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Senators debate tightened rules for Good Life Districts as amendments aim to curb taxpayer exposure
Summary
Floor discussion on LB707 focused on AM1560 (Von Gillen) and subsequent AM1599 (Holcroft) to narrow what counts as 'new to market' retail and to protect existing municipal applicants — proponents say amendments close loopholes exploited by developers.
Senators opened floor debate on LB707 and an extensive amendment, AM1560, that revises the Good Life District statute to tighten eligibility, limit state payments tied to existing retailers and to better define “new to market” retail. Senator Lou Ann Von Gillen presented the amendment as the result of negotiations with municipalities, developers and state agencies.
The original Good Life District law (created by prior bills) offers state sales‑tax sharing to incentivize transformational retail projects. Supporters of the AM1560 amendment said the changes close loopholes that could allow developers to capture state funds for existing sales or online purchases and to benefit from relocations of established businesses that do not create net new sales tax for the state.
Von Gillen said AM1560 narrows eligible sales to stores that do not already exist within 40 miles (reduced from earlier drafts at 100 miles) and clarifies that relocations of stores that result in a net loss of existing sales tax would not qualify as new to market. The amendment also coordinates Good Life District benefits with other local incentive programs and clarifies how sales from remote deliveries or vehicle purchases are treated for the state allocation.
Senator Holcroft introduced AM1599 on behalf of the City of Bellevue, asking that Bellevue — which has already invested more than $40 million in its Good Life project and received tentative state approval — be exempted from a new election requirement in AM1560. Holcroft said the change would prevent delay or cancelation of Bellevue’s project because of a retroactive interpretation that could require a public election before state receipts are allocated.
Senator Sanders, who testified for Bellevue, said the city complied with statutory requirements, conducted required economic analysis and had tentative/conditional approval from the Department of Economic Development; she urged colleagues to adopt AM1599 to avoid disrupting an already‑invested project.
Other senators who spoke — including Senators Klaus, Jacobson and Dorn — supported closing perceived loopholes and moving the measure forward; supporters argued the amendment package protects the state’s fiscal interest while keeping the Good Life District program viable.
Floor action at the time of the transcript included adoption of enrollment, review (E & R) amendments earlier and introduction of the AM1560 and AM1599 amendments; additional negotiated amendments were signaled by the sponsor. No final adoption vote of AM1560 appears in the provided transcript excerpt.
