Senator Raybould’s LB 973 would require state-paid off-street parking for employees; DAS warns of $15M price tag

Senator Jane Raybould introduced LB 973 to require the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) to provide off‑street parking for state employees and to allow DAS to embed parking costs into agency rent, with an effective date of July 1, 2028. Raybould said the change is intended to reduce pressure on on‑street parking that currently serves both visitors and employees and to make the Capitol more accessible to Nebraskans.

Raybould pointed to a 2019 parking study showing 1,367 state parking spaces concentrated in south and east parking structures and about 693 on‑street spaces within a three‑block radius of the Capitol. She also cited a quick survey distributed through QR codes that showed approximately 88.9 percent of respondents found parking “challenging” or “very challenging” when visiting the Capitol. Raybould said the bill is not a directive to build a garage immediately but a directive for DAS to plan options — including lease arrangements or use of existing sites such as the well field block bounded by 16th–17th and K–L Streets — and to report back ahead of the 2028 effective date.

Proponents said accessibility and equity motivated their support. Mike Gore, a former legislator, noted unused paved areas near the Capitol that could be put to weekday use, and Justin Hubley of the Nebraska Association of Public Employees described the impact on lower‑paid frontline state workers who sometimes pay private garage fees of roughly $100 per month.

The Department of Administrative Services, represented by Director Lee Will, testified in opposition. Will said that to meet the bill’s mandate and accommodate the roughly 500 employees currently on wait lists would likely require constructing a parking garage at an estimated $30,000 per stall, arriving at an approximate $15,000,000 construction cost. He added that ongoing operational and maintenance expenses would also fall to the state and that the Capital Building Revolving Parking Fund currently holds about $781,238 and the Nebraska Capital Construction Fund shows a large nominal balance but most funds are already committed. Will offered a less expensive alternative — a paved surface “service lot” estimated near $2,000,000 that could add about 275 stalls — but said that would not fully satisfy the bill’s requirement that off‑street parking be provided for all employees.

Committee members asked about whether the 2019 study included safety considerations such as lighting, crosswalk maintenance and stairwell conditions; Raybould acknowledged the study did not, and both she and DAS witnesses agreed lighting, handicap access and crosswalk repairs are related priorities that must be addressed alongside parking solutions. Questions also sought details on whether construction and first‑year cost estimates included security, snow removal and insurance; DAS confirmed its fiscal note incorporates typical project scope and included first‑year operational estimates in FY28–29.

Raybould closed by reiterating precedent for creative financing (lease‑purchase and city revenue bonds used on prior projects) and asking the committee to advance the bill to permit additional planning and discussions with the City of Lincoln about revenue bond or lease arrangements.

The hearing record for LB 973 included online comments (13 proponents, 1 opponent, 1 neutral).