LINCOLN- State lawmakers advanced a measure Wednesday that would give the Lancaster County Board authority to use lodging tax dollars for improvements on a future convention center in downtown Lincoln. The bill (LB116) from Lincoln Sen. Beau Ballard also would enact limits for where turnback taxes — sales tax revenue collected from businesses near a convention center used to pay down debt — could be collected in the state.

Ballard, who co-sponsored the bill with Lincoln Sens. Carolyn Bosn and Eliot Bostar, said the legislation was brought on behalf of Lancaster County, which wanted clarity on how it could use funds under its discretion. A member of Assemble Lincoln, the committee charged with selecting a site for the new convention center, Ballard said lodging tax dollars could be used to purchase new technology or other equipment to "future-proof" the facility.

For the full article click HERE