Adopt the State Building Construction Alternatives Act and the Secure Drone Purchasing Act, require agencies to submit a federal funding inventory, and change provisions relating to agency rules and regulations, state buildings, and works of art for state buildings
LB660 is a broad government operations and procurement bill that combines several separate policy changes. Its main provisions adopt the State Building Construction Alternatives Act, which authorizes certain state agencies to use alternative contracting methods for state building projects, including design-build and construction manager/general contractor delivery. The bill establishes detailed procedures for prequalification, requests for qualifications and proposals, shortlisting, ranking, negotiation, and approval by the Director of Administrative Services, and it sets rules for project performance criteria, confidentiality of alternative technical concepts, stipends for unsuccessful proposers, and conflict-of-interest restrictions. It also directs the State Building Division to adopt guidelines and authorizes rules to implement the new contracting framework.
The bill also creates the Secure Drone Purchasing Act, which restricts state agencies and, to the extent practicable, political subdivisions from purchasing drones or unmanned aerial systems unless they are cleared by the state Division of Aeronautics as secure. The act defines security standards for approved drones, requires the state to maintain and publish a list of authorized secure drones and vendors, and gives preference in procurement to devices on that list. In addition, LB660 requires state agencies receiving legislative appropriations to submit annual federal funding inventories detailing federal expenditures, matching requirements, agreements, obligations, and projected end dates.
LB660 further revises existing statutes governing state building construction, the State Building Division, consultant selection, public art for state buildings, and administrative rulemaking. It updates the State Building Division’s responsibilities for facilities planning, construction oversight, leasing, maintenance, reporting, and emergency capital construction administration. It also modifies the public art program by clarifying definitions, waivers, committee procedures, and the one-percent set-aside for works of art in certain capital projects. On the administrative law side, the bill changes rulemaking procedures, public comment opportunities, venue for declaratory judgment challenges, and periodic legislative review of agency rules, while suspending some rulemaking during the review process.
The overall sentiment around LB660 appears strongly favorable. The bill advanced through the Legislature with unanimous or near-unanimous support at key stages, including 38-0 to advance to Enrollment and Review Initial and 49-0 on final reading with the emergency clause. The available record shows no committee transcript debate, and the vote history suggests broad bipartisan agreement on the package as amended.
There was limited visible contention in the recorded history, but one floor amendment failed, indicating at least some disagreement over a specific change. The only recorded negative vote was on FA189, which lost 8-27, suggesting that amendment was the main point of dispute rather than the bill itself. The bill’s broad scope may also have been a source of policy tension in principle, because it combines procurement reform, drone security restrictions, federal funding reporting, public art requirements, and administrative procedure changes into a single measure.
LB660 substantially changes Nebraska law by creating new statutory frameworks for alternative state building procurement and secure drone purchasing, while also amending existing statutes on state facilities administration, consultant selection, public art set-asides, and agency rulemaking. It expands the State Building Division’s authority and responsibilities, imposes new reporting duties on state agencies regarding federal funds, and adds procurement and security restrictions affecting state agencies and, in some cases, political subdivisions. The bill also affects architects, engineers, design-builders, construction managers, vendors of unmanned aerial systems, and agencies subject to the Administrative Procedure Act.
The recorded legislative sentiment was overwhelmingly positive. LB660 moved forward with unanimous or near-unanimous floor support and ultimately passed 49-0 with an emergency clause. The absence of committee transcript opposition and the broad support on final reading indicate that the bill’s package of procurement, security, reporting, and administrative changes was generally well received by lawmakers.
The main recorded contention was a failed floor amendment, FA189, which suggests disagreement over a specific policy detail or revision within the bill. Beyond that, the bill’s breadth could have raised concerns about combining multiple unrelated policy areas in one measure, especially the new procurement authority for major state projects, the drone purchasing restrictions, and the changes to administrative rulemaking. However, the voting record does not show sustained opposition to the underlying bill.