Given the recent railroad derailments that have occurred in the area, it might be good to update everyone on LB37, the Railroad Safety Act. This bill is very similar to bills introduced in the past by Senator Lynn Walz. I introduced the bill on January 9, and it was referenced to the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee on January 13. I have been working with the committee chair, Mike Moser, to schedule the bill’s public hearing soon. He has indicated that he plans to have the hearing in early March, but I am encouraging him to schedule it sooner. At this point, another Senator has already agreed to prioritize the bill, which allows me to keep my priority options open.

The bill, if passed, would do the following:

1. Prohibits blocking a public crossing for more than 10 minutes.
2. Prohibits obstructing a public crossing in a manner that delays an emergency vehicle in assisting a person or property in danger.
3. Requires each railroad to offer training to fire departments with jurisdiction along tracks every three years to address general hazards of dangerous goods and hazardous substances, techniques to assess risks posed to the environment and to the safety of emergency responders and the public, factors an incident commander must consider in determining whether to attempt to suppress a fire or to evacuate an area, and other strategies for initial response by emergency responders.
4. Provides protections to employees who report injuries or other violations.

The first two items do not apply if the train is continuously moving or if an event beyond the railroad’s control keeps a train, freight or passenger car, or railroad transportation engine from moving. Violations can result in fines up to $100,000.

The bill also allows a designated union representative receiving a report to enter a railroad’s place of operation during reasonable hours to investigate the report, provided that the union representative gives reasonable notice to the appropriate railroad officer.

Other bills of interest that will have been voted out of committee are the two bills dealing with daylight savings time. Although this seems like a trivial issue, there is good scientific evidence that changing our clocks twice a year has negative effects on our bodies.

The first bill, LB34, introduced by Senator Megan Hunt, moves us to year-round daylight savings time as long as the federal government allows for it and as long as three border states approve it. (I like the bill as long as it includes Colorado.) The second bill is LB302, introduced by Senator Dave Murman. This bill requires Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, and Wyoming to also make the change. Once again, Colorado is not included. I see this as a problem for those of us who live and work around the line separating Central and Mountain Time. Both bills were sent to the floor to let the body decide if we make a change. Although this is not the biggest issues we will deal with this session, I would be interested in hearing from you as to how you want me to vote on this issue. My preference at this time is to move to permanent Daylight Saving Time as long as Colorado also changes.

In the coming weeks we will be seeing more bills on the floor that will have significant implications. I will keep you informed as we move forward.

It is a privilege to represent you in the Nebraska Legislature, and I look forward to hearing from you regarding issues that are important to you. I can be reached at 402-471-2729 or by emailing me at mjacobson@leg.ne.gov.

The Legislature continues to move along. Monday, February 10 marks Day 23 of the 90-day session. The Legislature will continue floor debate each morning with standing committee meetings beginning at 1:30. So far, the Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee holds the record for the longest committee hearing this session when they adjourned their hearing on LB89, Stand With Women Act, at 11:56 p.m. this past Friday.

The Legislature conducts a hearing for every bill and makes every effort to hear the testimony of anyone who wishes to testify. Generally, we hear all the proponents first, then opponents, followed by neutral testifiers. In the case of bills like LB89 where many testifiers are likely to attend, the Legislature uses annotated procedures where an overflow room is setup to divide the testifiers. Monitors are set up in the overflow to allow testifiers in the overflow room to view the ongoing testimony. The proponents are allowed to testify for one hour, then the opponents are brought in to hear their testimony for one hour, followed by any neutral testimony. Then the process is repeated until everyone has had an opportunity to testify in person should they choose to do so.

Of the 15 bills I introduced this session, two of the bills are referred to as “shell” bills. Shell bills are introduced so that the introducer can modify the bill during the session after the 10-day bill introduction is over. Any bill can be completely dismantled and rebuilt as an entirely different bill in committee after the hearing on the bill is held. The only other way to introduce a bill after the 10-day bill introduction is over is to introduce a bill on behalf of the Governor.

Of my remaining 13 bills, three have moved to Select File:

• LB250, relating to composition of bank directors;
• LB251, an omnibus banking bill; and
• LB108, updating the firefighters pension plan,

LB38, a bill relating to professional geologists, is on Final Reading. The geologist’s bill was brought to me last summer by a constituent from Maxwell who is a licensed geologist. It may now be one of the first bills to reach the Governor’s desk for his signature. So, in many ways, this bill “rocks.”

This week, LB240, which updates notice dates for County officials on any newly approved TIF project, will be heard on General File. It was voted out of the Urban Affairs Committee unanimously and should move through the process quickly. I will be presenting LB527, Medical Access and Quality Act, on the floor as well. This bill resembles LB1087 from last year that granted access to over $1 billion in Federal Medicaid funds to help hospitals based on the number of Medicaid patients they serve. LB527 accesses over $100 million of federal funds to help physicians and medical personnel who treat Medicaid patients. I am hopeful that this bill moves on its own without the need for a Priority designation. Given the timing of its General File scheduling, I think we are in good shape moving forward.

