LB 1255

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                          LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
                       ONE HUNDRED NINTH LEGISLATURE
                                SECOND SESSION
                   LEGISLATIVE BILL 1255
 Introduced by Prokop, 27; Bostar, 29.
 Read first time January 21, 2026
 Committee: Judiciary
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to eminent domain; to amend section 70-670,
2Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, and section 70-1409, Revised
3Statutes   Cumulative   Supplement,   2024;   to   prohibit   public   power
4suppliers from exercising the power of eminent domain; to harmonize
5provisions; and to repeal the original sections.
6    Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1Section     1.        (1)   Notwithstanding  any    other  provision  of     law,
2     beginning on the effective date of this act, public power suppliers shall
3  be prohibited from exercising the power of eminent domain.
4(2) For purposes of this section, public power supplier means a
5  public       power   district,        a   municipal        electric       utility,  or    any        other
6  government entity providing electric service.
7Sec. 2. Section 70-670, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
8    amended to read:
970-670 (1)(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) of this
10     section, in (1) In addition to any other rights and powers conferred upon
11  any district organized under or subject to Chapter 70, article 6, each
12 such district shall have and exercise the power of eminent domain to
13     acquire from any person, firm, association, or private corporation any
14     and all property owned, used, or operated, or useful for operation, in
15     the   generation,      transmission,  or      distribution       of       electrical  energy,
16  including an existing electric utility system or any part thereof. The
17  procedure to condemn property shall be exercised in the manner set forth
18  in Chapter 76, article 7.
19(b) (2) In the case of the acquisition through the exercise of the
20  power of eminent domain of an existing electric utility system or part
21  thereof,       the   Attorney        General      shall,    upon    request  of    any    district,
22     represent     such      district       in      the     institution  and        prosecution  of
23     condemnation      proceedings.  After    acquisition       of        an    existing  electric
24  utility system through the exercise of the power of eminent domain, the
25  district shall reimburse the state for all costs and expenses incurred in
26  the condemnation proceedings by the Attorney General.
27(c) (3) A district may agree to limit its exercise of the power of
28    eminent     domain     to    acquire     a     project    which        is    a     renewable  energy
29     generation    facility       producing       electricity        with    wind       and       any    related
30  facilities.
31(d) (4) No property owned, used, or operated as part of a privately
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1  developed renewable energy generation facility meeting the requirements
2  of section 70-1014.02 shall be subject to eminent domain by any consumer-
3  owned electric supplier operating in the State of Nebraska.
4(2)   A    district     shall    not    exercise  the   power      of     eminent    domain
5  pursuant to this section on or after the effective date of this act.
6Sec. 3. Section 70-1409, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
7  2024, is amended to read:
870-1409 Each joint authority shall have all the rights and powers
9     necessary or convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and
10  provisions of the Joint Public Power Authority Act including, but not
11  limited to, the right and power:
12(1)   To   adopt   bylaws       for    the       regulation    of     the      affairs     and   the
13  conduct of its business and to prescribe rules, regulations, and policies
14  in connection with the performance of its functions and duties;
15(2) To adopt an official seal and alter the same at pleasure;
16(3)   To    maintain     an   office        at    such    place     or    places     as    it    may
17  determine;
18(4)   To    sue   and   be    sued     in    its    own    name     and     to    plead    and   be
19  impleaded;
20(5)   To   receive,     administer,  and    comply     with      the     conditions      and
21     requirements respecting any gift, grant, or donation of any property or
22  money;
23(6) To acquire by purchase, lease, gift, or otherwise, or to obtain
24  options for the acquisition of, any property, real or personal, improved
25  or unimproved, including an interest in land less than an interest in
26  fee;
27(7) To sell, lease, exchange, transfer, or otherwise dispose of, or
28  to grant options for any such purposes with respect to, any real or
29  personal property or interest in such property;
30(8) To pledge or assign any money, rents, charges, or other revenue
31  and    any   proceeds     derived      by    the    joint       authority       from     the    sales    of
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1 property, insurance, or condemnation awards;
2(9)    To    issue    bonds    of    the    joint       authority    for    the     purpose   of
3 providing funds for any of its corporate purposes;
