As a farm kid and current farmer, I can tell you there is a special feeling every farmer and rancher has when they are out in nature. More than just enjoying the wide-open spaces, farmers and ranchers work with nature to produce essential food for families across the globe. I think many small business owners have a similar feeling about the communities where they open their businesses. Starting a business is more than just supply and demand. It is also investing in the needs and people of a community and being part of growing economic opportunities.

Julie and I moved to North Platte over 28 years ago with two small children. I had spent the previous 10 years managing the Correspondent Banking Division for the National Bank of Commerce (NBC) in Lincoln, a sister bank to North Platte National Bank. In my role at NBC, I traveled the state visiting other banks and larger agricultural borrowers. It was a great way to learn more about the unique attributes of the Sandhills and how truly special they are to our state.

At the time of my arrival, North Platte National was in the beginning stages of building a new building (now home to Wells Fargo) to accommodate their growth in the heart of downtown. NBC was also expanding to Bridgeport, Alliance, Hyannis, Mullen, and Valentine. It was during that time that I became very active in economic development. I wanted to see the towns where my customers lived and work continue to grow and thrive.

On the heels of the most recent census, a refocusing on economic development is more important than ever before. District 42 communities, and those elsewhere in Western Nebraska, need to find ways to slow and reverse the migration we have seen to Nebraska’s urban areas. Economic development will require strong leadership in each community, and a collaboration between neighboring communities to support regional development. By growing our local economies, we can attract additional opportunities throughout the region.

Growth begets more growth. By growing high paying jobs with good benefits, we cause more homes to be built, add more children to our schools, and more retail activity. If we want to attract more restaurants and stores, we need more people with higher average incomes and potential to continue growing. In turn, more retail stores bring more shoppers to market and, just as importantly, keeps more shopping dollars in our market.

Sometimes it is hard to know where to start in these cycles. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? How do we grow our local economies to attract more businesses without the businesses to support more population?

The first step is supporting community services that can also attract more population. North Platte has the potential to become a strong regional trade center. Because of its proximity to I-80 and Highway 83, North Platte is easy to access and draws people from a 100-mile radius for the goods and services that residents throughout the region needed without competing with Kearney. A strong regional trade center has strong health care facilities, great schools, available retirement housing, quality recreational facilities, and reliable air service.

All these factors are impacted by population in and around the trade area. Many educational, healthcare, and service-based needs can be shared resources amongst the District. Others can be more readily accessed in North Platte versus traveling to Scottsbluff, Kearney, or Grand Island if properly supported by North Platte and the surrounding communities.

District 42 has many advantages to attract new residents and businesses. We have strong schools (both public and private) that have quality facilities and teachers. We have a new modern hospital staffed with very talented physicians and nursing professionals, including one of the best cancer facilities in the entire state, a new neurosurgery center with truly outstanding staff, and a best-in-class emergency department. Our park systems are very strong and capitalize on the beauty of Western Nebraska. The new owners of the District 177 mall are aggressively creating an entirely new shopping experience that everyone in the region will be proud of. We also are blessed to have Mid-Plains Community College, whose presence reaches throughout the area; the expansion of the Health Science facility will be a welcome addition and another step forward in helping address our nursing shortage.

I am only one of many business owners who has invested in the communities where my customers live and work, but I am proud of the progress that we have made over the past 20 plus years to address these issues. In the coming weeks, I will focus on where we have been with our economic development progress and where we can expect to go in the future.

If you see opportunities for growth or have ideas for how the Nebraska Legislature can further support economic development in rural communities, please reach out to me at mjacobson@leg.ne.gov or 402-471-2729. Our door is always open!

As Wayne Gretzky famously said, “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” Lawmakers often have two tasks: address the problems before us now, and attempt to avoid the problems of tomorrow. One of the greatest challenges facing District 42 and our larger region is the lack of quality affordable housing. Unfortunately, there is not a quick and easy fix, and I want to work with my fellow state senators to create a long-term vision for the future.

As we come out of the pandemic, Nebraska is fortunate to have a strong economic position. However, we are not insulated from the impact of the continuing supply chain shortages, worker shortages and the growing cost of virtually everything as inflation continues at a record pace. Couple this with rising interest rates, and the cost of housing is growing out of reach to new buyers.

Two years ago, a lot and basic three-bedroom home would have cost approximately $275,000 to build in North Platte with an interest rate of approximately 2.75% for a 30-year mortgage. Today, that same home would cost approximately $325,000 and the interest rate would be closer to 5.25%. If a borrower contributed a minimum down payment of 5%, the monthly payment would consist of a monthly principal and interest payment, insurance and real estate taxes. Two years ago, our hypothetical home would have a monthly payment of about $1,719.91. Today, the monthly payment is up to $2,422.56.

