This column covers legislative days 8 through 11.

Jan. 27, 2020 – Lincoln, NE

Greetings from the Capitol as we end the third week of the 2020 Legislative session.  Sixty new measures were introduced Thursday, January 23^rd, the final day to introduce bills this session bringing the total number of new measures introduced this session to 496.  I’ve introduced six new bills this session – LB 1043, LB 1044, LB 1105, LB 1211, LB 1212, and LB 1213.

When I was considering running for the Nebraska State Legislature, and when I began my campaign, I was determined to do something about our high property taxes.  During my first year in the legislature, I came to understand that if we expect to do anything meaningful about property taxes we needed to think bigger.  Politicians have known Nebraska’s property taxes are high for years, and yet they continue to rise.  That’s why I introduced a series of bills, LB 1211, LB 1212, and LB 1213 this year.

LB 1211 is a simple bill that would require political subdivisions to begin the budget process by determining how much tax revenue they have to work with.  Any family or business owner in our state understand that you cannot spend more than you bring in.  When families or business owners sit down to determine their budgets, they first determine how much they expect to make that year, and then budget accordingly.  Our local governments often determine their budgets before determining how much money they expect to receive through taxes, raising taxes accordingly to fund the proposed budget.  LB 1211 simply requires that political subdivisions budget in the same manner that families and businesses across the state do.

LB 1212 is a bill requiring political subdivisions to give notice when their expected tax revenue will increase from the year before.  It also requires that if the revenue will increase from the year before, the subdivision must automatically lower its levy so that revenue does not increase without a specific vote of the officials governing that subdivision.  Governing bodies should not automatically receive more revenue from taxes than the year before, but instead must take deliberate action to increase revenue.  I anticipate making additional changes to LB 1212 before its public hearing.

LB 1213 is a bill I’ve worked on all interim.  I’ve consulted many stakeholders throughout the district to develop a solid policy, though I expect it will also go through some changes before its public hearing.  This bill is an effort to bring tax reform to Nebraska through changes in Nebraska’s property, sales, and income taxes.  Any serious effort to provide long-term tax relief for Nebraskans must be focused on reform and modernization, including of those taxing entities that will be affected by such changes.

This bill is tax reform, but it is also reform of our school funding system.  Our current funding model, TEEOSA, has become unsustainable and inappropriate for a term-limited legislature to manage and, in my opinion, unfair for most of the schools in District 16.  LB 1213 abolishes TEEOSA and replaces it with the New School Aid Act, providing per-pupil funding that ensures every public school student in the state receives state funding.  In the bill are special allowances for poverty, sparsity, English language learners, and incentives to limit spending increases and consolidate administrative costs.

I’m very excited about these bills and hope to start a conversation about per-pupil student funding and tax reform in Nebraska.  As always you can contact me at bhansen@leg.ne.gov or contact the office to speak with my Administrative Assistant, Ellie Stangl, or my Legislative Aide, Jacob Campbell.  To read all introduced legislation please visit nebraskalegislature.gov. You may watch the live stream of the session when available at netnebraska.org.

This column covers legislative days 4 through 7.

Jan. 17, 2020 – Lincoln, NE

The first full week of this year’s short legislative session brought with it the start of full days of debate and many more introduced bills.  Unlike a long session where there is little to debate until newly introduced bills are able to go through the committee process and receive a public hearing, short sessions start quickly with debate on bills that were carried over from the previous year.  By doing so we’re able to get much more work done in the first few days of the session.

We began quickly as senators debated LB 147, introduced by Senator Groene of North Platte, a bill allowing teachers the ability to use physical force for the purpose of protecting their classrooms and students.  The bill was supported generally by teachers across the state but was opposed by many administrators and other organizations. After three hours of debate, the bill failed to advance to Select File. Senator Groene must show he has enough votes to advance the bill for it to receive another round of debate.

