The proposed bill, known as the Aid to Municipalities Act, aims to provide state aid to municipalities in Nebraska through grants designated for infrastructure projects. The bill establishes a new fund, the Aid to Municipalities Fund, which will be utilized by the Department of Economic Development to distribute these grants and cover administrative expenses. Municipalities can apply for grants by submitting an application that includes the requested amount and a description of the intended infrastructure projects. The bill specifies that grant funds must be used exclusively for construction, acquisition, or equipping of infrastructure projects, and no grant shall exceed five million dollars.
Additionally, the bill amends existing statutes to incorporate the Aid to Municipalities Act into the definitions of state aid and budget limitations. It mandates that the Auditor of Public Accounts notify the State Treasurer and the Department of Economic Development if a municipality fails to comply with budget limits, resulting in the suspension of state aid distribution until compliance is achieved. The bill also expresses the Legislature's intent to appropriate fifteen million dollars each fiscal year for the purposes of the Act. The original sections of the statutes being amended will be repealed, and the Revisor of Statutes is tasked with assigning the new sections to a new article in Chapter 18.
Statutes affected: Introduced: 13-518, 13-522