§ 77-4405 — Good life district; project; approval; eligibility; reports required; reduced sales tax rate; sales tax refund; offset; boundary adjustments; procedure; development and design standards; project areas; established; procedure

Nebraska § 77-4405

• Jurisdiction: Nebraska
• Ch. 77: Revenue and Taxation

Text

(1) If the department finds that creation of the good life district would not exceed the limits prescribed in subsection (4) of section 77-4404 and the project described in the application meets the eligibility requirements of this section, the application shall be approved.
(2) A project is eligible if:
(a) The good life district applicant demonstrates that the total new development costs of the project will exceed:
(i) One billion dollars if the project will be located in a city of the metropolitan class;
(ii) Seven hundred fifty million dollars if the project will be located in a city of the primary class;
(iii) Five hundred million dollars if the project will be located in a city of the first class, city of the second class, or village within a county with a population of one hundred thousand inhabitants or more; or
(iv) One hundred million dollars if the project will be located in a city of the first class, city of the second class, village, or sanitary and improvement district within a county with a population of less than one hundred thousand inhabitants;
(b) The good life district applicant demonstrates that the project will directly or indirectly result in the creation of:
(i) One thousand new jobs if the project will be located in a city of the metropolitan class;
(ii) Five hundred new jobs if the project will be located in a city of the primary class;
(iii) Two hundred fifty new jobs if the project will be located in a city of the first class, city of the second class, or village within a county with a population of one hundred thousand inhabitants or more; or
(iv) Fifty new jobs if the project will be located in a city of the first class, city of the second class, village, or sanitary and improvement district within a county with a population of less than one hundred thousand inhabitants; and
(c)(i) For a project that will be located in a county with a population of one hundred thousand inhabitants or more, the good life district applicant demonstrates that, upon completion of the project, at least twenty percent of sales at the project will be made to persons residing outside the State of Nebraska or the project will generate a minimum of six hundred thousand visitors per year who reside outside the State of Nebraska and the project will attract new-to-market retail to the state and will generate a minimum of three million visitors per year in total. Students from another state who attend a Nebraska public or private university shall not be counted as out-of-state residents for purposes of this subdivision; or
(ii) For a project that will be located in a county with a population of less than one hundred thousand inhabitants, the good life district applicant demonstrates that, upon completion of the project, at least twenty percent of sales at the project will be made to persons residing outside the State of Nebraska. Students from another state who attend a Nebraska public or private university shall not be counted as out-of-state residents for purposes of this subdivision.
(3) The good life district applicant must certify that any anticipated diversion of state sales tax revenue will be offset or exceeded by sales tax paid on anticipated development costs, including construction to real property, during the same period.
(4) Beginning on June 5, 2025, before an application may be approved, the good life district applicant shall submit a report to the department and to any city or village that will include the good life district. Such report shall:
(a) Provide evidence satisfactory to the department and such city or village that such applicant has sufficient financing for the project and the project is financially viable;
(b) Provide evidence that such applicant has land ownership within the proposed boundaries of the good life district or a contract giving the applicant an option to purchase land within the proposed boundaries of the good life district within one hundred eighty days of contract signing; and
(c) Provide information regarding any ownership interest held by such applicant in any existing retail business within the proposed good life district.
(5) A project is not eligible if:
(a) The project includes a licensed racetrack enclosure or an authorized gaming operator as such terms are defined in section 9-1103 , except that this subdivision shall not apply to infrastructure or facilities that are (i) publicly owned or (ii) used by or at the direction of the Nebraska State Fair Board, so long as no gaming devices or games of chance are expected to be operated by an authorized gaming operator within any such facilities;
(b) The project received funds pursuant to the Shovel-Ready Capital Recovery and Investment Act or the Economic Recovery Act, except that this subdivision shall not apply to any project located in a qualified inland port district; or
(c) The project includes any portion of a public or private university.
(6) Approval of an application under this section shall establish the good life district as that area depicted in the map accompanying the application as submitted pursuant to subdivision (1)(b) of section 77-4404 or, for any application approved on or after June 5, 2025, the map as approved by the department. Such district shall last for thirty years and shall not exceed two thousand acres in size if in a city of the metropolitan class, three thousand acres in size if in any other class of city or village, or, for any good life district created within a qualified inland port district, the size of the qualified inland port district. All property within a good life district shall be contiguous.
(7)(a) Prior to July 1, 2024, any transactions occurring within a good life district shall be subject to a reduced state sales tax rate as provided in subdivision (5) of section 77-2701.02 .
(b) On and after July 1, 2024, and until October 1, 2025, any transactions occurring within a good life district shall be subject to a reduced state sales tax rate as provided in subdivision (6) of section 77-2701.02 .
(c) On and after October 1, 2025, any transactions, excluding sales of aircraft, all-terrain vehicles, barges, motor vehicles, motorboats, railroad rolling stock, semitrailers, and trailers, by a good life district applicant or an enhanced employment area good life district retailer that physically occur within a good life district and within the corporate limits of a city of the metropolitan class shall be subject to a state sales tax rate that is fifty percent of the state sales tax rate provided in section 77-2701.02 .
(d) On and after October 1, 2025, a good life district applicant or good life district retailer shall be eligible for a state refund of fifty percent of the state sales tax paid on new development costs for a new business, additional good life district retailer, or relocated good life district retailer to the extent there is excess allocation available under subdivision (e) of this subsection at the time they are placed in service.
