I want to wish everyone a safe and Happy 4th of July. I hope you are able to spend time with family and friends as we celebrate the birth of our nation’s independence from Great Britain. I would like to share a few safety tips with you from the National Safety Council.

• Choose fireworks that are age appropriate. Kids under 12 should never handle any fireworks, including sparklers. Teens should be supervised.
• Plan your show to avoid having fireworks come down on people, houses and cars. Remember, wind often changes direction.
• Have at the least, a bucket of water available and a garden hose ready to go.
• Have a first aid kit nearby and know burn first aid–just in case.
• Wear close fitting clothes and sturdy shoes or sneakers.
• Use a “designated shooter” who is alcohol free and wearing safety glasses!
• Light fireworks one at a time, then move back quickly.
• Never light fireworks in a container.

(Taken from “Don’t Go Out with a Bang!”. National Safety Council Nebraska. 26 June, 2024. https://safenebraska.org/application/files/6116/2463/3393/Fireworks_tips_sheet.pdf)

Flooding Update

The weekend of June 22nd we had flooding from the Missouri River which affected Dakota City and South Sioux City. Mayors, city administrators and other elected officials assisted in preparing the emergency declaration and keeping residents up to date on what was going on. An emergency declaration has been filed for Dakota City, South Sioux City, and Dakota County with the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency.

I would like to give a big shout out to Deanna Hagberg, Dakota County Emergency Manager, for taking care of business with the flooding in and around the South Sioux City and Dakota City areas. Thank you for allowing me to ride along. Deanna is one busy lady who cares for all the residents and the property and above all the safety of first responders.

Other thanks goes to the Dakota City and South Sioux City Police and Fire Departments for patrolling the flooded areas in order to keep people out of the flood waters and to monitor the situation. Thank you to the Nebraska State Patrol and Nebraska Department of Transportation for their efforts in rerouting traffic from I-29 to Highway 12 to Highway 20 and keeping traffic running smoothly. A huge thank you to all the volunteers who have stepped up to help fill sandbags, help their neighbors, and just be available to help as needed.

Our prayers go out to Minnesota, South Dakota, and Iowa as they are also dealing with the flooding in their respective states.

Special Session and Property Taxes

As you may have heard last week, Governor Pillen is calling a special session to address property taxes beginning on July 25th. An official proclamation has not been issued, but we have been called to set aside July 25-August 15th to be back in Lincoln.

Over the past month or so, Governor Pillen has been hosting town hall meetings throughout the state to discuss property taxes, offer his suggestions for addressing them, and listen to those in attendance for their concerns and thoughts. In 2023, Nebraskans paid about $5.3 billion in property taxes, $3.7 billion in income taxes and $2.3 billion in sales taxes. Of those taxes, Pillen said “it’s supposed to be the opposite.” Nebraska State statute says that if valuations go up, then levies must go down the same amount, but boards are overriding the levies. Governor Pillen said, “We need to tighten our belts and stop spending. We need to focus on what we need and stop saying yes.”

His new proposal calls for much more expansive changes than he had pushed during the legislative session. He is calling for broadening the state sales tax to cover a host of currently exempted goods and services. “I’m a believer we can’t touch food because we have a lot of people in need, and obviously medicines, but I’m open to anything else,” he said, adding that he would also exempt other types of healthcare.

The governor told the listeners on his call in radio show that the plan is a work in progress and many details have yet to be worked out. “These conversations are living and breathing,” he said. “We don’t have everything etched in stone. There’s a lot of work and we’re getting ideas as we get the plan formulated.”

Pillen said his plan would include hard caps on local government spending to prevent property taxes from increasing again. He said the caps should hold spending flat or allow increases only for inflation, unless voters authorize larger increases. (Portions taken from Stoddard, Martha. “State would fund schools under Pillen tax proposal”. Omaha World Herald. 24 June, 2024. https://shorturl.at/vKd1P. Accessed 24 June, 2024. and Wendling, Zach. “Gov. Pillen eyes Nebraska taking over K-12 school funding instead of local property taxes”. Nebraska Examiner. 25 June, 2024. https://shorturl.at/SptVo. Accessed 25 June, 2024.)

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.