LINCOLN- LB164, a modified version of a 2021 law that created inland port districts, was advanced on Tuesday with the intention of garnering more community input for the multimillion-dollar economic development project planned for North Omaha. Before being advanced on a 31-0 vote, the bill was amended to include a transfer of $20 million for an innovation hub in North Omaha.

The bill, as amended, will also create child care grant programs that had been part of another lawmaker's proposal. However, Sens. Terrell McKinney and Justin Wayne said the gist of the proposal is to provide more oversight for the unprecedented amount of funding being diverted to North Omaha.

"If we're going to invest this much into an area, we should have some transparency and oversight to see things through, to make sure they're done properly," said McKinney, referencing the $90 million that lawmakers allocated for a business and industrial park near Eppley Airfield. LB164 lays out rules for who can serve on a nine-member board that will govern the North Omaha inland port authority district.

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