(e) After the amount of sales tax collected in the portion of the good life district located within the boundaries of a city of the metropolitan class by a good life district applicant or good life district retailer that is a relocated good life district retailer reaches an aggregate total of five million dollars per year, the state shall offset from the city's local sales tax remittance, pursuant to the Local Option Revenue Act, any additional amount of lost state sales tax pursuant to subdivision (c) of this subsection, and such amount shall be credited to the General Fund, except that relocated good life district retailers shall exceed the five-million-dollar cap to the extent there are taxes received by the state from new businesses and additional good life district retailers net of any allocation or refund reduction from allocated amounts within the good life district in the amount of five million dollars plus the excess allocation or reduction over five million dollars. The city may take funds collected from the enhanced employment area occupation tax to offset the obligation. The Tax Commissioner shall inform the city of the amount of the monthly offset.
(8) After establishment of a good life district pursuant to this section, a good life district applicant or the city or village in which all or a portion of the good life district is located may request that the size of the good life district be reduced by filing an amended map with the department and updates or supplements to the application materials originally submitted by the good life district applicant to demonstrate the eligibility criteria in subsection (2) of this section will be met after the boundaries are adjusted. The department may approve the new boundaries if the following conditions are met:
(a) The department determines that the eligibility criteria in subsection (2) of this section will continue to be met after the proposed boundary adjustment based on the materials submitted by the party requesting the boundary adjustment;
(b) The adjustment is mutually agreed to by the good life district applicant and the city or village in which all or a portion of the good life district is located;
(c) The department shall solicit and receive from the city or village in which all or a portion of the good life district is located confirmation that no area being removed is attributable to local sources of revenue which have been pledged for payment of bonds issued pursuant to the Good Life District Economic Development Act. Confirmation may include resolutions, meeting minutes, or other official measures adopted or taken by the city council or village board of trustees;
(d) Either the department has received written consent from the owners of real estate proposed to be removed from the good life district, or a hearing is held by the department in the manner described in this subdivision and the department finds that the removal of the affected property is in the best interests of the state and that the removal is consistent with the goals and purposes of the approved application for the good life district. In determining whether removal of the affected property is consistent with the goals and purposes of the approved application for the good life district, the department may consider any formal action taken by the city council or village board of trustees. Proof of such formal action may include resolutions, meeting minutes, or other official measures adopted or taken. Such hearing must be held at least ninety days after delivering written notice via certified mail to the owners of record for the affected real estate proposed to be removed from the good life district. The hearing must be open to the public and for the stated purpose of hearing testimony regarding the proposed removal of property from the good life district. Attendees must be given the opportunity to speak and submit documentary evidence at, prior to, or contemporaneously with such hearing for the department to consider in making its findings; and
(e) The department shall not remove an approved project area from a good life district.
(9) After establishment of a good life district pursuant to this section, no property shall be added to the good life district and its boundaries shall not be expanded.
(10) After establishment of a good life district pursuant to this section and after any reduction is made to a good life district pursuant to this section, the department shall transmit to any city or village which includes such good life district within its boundaries or within its extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction (a) all information held by the department related to the application and approval of the application, (b) all documentation which describes the property included within the good life district, and (c) all documentation transmitted to the applicant for such good life district with approval of the application and establishment of the good life district. Such city or village shall be subject to the same confidentiality restrictions as provided in subsection (3) of section 77-4404 , except that all such documents, plans, and specifications included in the application which the city or village determine define or describe the project may be provided upon written request of any person who owns property in the applicable good life district. The department shall also transmit a copy of the map of the good life district, a list of all known good life district retailers and enhanced employment area good life district retailers, and any ownership updates to the Department of Revenue.
(11) After establishment of a good life district that exceeds one thousand acres in size, the good life district applicant may apply to the city or village in which all or a portion of the good life district is located to establish development and design standards for the good life district. Such standards may include, but are not limited to, standards for architectural design, landscape design, construction materials, and sustainability, but may not require property owners to utilize specific contractors, professionals, suppliers, or service providers. The city or village may approve the standards after holding a hearing after one hundred eighty days' notice to all property owners in the district if the city or village finds that the standards will ensure a comprehensive and cohesive character and aesthetic for development in the good life district, and that the standards will further the purposes of the Good Life Transformational Projects Act. The development and design standards must be commercially reasonable and consistent with terminology and accepted practices in the architecture industry, must not conflict with any building code or other similar law or regulation, and must not impose an undue burden on property owners in the district. If approved, the standards shall apply to all new construction inside of the good life district. Any such standards shall be in addition and supplemental to any local zoning, building code, comprehensive plan, or similar requirements of the city or village.
