Lawmakers seek to remove $1 million threshold and require public Board of Regents approval for university property disposals

Senator Danielle Conrad opened LB917 to update statutory language governing the University of Nebraska’s disposal of real property. The bill would remove the existing $1,000,000 threshold from the statute and clarify that such disposals require public action by the Board of Regents, aligning statute with current Board policy and reducing ambiguity about what “consent of the Legislature” means.

Matt Blomstedt testified for the university in support, saying the current statute predates modern administrative procedures and does not define how legislative consent must be obtained. He told the committee that replacing the undefined statutory phrase with a requirement for Board of Regents approval by public majority vote would bring clarity, reduce administrative barriers and help the university plan real estate timing consistent with market conditions.

Committee members asked whether the Board of Regents’ current policy already approves disposals at a threshold and how removing the $1,000,000 statutory threshold would change practice. Blomstedt said he did not expect an administrative policy change and described the bill as providing clarity on consent procedures rather than changing operational thresholds. The hearing closed with no recorded committee vote in the transcript.