Long debate doesn’t solve property tax issue

LINCOLN — In its first week back since being suspended in March due to COVID-19, senators in the Legislature debated property tax relief, student discipline, land banks and a bill that would ban a type of abortion.

On July 23, the Economic Forecasting Advisory Board met to update its pre-COVID revenue projections. The revised forecast projected nearly $90 million will be available for high-cost legislative bills like property tax relief and business tax incentives.

Gov. Pete Ricketts addressed the Legislature July 24 and urged senators to package property tax relief and a business tax incentive bill together to get the votes necessary to pass. He emphasized their importance, especially the business tax incentive bill, since it would replace the Advantage Act, which expires in December.

The following are highlights from July 20-24. The session will wrap up on Aug. 13.

Legislators didn’t vote on a $520 million property tax relief bill after three hours of debate on July 20, and with senators split on its merits it’s unclear if there will be support to pass it.

Lawmakers had concerns about the $520 million funding for LB1106 over the next three years since the financial implications of COVID-19 were still unknown.

Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, chair of the Revenue Committee, said the state is in a “crisis” because K-12 education funding relies too much on property taxes.

Sen. Wendy DeBoer said she agrees something needs to be done about property taxes, but said LB1106 is not the solution. “I care about property tax relief but I’m not going to do it on the backs of our students,” DeBoer said.

Senators allowed a surprising lateaddition bill July 23 that would create local police oversight boards.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Justin Wayne, would create citizen oversight boards to evaluate practices of local police departments. The bill would apply to cities with more than 5,000. The board would be appointed by the mayor, approved by the city council and reflect a crosssection of residents.

Speaker Sen. Jim Scheer initially was opposed to the bill because he said he was concerned about the timing of introducing a bill so late into the session. But, after an hour of debate, he said he changed his mind and voted in favor of the bill.

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