LB 153, introduced by Senator Brewer of Gordon and prioritized by Senator Lowe of Kearney, would exempt 50% of military retirement pay from the Nebraska state income tax.  I cosigned the bill last year to support Veterans and allow them to keep more of their own money. In fact, I’d like everyone in the state to keep more of their own money and will continue to work towards that goal during my time in the legislature.  This bill had the support of other senators who are typically uninterested in income tax reform and moved forward on a 46-0 vote.   

Governor Ricketts delivered his State of the State address Wednesday morning, outlining his budget priorities and areas of importance for this session. The Governor thanked the many, many Nebraskans who stepped up with courage and bravery during the March flood and in the months afterward.  His recommendations for this session include roughly $500 million in property tax relief over the next three years and $59.2 million towards disaster relief projects.

One of my carryover bills from the last session, LB 381, came up for debate Thursday and advanced with 40 ‘yay’ votes and 0 ‘nay’ votes.  The bill would allow the state to move to a “per-diem” expense reimbursement method, effectively saving hundreds of hours a year that we currently spend on processing reimbursement requests.  These hundreds of hours could then be redirected towards more valuable work responsibilities, helping to make our state agencies more efficient and cost-effective.

Committee hearings will begin this next week and Senators have until January 23rd to introduce bills for this session.  My staff and I have been working on the final drafts of a few bills I’ll be introducing next week. 

As always you can contact me at bhansen@leg.ne.gov or contact the office to speak with my Administrative Assistant, Ellie Stangl, or my Legislative Aide, Jacob Campbell.  To read all introduced legislation please visit nebraskalegislature.gov. You may watch the live stream of the session when available at netnebraska.org

This column covers legislative days 1 through 3.

Happy New Year to everyone in Legislative District 16!  I hope you and your families had a terrific 2019 and are looking forward to great things in 2020.  The 60-day legislative session kicked off Wednesday, January 8th in Lincoln with big issues on the agenda for the short session including property taxes, business incentives, and flood relief. 

This session starts my second year in service in the Unicameral.  My staff and I worked hard over the interim period and will be picking up where we left off the last session as well as bringing new bills this session.  Four of the bills I introduced last session – LB 312 regarding Dental Hygienists, LB 321 regarding the Department of Agriculture, LB 378 regarding the motorcycle helmet law, and LB 381 regarding per-diem reimbursement for state agencies have all been carried over from the last session.  I expect LB 381 to make some progress this year with progress on the other bills depending on how the schedule advances for this session.

Over the interim, I’ve worked with leaders in the area to put together a tax reform bill.  Property tax relief has been a topic of discussion in the Unicameral for quite some time, but meaningful relief has been hard to come by.  I hope to start working towards tax reform this session through changes in our sales tax, income tax, and budgeting process in addition to changes in how we fund our public schools.  Nebraskans have been patient, but the reality is that many families, farmers, and businesses are struggling to make ends meet because of a tax system that is outdated. We need tax reform, and I plan to provide that leadership.

The Health and Human Services Committee, of which I am a part of, will take up the effort of addressing Youth Rehabilitation in the state after examining some of the shortcomings of our system over the interim session.  We held many committee hearings over the Summer and Fall, listening to Department of Health and Human Services officials and other leaders of rehabilitation service providers. This has been a complex issue that will continue to be discussed in this session. 

As of adjournment on Friday over 200 bills and resolutions were introduced in the first three days of session.  You can view all of the introduced legislation on the Unicameral’s website with the link provided below. 

Looking forward to next week, Governor Ricketts will present his State of the State on Wednesday, January 15th offering a review of the previous year and laying out some of his goals for this session and beyond in 2020.  I continue to work on the final drafts of bills I’ll be introducing this session – senators have until January 23rd, the 10th day of the session, to introduce new legislation. 

As always you can contact me at bhansen@leg.ne.gov or contact the office to speak with my Administrative Assistant, Ellie Stangl, or my Legislative Aide, Jacob Campbell.  To read all introduced legislation please visit nebraskalegislature.gov. You may watch the live stream of the session when available at netnebraska.org.