Increased monthly payments mean buyers must earn more. For the same home, the annual income necessary to qualify for the loan made a year ago would need to be around $56,571.00. The annual income necessary to qualify for the same house today would be approximately $80,571.00. And the cost of housing is still rising and so are interest rates.

The Legislature passed two bills this year designed to start making new and remodeled housing more affordable. First LB 1069 extended the Rural Workforce Housing Investment Act through fiscal year 2026-27 and increased the maximum price for a qualifying grant from $275,000 to $325,000 for new owner-occupied housing and from $200,000 to $250,000 per unit of rental housing. LB 1069 also decreased the match requirement from one to one-half the amount of a workforce housing grant award. This grant program allows political subdivisions and nonprofit development organizations to build out rural housing at lower costs.

Second, I co-sponsored LB 1065 with Sen. Justin Wayne to improve the micro-TIF legislation first introduced by Sen. Mike Groene. The bill allows for property tax rebates for homeowners increasing the value of a home that has been within city limits for more than 60 years through home improvements, including demolition and reconstruction on the same site. The bill also increases the length of time the rebates can be awarded from 10 to 15 years, aligning micro-TIF with the original TIF program. Finally, LB 1065 allows for expedited approval and increases the allowable maximum assessed values.

I am proud to have supported the passage of both LB 1068 and LB 1065. These bills are part of an ongoing conversation needed to address a challenge plaguing Nebraska communities, big and small.

District 42 has many exciting economic development opportunities ahead. Sustainable Beef and the industrial rail park are expected to bring huge job growth, and affordable housing will be essential to support the new labor force. Workers will likely locate within a 50-mile radius of North Platte and communities prepared with affordable housing options will be able to recruit new families.

Now is the time to plan for the 2023 legislative session! If you have ideas to help make housing more affordable in District 42, please reach out. I appreciate the opportunity to serve as your District 42 state senator.

Contact Sen. Mike Jacobson: mjacobson@leg.ne.gov or 402-471-2729.

As a life-long farmer, I tend to mark the passing of time in growing seasons. Spring is typically a time for new beginnings, but in the past few years it has been a time of adversity for many Nebraskans. In 2019, our state saw historic flooding that wiped out many a family home and crippled agricultural operations and businesses, big and small, throughout much of Nebraska. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic again brought tragedy for many Nebraskans and forced us to adapt to a new normal.

Now in 2022, devastating wildfires have plagued central and western Nebraska. Just small sparks paired with dry and windy conditions have wreaked havoc on many farms and ranches. Thankfully, it has once again begun to rain. Many people call these rains “million-dollar rains.” However, it seems to me that these may be “billion-dollar rains.”  Our farmers and ranchers are just starting to feel the impact of the disaster. Will wheat farmers be able to take advantage of record prices, or will they be crop-less? Will ranchers have sufficient grassland and crops to feed their cattle herds? Only time will tell, but I’m confident our agricultural community will feel the support of its fellow Nebraskans.

Of course, the destruction would have been much worse without the heroism and incredible bravery of our volunteer and professional firefighters and first responders who literally put their lives on the line to protect the lives and property of others. Our thanks also go out to the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, staff of the State Emergency Operations Center and Nebraska Incident Management Team, members serving in the National Guard who provided assistance to local responders, and the Nebraska State Patrol.

Yet again, Nebraska has been blessed with men and women who are willing to answer our calls for help, sometimes to the detriment of their own families and friends. It is hard to fully appreciate their service, and I offer my deepest sympathies to those facing injury and death due to these wildfires. You are forever in our debt.

If you would like to assist with wildfire relief efforts, I encourage you to visit KRVN’s webpage: ruralradio.com/krvn/wildfire-relief.  Producers in need of hay, fencing, or other supplies should visit the Nebraska Department of Agriculture’s resource page at: nda.nebraska.gov/disasterresources/index.html.

Thank you to the firefighters, first responders, and healthcare workers in District 42 who help keep us safe during the hardest of times.

Constituents can reach Senator Mike Jacobson at mjacobson@leg.ne.gov or 402-471-2729. Our door is always open!

Although the Nebraska Legislature has adjourned the 107th biennium, the Legislative term continues through Jan. 3.

