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LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH LEGISLATURE
SECOND SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 1218
Introduced by Bostar, 29.
Read first time January 16, 2024
Committee: Revenue
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to motor fuels; to amend sections 60-301,
2 60-302, 66-4,105, and 70-1002.02, Reissue Revised Statutes of
3 Nebraska, section 66-482, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
4 2022, and sections 70-1001.01, 77-2701, and 77-2701.04, Revised
5 Statutes Supplement, 2023; to define and redefine terms; to change
6 and provide excise fees as prescribed; to eliminate obsolete
7 provisions; to provide rights and requirements relating to
8 commercial electric vehicle charging stations and direct-current,
9 fast-charging stations; to provide powers for electric suppliers; to
10 provide a sales and use tax exemption; to harmonize provisions; to
11 provide operative dates; to repeal the original sections; and to
12 declare an emergency.
13 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Section 60-301, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
2 amended to read:
3 60-301 Sections 60-301 to 60-3,258 and section 3 of this act shall
4 be known and may be cited as the Motor Vehicle Registration Act.
5 Sec. 2. Section 60-302, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
6 amended to read:
7 60-302 For purposes of the Motor Vehicle Registration Act, unless
8 the context otherwise requires, the definitions found in sections
9 60-302.01 to 60-360 and section 3 of this act shall be used.
10 Sec. 3. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle means any motor vehicle
11 which:
12 (1) Uses batteries to power an electric motor;
13 (2) Uses motor vehicle fuel as defined in section 66-482, diesel
14 fuel as defined in section 66-482, or compressed fuel as defined in
15 section 66-6,100 to power an internal combustion engine; and
16 (3) Has batteries that can be charged using a wall outlet or
17 charging equipment.
18 Sec. 4. Section 66-482, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
19 2022, is amended to read:
20 66-482 For purposes of sections 66-482 to 66-4,149:
21 (1) Agricultural ethyl alcohol means ethyl alcohol produced from
22 cereal grains or agricultural commodities grown within the continental
23 United States and which is a finished product that is a nominally
24 anhydrous ethyl alcohol meeting American Society for Testing and
25 Materials D4806 standards. For the purpose of sections 66-482 to
26 66-4,149, the purity of the ethyl alcohol shall be determined excluding
27 denaturant, and the volume of alcohol blended with gasoline for motor
28 vehicle fuel shall include the volume of any denaturant required pursuant
29 to law;
30 (2) Alcohol blend means a blend of agricultural ethyl alcohol in
31 gasoline or other motor vehicle fuel, such blend to contain not less than
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1 five percent by volume of alcohol;
2 (3) Biodiesel means mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids
3 derived from vegetable oils or animal fats which conform to American
4 Society for Testing and Materials D6751 specifications for use in diesel
5 engines. Biodiesel refers to the pure fuel before blending with diesel
6 fuel;
7 (4) Biodiesel facility means a plant which produces biodiesel;
8 (5) Commercial electric vehicle charging station has the same
9 meaning as in section 70-1001.01;
10 (6) Commercial electric vehicle charging station operator has the
11 same meaning as in section 70-1001.01;
12 (7) Compressed fuel has the same meaning as in section 66-6,100;
13 (8) Department means the Department of Revenue;
14 (9) Diesel fuel means all combustible liquids and biodiesel which
15 are suitable for the generation of power for diesel-powered vehicles,
16 except that diesel fuel does not include kerosene;
17 (10) Distributor means any person who acquires ownership of motor
18 fuels directly from a producer or supplier at or from a barge, barge
19 line, pipeline terminal, or ethanol or biodiesel facility in this state;
20 (11) Ethanol facility means a plant which produces agricultural
21 ethyl alcohol;
22 (12) Exporter means any person who acquires ownership of motor fuels
23 from any licensed producer, supplier, distributor, wholesaler, or
24 importer exclusively for use or resale in another state;
25 (13) Gross gallons means measured gallons without adjustment or
26 correction for temperature or barometric pressure;
27 (14) Highway means every way or place generally open to the use of
28 the public for the purpose of vehicular travel, even though such way or
29 place may be temporarily closed or travel thereon restricted for the
30 purpose of construction, maintenance, repair, or reconstruction;
31 (15) Importer means any person who owns motor fuels at the time such
