New Laws Kick Off New Year

Nebraskans started the new year with some new laws taking effect.

Child Passenger
Starting January 1, 2019, Nebraska’s child passenger laws changed:

• Children must ride rear-facing up to age 2 or until they reach the upper weight and height limit allowed by the car seat manufacturer;
• Children up to age 8 must ride in a correctly installed car seat or booster seat;
• Children up to age 8 must ride in the back seat, as long as there is a back seat equipped with a seat belt and it is not already occupied by other children under 8 years of age.
• Children ages 8-18 must ride secured in a seat belt or child safety seat.
The violation carries a $25 fine, plus court costs.


Online Sales Tax
Nebraska will start collecting online sales tax from outside retailers who sell to Nebraskans, according to the Nebraska Department of Revenue. New Year’s Day is the deadline for larger online retailers to start collecting sales taxes from Nebraska residents although some sites, including Amazon, had already previously started doing so.

Nebraska Tax Commissioner Tony Fulton said the state plans to enforce the law on businesses with more than $100,000 worth of sales or at least 200 separate transactions in Nebraska during the year.


Gas Tax Increase
Nebraska’s motor fuel tax rose from 28 cents per gallon to 29.6 cents, a rate that will be in effect from Jan. 1 through June 30, 2019.The rate is automatically adjusted to comply with provisions of a 2015 law that gradually increased the state gas tax rate from 27 cents per gallon.

The gas tax increase was enacted by the Legislature to provide additional funding to help complete expressways and replace rural bridges as part of the roads program.


Hospital Costs
On the federal level, a new law requires hospitals nationwide to list the cost of their standard services online in a way that’s easy for patients to access.