As we move through the summer, I am meeting with groups across the district to better understand their needs and begin drafting legislation for the 108th biennium that begins on Jan. 4.

I plan to continue to write about some of the issues I am seeing and discussing possible solutions.

This week I want to focus on the need for broadband and cell phone connectivity. Take a drive on U.S. Highway 83 to Thedford, or drive Neb. Highway 97 to Mullen, and you will find your cell phone coverage is very limited.

Although all the county seats in District 42 have fiber connections, most of our rural areas are still without high-speed broadband. Go to the eastern half of the state and you find multiple carriers providing high speed internet services at competitive prices.

Broadband services are following the same path that rural electrification once did many years ago. First the larger cities were wired, then the smaller towns, and ultimately the rural areas were connected. The issue always comes down to the cost to get people connected. The technology has improved greatly over the years, and we now can connect people in more remote rural areas by using towers that are connected with fiber.

The tower uses a radio transmitter to connect rural users with the use of a satellite dish. The speed of the connection is much faster than the older technology and the cost is much less than running fiber to each doorstep. The speed is a function of the distance to the tower.

In this past legislative session, I helped pass LB 388 sponsored by Sen. Curt Friesen. The bill is referred to the Broadband Bridge Act. The Broadband Bridge program was created to facilitate and fund the development of broadband networks in unserved and underserved areas. The program provides grants of up to $5 million to political subdivisions to be used to install broadband services in areas of the state that lack broadband internet, providing speeds of at least 25 megabits per second for downloading and three megabits per second for uploading.

As precision agriculture continues to demand better connectivity, this type of technology is imperative.
We are also seeing a trend where more and more people are moving out of larger cities in other states to rural areas in the Midwest. Many are young people who are choosing to raise their families in the Midwest where they can access higher quality schools and Midwestern values.

In most cases, these people are keeping their higher paying jobs and simply working remotely from home. We also have limitless possibilities of improving remote learning in our schools if we have a reliable broadband network for students, either in their local school building or in their homes in remote area.

This can only be possible if we have access to high-speed broadband services.

As your state senator, I will continue to fight to better educate those living in the eastern third of the state that we have needs in this end of the state as well. Additionally, I will continue to advocate to invest more of the state’s resources here, as opposed to always focusing east. Far too many state projects such as the Nebraska State Fair, the Veterans Home, and other state funded projects fail to find their way west. I intend to change that.

It is an honor to represent you and District 42 at the Nebraska Legislature. Please continue to reach out to me at mjacobson@leg.ne.gov or 402-471-2729 regarding the issues you care about.

The 2022 Legislative Session is nearly at the close. Monday was the last day to consider bills on Select File (round two of three) and we started with consideration of three critical bills.

LB773 was Sen. Tom Brewer’s constitutional carry bill and a bill I cosponsored. Sen. Brewer asked that the many proponents not speak during the Select File debate so the “nay-sayers” could voice their opposition to the Second Amendment.

Many opponents advocated for an amendment negotiated with Omaha law enforcement to protect local anti-gun policies in Omaha and increase gun-related penalties. Thank you to the many constituents from District 42 who reached out to express their opposition to the Omaha amendment. I was proud to represent the will of District 42 by voting “no” on the amendment and to cease debate so we could vote on the clean bill. Unfortunately, we fell two votes short of cloture due to absent Senators. Sen. Brewer vowed to bring the bill back next year and I look forward to continuing my support of constitutional carry and the Second Amendment.

Next, the body quickly voted to advance LB876 with no further debate. I had joined with other Senators in discussing the opportunities for economic development that racetracks and casinos would provide for western Nebraska when the bill was debated on Friday. LB876 requires a feasibility study before new racetrack licenses can be issued. Due to laws requiring a certain number of Nebraska-bred races, the horseracing industry needs time to catch up with more race days. The feasibility study in LB876 was a way to keep the process moving forward and a much better alternative to the 5- to 7-year moratorium on new tracks proposed by others.

I am still not completely satisfied with the provisions on LB876 and will continue to work to fast-track North Platte’s proposed project. I think there is a way to grow the racing industry responsibly while shortening the timeline for western Nebraska applications. I have been working closely with the North Platte Chamber and Chickasaw Nation representatives on solutions and will continue to work with them – and my colleagues – on a solution over the interim.

The other key legislation from Monday was LB792, Sen. John Lowe’s bill to appropriate funds for the University of Nebraska Medical Center Rural Health Complex on the campus of the University of Nebraska at Kearney. This project will help address healthcare workforce shortages by increasing capacity for student training and opportunities to recruit professionals to remain in rural Nebraska after graduation. The Complex will help provide qualified personnel to work in nursing, behavioral health, assisted living, and other healthcare fields.