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1 fuels enter the State of Nebraska by any means other than barge, barge
2 line, or pipeline. Importer does not include a person who imports motor
3 fuels in a tank directly connected to the engine of a motor vehicle,
4 train, watercraft, or airplane for purposes of providing fuel to the
5 engine to which the tank is connected;
6 (16) Kerosene means kerosene meeting the specifications as found in
7 the American Society for Testing and Materials publication D3699 entitled
8 Standard Specification for Kerosene;
9 (17) Motor fuels means motor vehicle fuel, diesel fuel, aircraft
10 fuel, or compressed fuel;
11 (18) (1) Motor vehicle has shall have the same meaning definition as
12 in section 60-339;
13 (19) (2) Motor vehicle fuel includes shall include all products and
14 fuel commonly or commercially known as gasoline, including casing head or
15 natural gasoline, and includes shall include any other liquid and such
16 other volatile and inflammable liquids as may be produced, compounded, or
17 used for the purpose of operating or propelling motor vehicles,
18 motorboats, or aircraft or as an ingredient in the manufacture of such
19 fuel. Motor vehicle fuel includes agricultural Agricultural ethyl alcohol
20 produced for use as a motor vehicle fuel shall be considered a motor
21 vehicle fuel. Motor vehicle fuel does shall not include the products
22 commonly known as methanol, kerosene oil, kerosene distillate, crude
23 petroleum, naphtha, and benzine with a boiling point over two hundred
24 degrees Fahrenheit, residuum gas oil, smudge oil, leaded automotive
25 racing fuel with an American Society of Testing Materials research method
26 octane number in excess of one hundred five, and any petroleum product
27 with an initial boiling point under two hundred degrees Fahrenheit, a
28 ninety-five percent distillation (recovery) temperature in excess of four
29 hundred sixty-four degrees Fahrenheit, an American Society of Testing
30 Materials research method octane number less than seventy, and an end or
31 dry point of distillation of five hundred seventy degrees Fahrenheit
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1 maximum;
2 (20) Person means any individual, firm, partnership, limited
3 liability company, company, agency, association, corporation, state,
4 county, municipality, or other political subdivision. Whenever a fine or
5 imprisonment is prescribed or imposed in sections 66-482 to 66-4,149, the
6 word person as applied to a partnership, a limited liability company, or
7 an association means the partners or members thereof;
8 (21) Producer means any person who manufactures agricultural ethyl
9 alcohol or biodiesel at an ethanol or biodiesel facility in this state;
10 (22) Retailer means any person who acquires motor fuels from a
11 producer, supplier, distributor, wholesaler, or importer for resale to
12 consumers of such fuel;
13 (23) Semiannual period means either the period which begins on
14 January 1 and ends on June 30 of each year or the period which begins on
15 July 1 and ends on December 31 of each year;
16 (3) Agricultural ethyl alcohol shall mean ethyl alcohol produced
17 from cereal grains or agricultural commodities grown within the
18 continental United States and which is a finished product that is a
19 nominally anhydrous ethyl alcohol meeting American Society for Testing
20 and Materials D4806 standards. For the purpose of sections 66-482 to
21 66-4,149, the purity of the ethyl alcohol shall be determined excluding
22 denaturant and the volume of alcohol blended with gasoline for motor
23 vehicle fuel shall include the volume of any denaturant required pursuant
24 to law;
25 (4) Alcohol blend shall mean a blend of agricultural ethyl alcohol
26 in gasoline or other motor vehicle fuel, such blend to contain not less
27 than five percent by volume of alcohol;
28 (24) (5) Supplier means shall mean any person who owns motor fuels
29 imported by barge, barge line, or pipeline and stored at a barge, barge
30 line, or pipeline terminal in this state; and
31 (6) Distributor shall mean any person who acquires ownership of
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1 motor fuels directly from a producer or supplier at or from a barge,
2 barge line, pipeline terminal, or ethanol or biodiesel facility in this
3 state;
4 (25) (7) Wholesaler means shall mean any person, other than a
5 producer, supplier, distributor, or importer, who acquires motor fuels
6 for resale. ;
7 (8) Retailer shall mean any person who acquires motor fuels from a
8 producer, supplier, distributor, wholesaler, or importer for resale to
9 consumers of such fuel;
10 (9) Importer shall mean any person who owns motor fuels at the time
11 such fuels enter the State of Nebraska by any means other than barge,
12 barge line, or pipeline. Importer shall not include a person who imports
13 motor fuels in a tank directly connected to the engine of a motor
