I hope this past week found you enjoying the nice change in the weather. It has been nice to see the sun and watch the piles of snow melt away. I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day occurs every February 14th. Across the United States and in other places around the world, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. (“History of Valentine’s Day”. History.com. 19 January, 2024. https://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day-2) I hope you are able to share February 14th with family and loved ones.

Most of this week has been spent debating LB31–Require train crews of at least two individuals. This bill prohibits any train or light engine used in connection with the movement of freight from being operated unless it has a crew consisting of at least two individuals. Two-person crews can play a major role in helping to prevent potential accidents or derailments, as well as allowing potential problems to be addressed while an individual remains in the cab. This bill has been filed for the past 10 years. Nothing has changed since 2015. The largest Class I railroads operating in Nebraska (BNSF & Union Pacific) have collective bargaining agreements with their unions requiring them to operate with two people in the cab on their tracks. The crew size issue will be federally preempted by a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) regulation within the next few months. Nebraska is a state that is so appreciative of our railroads. We appreciate the companies and how they conduct business in our state. Any time there is a natural disaster–floods, blizzards, etc.–they are on the scene to keep goods moving across our country. We appreciate every railroad employer and employee.  I voted against this bill as I don’t think state government should interfere in negotiations between employer and employee.

Last week long hearings began in the two committees I serve on, Education and Revenue. We heard 13 bills in Education and 21 bills in Revenue. I want to focus on some of the bills that were eard in both committees last week.

Education Committee

• LB985 would adjust a portion of the Nebraska Recruitment and Retention Act. This bill requires that teachers endorsed to become certified in SPED, STEM, or Dual Credit must also contract to teach in their field of endorsement in order to receive the high-need retention grant.
• LB878 would limit when school bond elections may be held. This bill would prohibit schools and educational service units from conducting special elections for a bond issue, a property tax levy or exceeding a property tax levy limitation. Instead, such questions could appear on ballots only during statewide general elections in even-numbered years. (“Limits on school, ESU bond elections considered”. Unicameral Update. 31 January, 2024. http://update.legislature.ne.gov/?p=35178)
• LB1027 revises Section 79-1601 which covers requirements for exempt schools, which include private, denominational, parochial, group, and home schools. This section has not been significantly updated in almost 25 years. This bill would allow one parent or guardian to apply with the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) for their child to attend an exempt school. This aligns the requirements of exempt schools with those of public schools. It eliminates the annual renewal requirement for exempt schools in order to eliminate the significant delays, confusion, and burdensome workload placed upon parents and NDE. LB1027 will also make changes in order to harmonize the statute with current NDE practice by removing language regarding subject matter testing for employees of exempt schools, which had never been applied by NDE. Removes allowance for NDE visitation and inspection of exempt schools which has never been implemented. Remove allowance for NDE achievement testing of exempt school students, which has never been used.

Revenue Committee

I introduced LB1310 and LB1354 in the Revenue Committee on February 1st.

• LB1310 would eliminate the sales and use tax exemptions for the Nebraska Lottery and Games of Skill and add a sales tax rate of 20% on the sale of lottery tickets pursuant to the State Lottery Act and transactions involving a cash device as defined in section 77-3001 that are subject to sales tax.
• LB1354 will adopt the Advertising Services Tax Act. This bill will create a tax on the gross income or revenue from advertising services. This tax will be imposed on a person that is subject to the internal revenue code or a group of persons subject to the internal revenue code that are part of the same unitary group that are doing business in Nebraska and whose combined gross advertising income exceeds $1 billion dollars. Advertising revenue does NOT include web hosting services. News media entities, as defined within the act, are excluded from the program.

A few other bills heard in committee January 31-February 2 were:

• LB1241 introduces a levy limit based on the percentage increase in a political subdivision’s total taxable property valuation. An increase in property valuations must be offset by a reduction in the levy.
• LB1316 amends Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-3405 to remove a provision that allows school boards to override levy limits imposed with a seventy percent vote of the school board.
• LB1414 would adopt the Property Tax Growth Limitation Act that would place a cap on local political subdivisions other than school districts. This legislation requires a political subdivision’s property tax request authority to be an amount equal to the political subdivision’s property tax request from the prior year. Any amount approved by the voters and any amount needed to pay the principal and interest on approved bonds, and real growth would be excluded from this cap. Political subdivisions may bank up to 5% of unused budget authority if they do not choose to increase its property tax request.

As always, I invite you to let me know your thoughts, ideas, concerns, or suggestions by calling my office at (402) 471-2716 or emailing me at jalbrecht@leg.ne.gov.