On Tuesday, the Unicameral kicked off debate and advancement of the dozens of bills waiting on Final Reading to be passed into law. I was particularly pleased to support advancement of two bills that will help District 42 communities address the severe workforce housing shortage.

LB1065 was another bill I cosponsored and made important improvements to micro-TIF. There are additional changes we need to make micro-TIF more workable, and I hope to perfect the process in the future. There is more work yet to be done, but LB1065 was a step in the right direction.

Efforts to expand and clarify provisions in the Middle-Income Workforce Housing Investment Act and the Rural Workforce Housing Investment Act in LB1069 will also increase housing opportunities. I was glad to join with 41 of my colleagues to give the last stamp of approval to this bill introduced and prioritized by Sen. Matt Williams.

Wednesday, April 13 and Wednesday, April 20 will mark the final two days of the 2022 Legislative Session. There are still important bills for District 42 awaiting final passage, including the Select File bills advanced on Monday, more funding for the Nebraska Advantage Rural Development Act, changes to expand broadband infrastructure, and reductions of sales and use tax collection fees.

As always, my door is open to constituents, and I would love to hear from you at mjacobson@leg.ne.gov or 402-471-2729. It is an honor to represent you and District 42 at the Nebraska Legislature.

Tuesday was a long day spent discussing four bills. We began the day with the second round of debate for LB873, which now contains four critical tax cuts for Nebraska families. First, LB873 accelerates the phase-out of Nebraska’s social security income tax from 10 years to 5 years. This is a huge win for our seniors on fixed incomes.

Second, the bill lowers certain personal and corporate income tax rates to 5.84%, down from the current rate of 6.84%.

Third, LB873 incorporates modifications to the refundable income tax credit in LB1107, the historic property tax relief package passed in 2020, needed due to strong revenues coming into the State. In 2021, this income tax credit will be equal to 25% of the amount of school district-related property tax paid. LB873 allows the credit to continue to grow at a reasonable rate over the next several years.

Finally, LB873 creates a new refundable income tax credit for community college-related property taxes paid, similar to the LB1107 provisions for local public-school taxes.

All told, this entire tax package is expected to amount to $900 million annually by Fiscal Year 2027-2028. This is real tax savings for hard-working Nebraska families!

Next, we considered a veto override for LB1073, a bill to compel the Governor to accept the remaining federal dollars available to Nebraska for rental assistance. The motion to override fell one vote short of passage.

We then moved on to debate LR264CA, which proposes to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot to eliminate property, income, and corporate (“EPIC”) taxes in favor of a consumption tax. This new tax would be charged on all new goods and service purchases that are not business inputs, including food, medical services, prescriptions, new vehicles, new homes, interest on loans and savings accounts, etc. Although there would be a carve-out for certain business expenses and would include a so-called “prebate” to help offset new taxes on the poor, the consumption tax is largely untested and would be a radical change from the tax system used in the U.S.

The consumption tax is an intriguing concept, and I remain open to new ways to reduce property taxes. However, there seem to be many questions yet to be answered, including what checks and balances will be in place to ensure necessary funding for rural communities and public services such as schools, first responders, courthouses, and infrastructure. Local control is important to Nebraskans and the EPIC consumption tax would place all of the funding power with a single state taxing authority. In the end, I was not able to get acceptable answers to my questions. We need to see the entire process before deciding whether these radical changes are right for Nebraska.

After several hours of debate, LR264CA obtained only 19 of the 25 votes necessary to advance the bill to the next round.

The rest of the day was spent listening to more debate on LB920, the criminal justice system reform bill, which will come to a vote Wednesday morning. I remain opposed to this bill without the elimination of certain provisions that I believe pose a risk to public safety.

After voting on LB920, we will move on to an important debate on LB933, the Human Life Protection Bill. The bill is certain to be filibustered, and I hope the Unicameral will use this debate time to iron out some important details of the bill so we can gain the votes necessary to pass this important pro-life legislation.

It should also be noted that the Governor returned vetoes on Tuesday for a few line items in the budget. Of note, to reduce the provider rate increase for health care providers from the proposed 15% increase down to the original 8% increase. In my mind, this is unacceptable. I will be voting, with what I think will be the majority, to override the veto and restore funding.

As always, my door is open to constituents, and I would love to hear from you at mjacobson@leg.ne.gov or 402-471-2729. It is an honor to represent you and District 42 at the Nebraska Legislature.

