 barge line, or pipeline. Importer shall not include a person who imports
28 motor fuels in a tank directly connected to the engine of a motor
29 vehicle, train, watercraft, or airplane for purposes of providing fuel to
30 the engine to which the tank is connected;
31 (10) Exporter shall mean any person who acquires ownership of motor
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1 fuels from any licensed producer, supplier, distributor, wholesaler, or
2 importer exclusively for use or resale in another state;
3 (11) Gross gallons shall mean measured gallons without adjustment or
4 correction for temperature or barometric pressure;
5 (12) Diesel fuel shall mean all combustible liquids and biodiesel
6 which are suitable for the generation of power for diesel-powered
7 vehicles, except that diesel fuel shall not include kerosene;
8 (13) Compressed fuel shall mean any fuel defined as compressed fuel
9 in section 66-6,100;
10 (14) Person shall mean any individual, firm, partnership, limited
11 liability company, company, agency, association, corporation, state,
12 county, municipality, or other political subdivision. Whenever a fine or
13 imprisonment is prescribed or imposed in sections 66-482 to 66-4,149, the
14 word person as applied to a partnership, a limited liability company, or
15 an association shall mean the partners or members thereof;
16 (15) Department shall mean the Department of Revenue;
17 (16) Semiannual period shall mean either the period which begins on
18 January 1 and ends on June 30 of each year or the period which begins on
19 July 1 and ends on December 31 of each year;
20 (17) Producer shall mean any person who manufactures agricultural
21 ethyl alcohol or biodiesel at an ethanol or biodiesel facility in this
22 state;
23 (18) Highway shall mean every way or place generally open to the use
24 of the public for the purpose of vehicular travel, even though such way
25 or place may be temporarily closed or travel thereon restricted for the
26 purpose of construction, maintenance, repair, or reconstruction;
27 (19) Kerosene shall mean kerosene meeting the specifications as
28 found in the American Society for Testing and Materials publication D3699
29 entitled Standard Specifications for Kerosene;
30 (20) Biodiesel shall mean mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty
31 acids derived from vegetable oils or animal fats which conform to
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1 American Society for Testing and Materials D6751 specifications for use
2 in diesel engines. Biodiesel refers to the pure fuel before blending with
3 diesel fuel;
4 (21) Motor fuels shall mean motor vehicle fuel, diesel fuel,
5 aircraft fuel, or compressed fuel;
6 (22) Ethanol facility shall mean a plant which produces agricultural
7 ethyl alcohol; and
8 (23) Biodiesel facility shall mean a plant which produces biodiesel.
9 Sec. 2. Section 66-489, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
10 amended to read:
11 66-489 (1)(a) At the time of filing the return required by section
12 66-488, such producer, supplier, distributor, wholesaler, or importer
13 shall, in addition to the tax imposed pursuant to sections 66-489.02,
14 66-4,140, 66-4,145, and 66-4,146 and in addition to the other taxes
15 provided for by law, pay a tax in an amount set in subdivision (b) of
16 this subsection upon all motor fuels as shown by such return, except that
17 there shall be no tax on the motor fuels reported if (i) the required
18 taxes on the motor fuels have been paid, (ii) the motor fuels have been
19 sold to a licensed exporter exclusively for resale or use in another
20 state, (iii) the motor fuels have been sold from a Nebraska barge line
21 terminal, pipeline terminal, refinery, or ethanol or biodiesel facility,
22 including motor fuels stored offsite in bulk, by a licensed producer or
23 supplier to a licensed distributor, (iv) the motor fuels have been sold
24 by a licensed distributor or licensed importer to a licensed distributor
25 or to a licensed wholesaler and the seller acquired ownership of the
26 motor fuels directly from a licensed producer or supplier at or from a
27 refinery, barge, barge line, pipeline terminal, or ethanol or biodiesel
28 facility, including motor fuels stored offsite in bulk, in this state or
29 was the first importer of such fuel into this state, or (v) as otherwise
30 provided in this section. Such producer, supplier, distributor,
31 wholesaler, or importer shall remit such tax to the department.
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1 (b) The tax shall be:
2 (i) Seven and one-half cents per gallon through December 31, 2015;
3 (ii) Eight cents per gallon beginning on January 1, 2016, through
4 December 31, 2016;
5 (iii) Eight and one-half cents per gallon beginning on January 1,
6 2017, through December 31, 2017;
7 (iv) Nine cents per gallon beginning on January 1, 2018, through
8 December 31, 2018; and
9 (v) Nine and one-half cents per gallon beginning on January 1, 2019.
10 (2)(a) (2) As part of filing the return required by section 66-488,
11 each producer of ethanol shall, in addition to other taxes imposed by the
12 motor fuel laws, pay an excise tax of one and one-quarter cents per
13 gallon through December 31, 2004, and commencing January 1, 2010, and two
14 and one-half cents per gallon commencing January 1, 2005, through
15 December 31, 2009, on:
16 (i) Gasoline, natural gasoline, or any other gasoline component,
17 including, but not limited to, any gasoline component produced from
18 biomass feedstock, purchased for use as a denaturant by the producer at
19 an ethanol facility; and .
20 (ii) Two percent of agricultural ethyl alcohol sold that is unfit
21 for beverage purposes and does not meet the American Society for Testing
22 and Materials D4806 standards.
23 (b) All taxes, interest, and penalties collected under this
24 subsection shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the
25 Agricultural Alcohol Fuel Tax Fund, except that commencing January 1,
26 2005, through December 31, 2009, one and one-quarter cents per gallon of
27 such excise tax shall be credited to the Ethanol Production Incentive
28 Cash Fund. For fiscal years 2007-08 through 2011-12, if the total
29 receipts from the excise tax authorized in this subsection and designated
30 for deposit in the Agricultural Alcohol Fuel Tax Fund exceed five hundred
31 fifty thousand dollars, the State Treasurer shall deposit amounts in