(1) The Department of Economic Development and the Department of Revenue shall jointly, on or before the fifteenth day of October and February of every year and the fifteenth day of April in odd-numbered years, make an estimate of the amount of sales and use tax refunds to be paid and tax credits to be used under the ImagiNE Nebraska Act during the fiscal years to be forecast under section 77-27,158. The estimate shall be based on the most recent data available, including pending and approved applications and updates thereof as are required by subdivision (1)(f) of section 77-6828. The estimate shall be forwarded to the Legislative Fiscal Analyst and the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board and made a part of the advisory forecast required by section 77-27,158.

(2)(a) In addition to the estimates required under subsection (1) of this section, the Department of Economic Development shall, on or before the fifteenth day of October and February of every year, make an estimate of the amount of sales and use tax refunds to be paid and tax credits to be used under the ImagiNE Nebraska Act for each of the upcoming three calendar years and shall report such estimate to the Governor. The estimate shall be based on the most recent data available, including pending and approved applications and updates thereof as are required by subdivision (1)(f) of section 77-6828. If the estimate for any such calendar year exceeds the base authority:

(i) The Department of Economic Development shall prepare an analysis explaining why the estimate exceeds the base authority. The department shall include such analysis in the report it submits to the Governor under this subsection; and

(ii) The director shall not approve any additional applications under the ImagiNE Nebraska Act that would include refunds or credits in the calendar year in which the base authority is projected to be exceeded. Applications shall be considered in the order in which they are received. Any applications that are not approved because the base authority has been exceeded shall be placed on a wait list in the order in which they were received and shall be given first priority once applications may again be approved. Applications on the wait list retain the same application date and base year as if they had been approved within the time set forth in section 77-6827.

(b) For purposes of this section, base authority means the total amount of refunds and credits that may be approved in any calendar year. Notwithstanding any other provision of the ImagiNE Nebraska Act to the contrary, no refunds may be paid and no credits may be used in any calendar year in excess of the base authority for such calendar year. The base authority shall be equal to twenty-five million dollars for calendar years 2021 and 2022, one hundred million dollars for calendar years 2023 and 2024, and one hundred fifty million dollars for calendar year 2025. Beginning with calendar year 2026 and every three years thereafter, the director shall adjust the base authority to an amount equal to three percent of the actual General Fund net receipts for the most recent fiscal year for which such information is available. Any amount of base authority that is unused in a calendar year shall carry forward to the following calendar year and shall be added to the limit applicable to such following calendar year, except that in no case shall the base authority for any calendar year prior to 2026 exceed four hundred million dollars.