4(10) To authorize the construction, operation, or maintenance of any
5 project        or   projects    by    any    person,       firm,    or   corporation,        including
6 political subdivisions and agencies of any state or of the United States;
7(11) To acquire by negotiated purchase or lease an existing project,
8     a project under construction, or other property, either individually or
9     jointly, with one or more public power districts in this state or with
10 any political subdivisions or agencies of this state or any other state
11 or with other joint authorities created pursuant to the Joint Public
12 Power Authority Act;
13(12) To dispose of by negotiated sale or lease an existing project,
14 a project under construction, or other property, either individually or
15 jointly, with one or more public power districts in this state, with any
16 political subdivisions or agencies of this state or any other state or,
17 with other joint authorities created pursuant to the Joint Public Power
18 Authority Act, except that no such sale or lease of any project located
19 in this state shall be made to any private person, firm, or corporation
20 engaged in the business of generating, transmitting, or distributing
21 electricity for profit;
22(13) To fix, charge, and collect rents, rates, fees, and charges for
23 electric        power   or    energy,       hydrogen,      or    ethanol     and    other    services,
24 facilities, and commodities sold, furnished, or supplied through any
25     project;
26(14) To generate, produce, transmit, deliver, exchange, purchase, or
27 sell     for    resale       only   electric       power    or    energy,    to     produce,    store,
28 deliver, or distribute hydrogen for use in fuel processes, or to produce,
29 deliver, or distribute ethanol and to enter into contracts for any or all
30 such purposes, subject to sections 70-1410 and 70-1413;
31(15)    To    negotiate       and    enter    into       contracts    for    the     purchase,
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1    exchange, interchange, wheeling, pooling, or transmission of electric
2    power    and   energy      with    any   public      power    district,    any     other    joint
3    authority, any political subdivision or agency of this state or any other
4    state,   any    electric      cooperative,      or     any   municipal    agency    which    owns
5    electric generation, transmission, or distribution facilities in this
6    state or any other state;
7(16) To negotiate and enter into contracts for the sale or use of
8    electric power and energy, hydrogen, or ethanol with any joint authority,
9    electric cooperative, any political subdivision or agency or any public
10    or private electric utility of this state or any other state, any joint
11     agency, electric cooperative, municipality, public or private electric
12     utility, or any state or federal agency or political subdivision, subject
13     to sections 70-1410 and 70-1413;
14(17) To make and execute contracts and other instruments necessary
15    or convenient in the exercise of the powers and functions of the joint
16    authority under the Joint Public Power Authority Act, including contracts
17    with persons, firms, corporations, and others;
18(18) To apply to the appropriate agencies of the state, the United
19    States, or any other state and to any other proper agency for such
20     permits, licenses, certificates, or approvals as may be necessary to
21    construct,     maintain,      and     operate     projects     in    accordance     with     such
22    licenses, permits, certificates, or approvals, and to obtain, hold, and
23    use the same rights granted in any licenses, permits, certificates, or
24    approvals as any other person or operating unit would have under such
25    documents;
26(19)       To    employ       engineers,     architects,        attorneys,     appraisers,
27    financial advisors, and such other consultants and employees as may be
28    required in the judgment of the joint authority and to fix and pay their
29    compensation        from   funds    available     to   the   joint    authority.     The    joint
30     authority may employ technical experts and such other officers, agents,
31     and employees as it may require and shall assess their qualifications,
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1 duties, compensation, and term of office. The board may delegate to one
2     or more of the joint authority's employees or agents such powers and
3     duties as the board may deem proper;
4(20) To make loans or advances for long-term, supplemental, short-
5 term, and interim financing for both capital projects and operational
6     purposes to those member districts on such terms and conditions as the
7     board of directors of the joint authority may deem necessary and to
8  secure such loans or advances by assignment of revenue, receivables, or
9  other sums of the member district and such other security as the board of
10  directors of the joint authority may determine; and
11(21) To sell, lease, or license its dark fiber pursuant to sections
12    86-574 to 86-578.
13Any joint authority shall have the same power of eminent domain as
14  the public power districts have under section 70-670.
15Sec.   4.   Original   section   70-670,   Reissue   Revised   Statutes   of
16  Nebraska, and section 70-1409, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
17  2024, are repealed.
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