Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

LB50                                                                                       LB50
                                                                                     2024
                                LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
                             ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH LEGISLATURE
                                 FIRST SPECIAL SESSION
                        LEGISLATIVE BILL 50
       Introduced by Wayne, 13.
       Read first time July 29, 2024
       Committee: Revenue
  A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to revenue and taxation; to amend section
      66-6,109.02,      Reissue Revised Statutes of    Nebraska,    and section
      66-489.02, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2022; to change
      provisions relating to   certain taxes imposed on   the average
      wholesale price of gasoline; to provide for the use of certain tax
       proceeds;    to provide an   operative date;      to repeal the original
       sections; and to declare an emergency.
   Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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LB50                                                                                                   LB50
                                                                                                 2024
         Section       1.      Section       66-489.02,       Revised Statutes Cumulative
   Supplement, 2022, is amended to read:
        66-489.02 (1) For tax periods beginning on and after July 1, 2009,
   at the time of     filing the return required by      section    66-488,    the
  producer,     supplier,       distributor,         wholesaler,        or importer shall,     in
  addition to the other taxes provided for by law, pay a tax at the rate of
  five percent of the average wholesale price of gasoline for the gallons
  of the motor fuels as shown by the return, except that there shall be no
  tax on    the motor fuels reported if    they are otherwise exempted by
  sections 66-482 to 66-4,149.
         (2) The minimum average wholesale price of gasoline to be used to
   calculate the tax under subsection (1) of this section for tax periods
   beginning on and after January 1, 2025, shall be two dollars and forty-
  four cents. The department shall calculate the average wholesale price of
  gasoline on April 1, 2009, and on each April 1 and October 1 thereafter.
  The average wholesale price on April 1 shall apply to returns for the tax
   periods beginning on and after July 1, and the average wholesale price on
  October 1 shall apply to returns for the tax periods beginning on and
  after January 1. The average wholesale price shall be determined using
  data available from the Department of Environment and Energy and shall be
  an average wholesale price per gallon of gasoline sold in the state over
  the previous six-month period, excluding any state or federal excise tax
   or environmental fees, except that in no case shall the average wholesale
   price of gasoline be less than the minimum amount required under this
   subsection. The change in the average wholesale price between two six-
  month periods shall be adjusted so that the increase or decrease in the
  tax provided for in this section or section 66-6,109.02 does not exceed
  one cent per gallon.
         (3) All sums of money received under this section shall be credited
   to the Highway Trust Fund. Credits and refunds of such tax allowed to
  producers, suppliers, distributors, wholesalers, or importers shall be
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LB50                                                                                        LB50
                                                                                      2024
   paid from the Highway Trust Fund. The balance of the amount credited,
   after credits and refunds, shall be allocated as follows:
         (a) Sixty-six percent to the Highway Cash Fund for the Department of
   Transportation. The department shall use at least thirty-five percent of
   the amount allocated under this subdivision to    pay for surface
   transportation projects, as defined in section 39-2702, of the highest
   priority as determined by the department;
         (b) Seventeen percent to the Highway Allocation Fund for allocation
   to the various counties for road purposes; and
         (c) Seventeen percent to the Highway Allocation Fund for allocation
   to the various municipalities for street purposes.
         Sec. 2. Section 66-6,109.02, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska,
   is amended to read:
         66-6,109.02 (1) For tax periods beginning on and after July 1, 2009,
   at the time of filing the return required by section 66-6,110, the
   retailer shall, in addition to the other taxes provided for by law, pay a
   tax at   the rate of   five percent of   the average wholesale price of
   gasoline calculated pursuant to section 66-489.02 for the gallons of the
   compressed fuel as shown by the return, except that there shall be no tax
   on the compressed fuel reported if it is otherwise exempted by the
   Compressed Fuel Tax Act.
         (2) All sums of money received under this section shall be credited
   to the Highway Trust Fund. Credits and refunds of such tax allowed to
   producers, suppliers, distributors, wholesalers, or importers shall be
   paid from the Highway Trust Fund. The balance of the amount credited,
   after credits and refunds, shall be allocated as follows:
         (a) Sixty-six percent to the Highway Cash Fund for the Department of
   Transportation. The department shall use at least thirty-five percent of
   the amount allocated under this subdivision to    pay for surface
   transportation projects, as defined in section 39-2702, of the highest
   priority as determined by the department;
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LB50                                                                       LB50
                                                                     2024
       (b) Seventeen percent to the Highway Allocation Fund for allocation
   to the various counties for road purposes; and
       (c) Seventeen percent to the Highway Allocation Fund for allocation
   to the various municipalities for street purposes.
       Sec. 3.   This act become operative on January 1, 2025.
       Sec. 4.   Original section 66-6,109.02, Reissue Revised Statutes of
   Nebraska, and section 66-489.02, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
   2022, are repealed.
       Sec. 5.    Since an emergency exists, this act takes effect when
   passed and approved according to law.
                                        -4-
Statutes affected: 
Introduced: 66-489.02