A week that is out of the ordinary should not really come as a surprise anymore, it would seem. However the past week did have a few unexpected events. From an “historic snowfall” to a committee quarantine, the routine at the Legislature was anything but normal.

The Appropriations Committee began hearing agency reviews on Monday. In this process, we look at state agency budgets, go over their requests and compare it to the budget proposed by the Governor.  We had been meeting in a room that allowed senators and staff to distance, but when it was learned on Tuesday that a person had received a positive test for the virus, Lincoln Lancaster County Public Health officials recommended we leave immediately and quarantine. On Wednesday we began meeting virtually, which has worked out well for hearing agency reviews. We are making the best of it and glad to be able to continue working. 

Several bills of interest have been heard in committee this week. LR 22CA introduced by Sen. Linehan, would cap the amount of property tax that can be collected. At first look, it sounds like it would cap spending growth at 3%, but the bill focuses on tax collections when valuations increase.  As an example, with our system in Nebraska, if valuations went up 5% and the levy was not changed, tax collections also went up 5%. This act would require the levy to be adjusted to reflect a maximum of 3% increase in tax collections. Those in agriculture know there have been some very large increases in valuation and not always a corresponding reduction in the levy. If there were no increases in valuations, the bill does allow for a 3% increase in tax asking. The bill also has some exceptions for improvements and new construction, annexation of subdivisions and so on. So the bill is a 3% cap on growth of property taxes collected, not a cap on spending.

In visiting with schools in our district, I know they are very aware of this and what’s going on with state spending. LR 22CA does have the potential to hinder certain entities moving forward, since it removes the “automatic” increase in tax revenue when valuations go up. So in the instance there was 5% growth which necessitated a 5% increase in spending, another funding source would need to be found. For schools, that source would be state funding; and schools have concerns that, as has happened in the past, when the state budget is tight, TEEOSA will not be fully funded. 

In my opinion, LR22CA has a decent chance of getting out of committee, and then we will see what direction it would take on the floor. There are quite a few bills introduced about property taxes and relief. My office is hearing from constituents in Lancaster County who just received their valuations and protest notifications; with the system we have in Nebraska, there are real concerns that property taxes will continue to go up. This bill was introduced as a constitutional amendment, so if it gets out of committee and is passed by the Legislature, it would go to a vote of the people at the next election. 

LB 590 as introduced by Sen. Groene would reduce the time that early ballots are available from 35 days to just 20 days prior to an election. If you visit with county clerks, you learn they need time to process ballots. It takes time to go through requests, double check for voting eligibility; then mail them out and take them back in. For candidates, some believe we have too much time for an early ballot, meaning you must have your campaign able to reach a majority of voters 35 days ahead of the election.  The bigger picture here is to make sure we have confidence in our election process. I have complete confidence in the system in Nebraska.  We have about 22,000 residents in Gage county, and about 14,000 of those are registered to vote. Los Angeles County in California has 10 million people, five times as many as our entire state. When I go to vote in Adams, there are three or four people helping run the polling place; they know me and I know them. So compared to states like California, I do understand that we want to know it was completely above board and accurate. I have 100% confidence in District 30 and Nebraska; and I know our Secretary of State, Bob Evnan, has paid great attention to detail in our state’s process. 

Sen. Matt Hansen introduced LB 255, to provide a one time death benefit of $50,000 to the family of a first responder killed in the line of duty. This proposal has a lot of support from first responder groups, and 30 other states provide similar benefits to families. I remember in Wymore we did lose an individual in a fire there and that would have been a benefit to the family. I don’t see this as a high cost to the state, but I do see it as something that might help attract more volunteers to serve on our rescue squads and fire departments which desperately need more people to remain adequately staffed for our smaller communities.

Please send me your thoughts and concerns about these or any bills coming up in committee. My email is mdorn@leg.ne.gov and the phone number is 402-471-2620.  Stay safe in this winter weather and keep following the health guidelines.