14 vehicle, train, watercraft, or airplane for purposes of providing fuel to
15 the engine to which the tank is connected;
16 (10) Exporter shall mean any person who acquires ownership of motor
17 fuels from any licensed producer, supplier, distributor, wholesaler, or
18 importer exclusively for use or resale in another state;
19 (11) Gross gallons shall mean measured gallons without adjustment or
20 correction for temperature or barometric pressure;
21 (12) Diesel fuel shall mean all combustible liquids and biodiesel
22 which are suitable for the generation of power for diesel-powered
23 vehicles, except that diesel fuel shall not include kerosene;
24 (13) Compressed fuel shall mean any fuel defined as compressed fuel
25 in section 66-6,100;
26 (14) Person shall mean any individual, firm, partnership, limited
27 liability company, company, agency, association, corporation, state,
28 county, municipality, or other political subdivision. Whenever a fine or
29 imprisonment is prescribed or imposed in sections 66-482 to 66-4,149, the
30 word person as applied to a partnership, a limited liability company, or
31 an association shall mean the partners or members thereof;
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1 (15) Department shall mean the Department of Revenue;
2 (16) Semiannual period shall mean either the period which begins on
3 January 1 and ends on June 30 of each year or the period which begins on
4 July 1 and ends on December 31 of each year;
5 (17) Producer shall mean any person who manufactures agricultural
6 ethyl alcohol or biodiesel at an ethanol or biodiesel facility in this
7 state;
8 (18) Highway shall mean every way or place generally open to the use
9 of the public for the purpose of vehicular travel, even though such way
10 or place may be temporarily closed or travel thereon restricted for the
11 purpose of construction, maintenance, repair, or reconstruction;
12 (19) Kerosene shall mean kerosene meeting the specifications as
13 found in the American Society for Testing and Materials publication D3699
14 entitled Standard Specifications for Kerosene;
15 (20) Biodiesel shall mean mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty
16 acids derived from vegetable oils or animal fats which conform to
17 American Society for Testing and Materials D6751 specifications for use
18 in diesel engines. Biodiesel refers to the pure fuel before blending with
19 diesel fuel;
20 (21) Motor fuels shall mean motor vehicle fuel, diesel fuel,
21 aircraft fuel, or compressed fuel;
22 (22) Ethanol facility shall mean a plant which produces agricultural
23 ethyl alcohol; and
24 (23) Biodiesel facility shall mean a plant which produces biodiesel.
25 Sec. 5. Section 66-4,105, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
26 amended to read:
27 66-4,105 (1)(a) (1) There is hereby levied and imposed an excise
28 tax in an amount set in subdivision (1)(b) subsection (2) of this
29 section, increased by the amounts imposed or determined under sections
30 66-489.02, 66-4,140, 66-4,145, and 66-4,146, upon the use of all motor
31 fuels used in this state and due the State of Nebraska under section
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1 66-489. Users of motor fuels subject to taxation under this section shall
2 be allowed the same exemptions, deductions, and rights of reimbursement
3 as are authorized and permitted by Chapter 66, article 4, other than any
4 commissions provided under such article.
5 (b) (2) The excise tax shall be nine and one-half cents per
6 gallon. :
7 (a) Seven and one-half cents per gallon through December 31, 2015;
8 (b) Eight cents per gallon beginning on January 1, 2016, through
9 December 31, 2016;
10 (c) Eight and one-half cents per gallon beginning on January 1,
11 2017, through December 31, 2017;
12 (d) Nine cents per gallon beginning on January 1, 2018, through
13 December 31, 2018; and
14 (e) Nine and one-half cents per gallon beginning on January 1, 2019.
15 (c) (3) For purposes of this subsection section and section
16 66-4,106, use means the purchase or consumption of motor fuels in this
17 state.
18 (2) Beginning January 1, 2028, there is hereby levied and imposed an
19 excise tax of three cents per kilowatt hour on the electric energy used
20 to charge the battery of a motor vehicle at a commercial electric vehicle
21 charging station.
22 Sec. 6. Section 70-1001.01, Revised Statutes Supplement, 2023, is
23 amended to read:
24 70-1001.01 For purposes of sections 70-1001 to 70-1028 and section 8
25 of this act, unless the context otherwise requires:
26 (1) Board means the Nebraska Power Review Board;
27 (2) Commercial electric vehicle charging station means equipment
28 designed to provide electricity for a fee for the charging of an electric
29 vehicle or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, including an electric
30 vehicle direct-current charger or a super-fast charger, any successor
31 technology, and all components thereof. Commercial