Adopt the Infrastructure Development Investment Program Act and change and eliminate provisions relating to the Rural Road Improvement District Act, the Political Subdivisions Construction Alternatives Act, the Transportation Innovation Act, the Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act, the Nebraska Rules of the Road, intrastate medicaid nonemergency medical transportation services, and wireless service surcharges
LB1126 is a broad transportation and infrastructure bill that creates the Infrastructure Development Investment Program Act and revises several existing transportation-related statutes. The new program is designed to provide loans and other financial assistance for qualified transportation infrastructure projects, including highways, streets, roads, bridges, transit, rail, airports, ports, and bicycle or pedestrian facilities. It establishes a commission-administered fund, sets eligibility and project-prioritization criteria, authorizes revenue bonds and other financing tools, and requires annual audits, public reporting, and a public website for transparency.
The bill also makes extensive changes to the Political Subdivisions Construction Alternatives Act and the Transportation Innovation Act. It expands and clarifies the use of design-build, construction manager-at-risk, progressive design-build, and public-private partnership delivery methods for public projects, including detailed procurement, evaluation, and oversight procedures. In addition, it revises rules governing rural road improvement districts, county road improvement financing, commercial motor vehicle driver training, accident reporting, motor vehicle safety responsibility, traffic signal and bicycle traffic rules, oversize/overweight permits, motor carrier regulation, Medicaid nonemergency medical transportation, and wireless service surcharges.
LB1126 would significantly reshape Nebraska transportation finance and procurement law by creating a new state infrastructure lending and financing program and by amending or repealing numerous provisions across the transportation code. It would give the State Highway Commission and Department of Transportation new authority over project selection, financing agreements, bond issuance, and administration of infrastructure assistance, while also changing how political subdivisions and counties may structure and fund road and other public works projects. The bill also affects motor carriers, commercial driver training, accident reporting, Medicaid transportation providers, and wireless surcharge collection, making it a wide-ranging statutory overhaul rather than a single-subject measure.
The bill appears to have received generally favorable treatment in the Legislature, with multiple committee and floor votes passing overwhelmingly and final passage by a strong margin. The recorded votes show broad support for the underlying package and for later amendments, suggesting that most lawmakers viewed the bill as a significant but workable transportation and infrastructure modernization measure. The final vote of 42-7 indicates substantial bipartisan approval, even though some members opposed or sought to alter parts of the bill.
The main points of contention appear to have centered on the bill’s breadth, its financing mechanisms, and the policy shift toward more flexible project delivery and private participation. The amendments and failed motion during floor debate suggest some disagreement over how far to expand public-private partnerships, design-build authority, and state involvement in infrastructure lending. Other likely areas of concern include the new commission’s discretion over project selection, the use of revenue bonds and special limited obligations, and the changes to rural road districts and county road financing, which could affect local control, taxpayer exposure, and project accountability.