The special session of the 108^th legislature kicked off on Thursday morning at 10:00. Although we were scheduled to meet Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for bill introduction, the volume of bills getting processed was such that the Speaker decided to not have us meet on Saturday so that bill drafters could get caught up. The last day for bill introduction will be on Monday. It is anticipated that as many as 100 bills will be introduced. This is not what any of us expected, and this volume of bills will certainly extend the length of the special session.

The first three bills (LB1, LB2, and LB3) were bills introduced on behalf of the Governor. The first bill deals with spending caps and sales tax changes. It was intended to be sent to the Revenue Committee, but five members of the Executive Committee (which serves as the reference committee) voted to send it to the Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee. I joined Speaker Arch and two other members in voting against this move. All of the Revenue Committee members served on the Governor’s working group and are in the best position to lead the hearings on this bill even though it deals with several issues.

Clearly, this was an effort to send a message to the Governor and move the bill to a potentially less favorable committee. However, Senator Brewer, who chairs the Government Committee worked with Senator Linehan (Revenue Committee chair) to immediately send a letter to the Referencing Committee to re-reference the bill to the Revenue Committee.

The question of re-referencing will be taken up on Monday. I expect the bill to be successfully re-referenced. LB2 and LB3 are appropriation bills referenced to the Appropriations Committee.

LB1 is a 139-page bill that contains far more changes than the working group agreed to during our last two meetings. With this in mind, do not read too much into the individual components of the bill. These will change significantly before the bill gets voted out of committee. It will change even more before the bill gets the support to advance on the floor.

I am not certain why the last changes from the working group were not made to the bill prior to introduction, but it will certainly evolve. During our last working group meeting, we agreed that no ag and business inputs would be subject to sales taxes going. It is also important to note that I am opposed to the advertising tax (primarily due to legal issues), think the amount of the increase in the spirits excise tax is too high, and am concerned about taxing legal and accounting services.

I also want to mention that Senator John Cavanaugh introduced LB17, which would terminate the Perkins County Canal project. This bill will be referred to the Natural Resources Committee on which I currently serve. I would be surprised if there’s any appetite to advance it.

It is unclear at this point how long the session will last and how it will end. But I do know that there are several in the body who do not want the session to be successful. So far, we have had a motion to adjourn Sine Die on Day 2 (with only four votes in support), we had the move to reference LB1 to a committee other than the Revenue Committee, and we will have an unprecedented number of bills introduced for a special session. Like in any session, all bills will be referred to the committee of jurisdiction for a hearing. Because of this, the entire week will likely be devoted to committee hearings. I would expect most committee chairs to not allow any bills that do not pertain to the subject matter to be voted out. However, any bill that gets to the floor would be subject to scheduling by the Speaker. He could choose not to schedule bills that get out of committee that do not fit the call.

No matter what takes place in this special session, the subject of property taxes will continue into the 2025 legislative session. I agreed to serve in the Legislature with one driving goal: To lower property taxes. I intend to accomplish this goal and protect agriculture in the process!

I look forward to continuing to hear from you regarding issues that are important to you. It is a privilege to serve as your State Senator, and I will continue to give my full effort to make a positive difference for the District and the State. You can reach me at mjacobson@leg.ne.gov or 402-471-2729.