Pub. 13 2018-2019 Issue 6

WWW.NEBANKERS.ORG 18 A Banking Glance at Nebraska’s Legislative Session Legislative Update — continued on page 20 Robert J. Hallstrom, General Counsel, Nebraska Bankers Association Gerald Stilmock, Associate General Counsel, Nebraska Bankers Association T HE 2019 LEGISLATIVE SESSION IS WELL UNDERWAY, WITH LAW- makers rapidly moving bills through the legislative process. Once senators, committees and the Speaker of the legislature designate their priority bills, the agenda for the second half of the legislative session will be established. The major issues faced by the legislature have not changed in recent years, with a budget shortfall approaching $100 mil- lion yet to be addressed, along with the continuing struggle to provide meaningful property tax relief for Nebraska taxpayers. Clearly, the more things change, the more they stay the same. The Nebraska Bankers Association (NBA) is promoting a healthy affirmative legislative agenda this session, including mea- sures to (a) establish a single–bank pooled collateral method of pledging for public funds; (b) clarify the application of restrictions on direct borrowing from financial institutions by cities and vil- lages; and (c) place restrictions onpractices of insurance companies that issue insurance claimchecks without including the loss payee designated under the insurance policy. Specific descriptions of the bills introduced on behalf of the NBA are set forth below: LB622 –Public Funds PooledCollateral: Introduced by Senator Matt Williams (Gothenburg), LB 622 would authorize the use of a single bank pooled collateralmethod to collateralize public funds in excess of the FDIC insured amounts. Under current law, LEGISLATIVE UPDATE