The Nebraska Unicameral worked into the evening hours this week and I expect there will be many more late nights ahead. Long days are typical at the end of the short session, but there is a lot of important work to be done as a result of filibusters that ate up valuable time earlier in the session. Rest assured, I will be there to represent you on every vote, no matter how late.

This week, we gave second-round approval to the three bills compromising the mid-biennium budget adjustment package (LB1011, LB1012, and LB1013). Many Nebraskans may not know that, by law, the State must balance the budget – without borrowing money to make ends meet. I appreciate the self-restraint this requires on the part of the state government, along with recent efforts to curb state spending.

Both the budget, and a proposal to implement critical tax cuts for all Nebraskans, have been slowed or stalled by a faction within the Legislature that wants to block a $175 million appropriation to partially fund a new state prison unless a criminal justice reform bill can also be passed. Although I agree that we need to implement policies that reduce recidivism, holding our state’s budget hostage is irresponsible.

It is worth noting that LB1013 contains funding for the North Platte/Hershey Rail Park project – which will be a boon for tourism in Lincoln County and the surrounding areas. I will continue to vote in favor of the budget package when it has its final round of debate on Tuesday.

On Friday afternoon, I voted with 27 of my colleagues to advance pro-life bill LB933 to General File. I was disappointed the Judiciary Committee chose not to advance this important legislation to the floor for debate. However, a majority of the Unicameral agreed the bill should be pulled from the committee and be considered.

LB933, introduced by Sen. Joni Albrecht, would be “triggered” if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade or the U.S. Constitution or federal law is amended to give control over abortions to individual states. If one of the triggering actions occurs, LB933 would prohibit both medical and chemical abortions and subject physicians violating the law to a felony charge.

I believe pro-life protections are critical to protect the most vulnerable among us – the unborn. I was proud co-sponsor this legislation and to share my and my wife’s personal story with fertility issues and now as adoptive parents. I was also touched to hear many others share their own experiences with this very personal issue. Although this bill’s future is still uncertain, I look forward to championing this issue in the future.

I continue to hear from many of my constituents about another bill I’ve co-sponsored, Sen. Tom Brewer’s constitutional carry bill, LB773. This bill has cleared the first round of debate and I look forward to continuing the fight in support of the Second Amendment later in the session.

With 12 days left, we still have many important priorities yet to debate, including more opportunities to cut taxes. As always, my door is always open to constituents and I would love to hear from you at mjacobson@leg.ne.gov or 402-471-2729. It is an honor to represent you and District 42 at the Nebraska Legislature.

Last week, the Legislature advanced two of the three budget bills, with the third expected to advance on Tuesday. Tuesday’s bill, LB1013, includes appropriations for $53.5 million for the Perkins County Canal Project Fund and $50 million to the North Platte/Hershey Rail Park via the Nebraska Rail Projects Funds. Keeping this funding in place will be a high priority.

So far, each of the budget bills has been filibustered, with debate focused primarily on the overcrowded state prison system and whether to appropriate $175 million to build a new prison without taking steps to ease prison overcrowding. Proposed reforms include reduced sentences for some offenses, limiting the ability to increase sentences, and assisting more inmates with qualifying for parole. In the end, it seems clear that a new and larger prison is needed, and I remain a strong “law and order” legislator. I invite your input on this issue.

We expect to begin the initial round of debate on LB1014, which contains the Appropriations Committee priorities for $1.04 billion in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. I am happy to report that the committee amendment to LB1014 will include $20 million for the Sustainable Beef project. Proponents have worked hard to get this funding included and now need to ensure that the bill gets to the finish line in its current form.

Other taxing and spending bills are also likely to appear on next week’s agendas. LB825 is Senator Lindstrom’s priority bill and a bill I have co-sponsored. LB825 would eliminate the taxation of Social Security income over the next five years. I have also co-sponsored Senator Linehan’s priority bill (LB939) to reduce the maximum individual income tax rate on income over $66,360 for joint filers from 6.84% to 5.84% by 2025.

The filibuster delays are eating up valuable time as only 15 working days remain in this 60-day session, and we must pass the budget by Day 50 (March 29). We may be meeting as late as midnight on Thursday night to accommodate this goal.

I truly appreciate the support coming from so many in the District as I focus on getting bills that are important to you to the finish line. Please feel free to reach out to me in the remaining few weeks if you have questions or input at mjacobson@leg.ne.gov or 402-471-2729. I am your State Senator, and your opinion matters!