(12) If the good life district applicant for an approved good life district is a political subdivision, such political subdivision shall not be exempt from sales tax as provided in section 77-2704.15 on building material purchases for a new business that will or is intended to offer taxable sales in the good life district. For purposes of this subsection, political subdivision includes any public corporation created for the benefit of a political subdivision and any group of political subdivisions forming a joint public agency, organized by interlocal agreement, or utilizing any other method of joint action.
(13) After establishment of a good life district pursuant to this section, the good life district applicant and any other recipient of allocated sales taxes, as defined in section 77-4410 , or reduced sales taxes shall submit an annual report to the department and to any city or village that includes any portion of the good life district. Such report shall be submitted by December 31 of each year that the good life district is in existence. Such report shall include the same information required under subsection (4) of this section.
(14)(a) After establishment of a good life district that is located in a city of the first class, city of the second class, or village within a county with a population of one hundred thousand inhabitants or more and establishment of a good life district economic development program in such city or village, up to six project areas may be established in the good life district as provided in this subsection. In a city of the metropolitan class, the good life district applicant shall be the only project area applicant, and the good life district applicant's project area shall be the only approved project area.
(b) Any good life district applicant who does not have controlling property rights over the entirety of the property in the good life district may submit an application to the department to designate a portion of the good life district as a project area. The application shall include (i) evidence of the applicant's controlling property rights for the proposed project area within the good life district, (ii) a map of the proposed project area, (iii) a description of the development to be pursued within the proposed project area, and (iv) a description of how the project area is a viable development. A good life district applicant may amend the project area application any time after it is submitted. Any amendment must include an amended map of the proposed project area. An application for a project area shall be subject to the same confidentiality restrictions as provided in subsection (3) of section 77-4404 .
(c) The department may only approve an application for a project area if, based on the evidence submitted to and considered by the department, the department concludes that a viable development is included in the project area application. The department shall provide notice of its decision to the project area applicant and the city or village that includes any portion of the applicable good life district.
(d) Approval of the project area shall establish the project area as that area depicted in the map accompanying the application. An approved project area shall last for the duration of the underlying good life district unless the project area applicant requests termination of the project area or assigns the project area to another project area applicant.
(e) Upon approval of a project area, the project area applicant, the department, and the city or village that includes any part of the applicable good life district shall enter into a memorandum of understanding as described in subsection (8) of section 77-4412 . Such memorandum of understanding shall require that the local sources of revenue, as defined in section 77-4410 , derived from within a project area shall be used for eligible costs incurred within or related to the project area, including payment of debt service for bonds issued pursuant to the Good Life District Economic Development Act, and to pay other costs of the city's or village's good life district economic development program created under such act.
(f) A good life district applicant may submit an application for a project area under this subsection within ninety days after June 5, 2025. Subject to subdivision (g) of this subsection, any other person or entity may submit an application for a project area beginning ninety days after June 5, 2025. Such other person or entity shall follow the same application process as described in this subsection for a good life district applicant. Project areas shall not overlap.
(g) The department shall not approve any other person's or entity's project area application until one of the following occurs:
(i) The department approves the good life district applicant's project area application and the applicant, department, and city or village enter into a memorandum of understanding pursuant to subsection (8) of section 77-4412 ; or
(ii) The good life district applicant fails to submit an application within ninety days after June 5, 2025.
(h) The department shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations or publish guidance regarding the process and timeline for approving project areas. Any such rules and regulations or published guidance shall further the state's goal of maximizing transformative development outcomes in a timely way.
(i) An approved project area shall not be considered a separate good life district for purposes of subsection (4) of section 77-4404 .
(j) After the establishment of a project area, the project area applicant may apply to expand its project area with approval from the department. The department may only approve an expansion if (i) the project area applicant has controlling property rights with respect to property proposed to be added to the project area and submits evidence of such controlling property rights to the department and the city or village in which the good life district is located and (ii) all of the property proposed to be added to the project area is within the boundaries of the good life district.
(k) The department may remove property from a project area if the project area applicant no longer has controlling property rights with respect to such property.
(l) The department may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations governing the expansion of and removal of property from project areas.
(m) After the establishment of a project area, the project area applicant shall submit an annual report to the department and to any city or village that includes any portion of the good life district. Such report shall be submitted by December 31 of each year that the good life district is in existence. Such report shall include the same information required under subsection (4) of this section.
(15) Demonstration of meeting the required new development costs for purposes of subdivision (2)(a) of this section may be established by evidence submitted by the good life district applicant, the city or village where the good life district is located, or any other person that submits satisfactory evidence to the department.

Legislative History

Source: Laws 2023, LB727, § 13; Laws 2024, LB1317, § 90; Laws 2024, LB1344, § 14; Laws 2025, LB707, § 5. Effective Date: June 5, 2025 Cross References: Economic Recovery Act, see section 81-12,238. Good Life District Economic Development Act, see section 77-4408. Local Option Revenue Act, see section 77-27,148. Shovel-Ready Capital Recovery and Investment Act, see section 81-12,219.