As committee hearings come to an end, the Legislature will move to all-day floor debate after this week. The first half of the legislative session has proven to be fairly productive if you measure the session by number of bills passed and progress of bills advanced from committee.
Through 48 legislative days, 49 bills have been approved by the governor, and 22 bills are on final reading. However, it is likely that the pace of the Legislature is likely to slow as we experience more filibusters given the number of controversial bills that are yet to be scheduled for floor debate.
The speaker has committed to continue moving forward non-priority bills that are on select file. If a bill has not passed general file debate, it is very unlikely that it will be heard unless it was prioritized or gets attached to a bill that is moving forward. I am fortunate that five of my bills have been signed by the governor, two are on final reading, two are on select file, and two are on their way to select file.
Crypto: High power demand
My priority bill, LB 526, relates to cryptocurrency mining and was forwarded out of the Revenue Committee with my amendment late last week. As amended, the bill will not impose any new tax, but instead remain focused on limiting excessive consumption of electricity by large crypto miners who consume large amounts of electricity while producing very little new tax base and only a few jobs.
Today, there are several large employers who would locate a facility in Nebraska, create quality jobs, and broaden our tax base. Unfortunately, if they need more than five megawatts of power, they will need to get on a years-long waiting list if they need a continuous power supply. I brought LB 526 to limit the consumption of electrical power by very large users who do not produce commensurate amounts of quality jobs, property taxes, income taxes, and sales taxes.
The reason I targeted cryptocurrency miners is because they are the classic consumers of very large electricity loads with only a few quality jobs and tax generation. As an example, the crypto mining facility in Kearney consumes more power than the entire city of Kearney does on an annual basis. The owner is located in Florida and there are fewer than five full-time local jobs today.
They do pay sales tax on electricity consumption, including the local option sales tax in Kearney; however, most miners stay outside cities to avoid paying local sales tax.
Lincoln and Omaha have more level energy loads on an annual basis. Meanwhile, the rural public power districts have heavy electricity loads during irrigation season, but fall off significantly in the off-season. For that reason, the bill was amended to allow for rural power districts to accommodate crypto miners as long as they agree to be interrupted during peak load season or any time the demand is high. This allows rural power districts to sell excess power when it is available to help hold power costs down.
Our state needs a strategic plan that we all can get behind to make the best use of our state’s resources and use our built-in competitive advantages to grow the entire state.
We also need to ensure public power is making the necessary investments to support economic development. One of the best ways to lower our tax burden is to take thoughtful steps to accomplish the growth we need. This will also clarify where our future investments need to be directed.
It is a privilege to represent you in the Nebraska Legislature, and I look forward to hearing from you regarding issues that are important to you. I can be reached at 402-471-2729 or by emailing me at [email protected].