One other bill I would like to mention this week is a bill introduced by Senator Hardin. LB168 would implement the 340B Contract Pharmacy Protection Act. This bill was heard last week in the Banking, Commerce, and Insurance Committee, and I have agreed to hold an executive session on Monday morning to accept an amendment to the bill and advance it to General File. This bill is essential to small rural non-profit hospitals. The bill allows these hospitals to purchase drugs at a reduced cost and use the spread to help fund essential needs. The large drug manufacturers have been running a misleading ad campaign suggesting that patients are being taken advantage of. The fact is, many of these hospitals would close if they did not have access to this program. This is a good bill and should be passed.

This will be a very busy week. Friday, February 14, will be our first recess day since January 21, and I know I share many of my colleagues’ enthusiasm to be able to spend some time back in our districts. So far, it’s been a productive session, but much of our important work is yet to come.

I look forward to continuing to hear from you about 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.

As we begin the month of February, the pace of the Legislature will start to pick up. We are now spending the mornings debating bills moved to the floor from the 14 standing committees that have been meeting in the afternoons for bill hearings. Any bills voted out of committee and advanced to the floor are reviewed by the Speaker to be scheduled for floor debate. Most of the committees have scheduled hearings on bills that are primarily “clean-up” bills or bills that are non-controversial. Most of these bills had no negative testifiers and were voted out of committee unanimously. That will change in the coming weeks when more controversial bills are advanced to the floor.

I was fortunate to have two bills moved out of committee and advanced to Select File last week. The first bill, LB38, was brought to me by a constituent in Maxwell. The bill deals with updating statutes for professional geologists. The second bill was LB108, which cleans up the language of a bill I passed last year regarding firefighter pension plans. Both bills were passed unanimously out of committee, and both garnered over 40 votes on the floor. Two of my other bills have been advanced out of committee to General File. I hope to see those bills scheduled soon. They include LB250, which makes changes to residency rules for bank directors, and LB251 which is a bill that updates statutes for the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance. Four down, eleven to go.

I have three bills that will have their public hearings this coming week:

On February 3, I will present LB525, the Agricultural Data Privacy Act. As the bill implies, it is intended to allow farmers and ranchers to protect the privacy of data collected from their farms and ranches. As precision agriculture continues to advance, more and more data will be collected. We need to set clear guidelines as to who owns the data, who can view the data, and who can sell the data. I am bringing this bill on behalf of the Governor, and appreciate his commitment to Nebraska’s largest industry. I think there is some work to be done on the language to ensure no unintended consequences, but LB525 is an important start to the conversation. I look forward to working with the Governor and our ag community to make the bill perfect.

On Tuesday, February 4, I will present the LB527, which will likely become my priority bill. It is the Medicaid Access and Quality Act. This bill, if passed and approved by CMS, would provide additional federal funding for Nebraska doctors and other individual providers who see Medicaid patients. It will also generate over $100 million to help reimburse the state for the lost Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage (FMAP) revenue. These federal funds are paid to states as reimbursement for Medicaid mandates based on need. Since Nebraska’s economy is doing better than other states, our cut in funding was more than any other state, including California (in real dollars). No pressure, but the Governor is counting on this bill to pass this session.

On Wednesday, February 5, I will present LB529, which I brought on behalf of the Nebraska State Investment Council. The bill seeks to revise statutes limiting the term of state contracts for the Investment Council due to the nature of their business activities.

So far, the legislature is moving along on schedule. I hope that continues.

It is a privilege to represent you in the Nebraska Legislature, and I look forward to hearing from you regarding issues that are important to you. I can be reached at 402-471-2729 or by emailing me at mjacobson@leg.ne.gov.

Last Friday marked the end of Day 12. This past week focused on debating rules changes forwarded by the Rules Committee. At the beginning of each biennium, the Legislature operates under “Temporary Rules” that mirror the permanent rules established at the beginning of the prior biennium. There were only two proposed rule changes that were forwarded by the committee to the full Legislature. They included a rule change proposed by Senator Ben Hansen which would allow the Legislature to vote on Gubernatorial appointments as a slate, as opposed to voting on each individual appointment. The rule allows for any individual appointments to be removed from the list and voted on individually if a Senator has concerns with that appointment. This rule change was noncontroversial and will be a huge time saver.

The second rule was proposed by Senator Tereasa Ibach, which would require the introducer of any bill to publish their “Statement of Intent” within three business days from the time the bill is referenced as opposed to waiting until the bill is scheduled for debate. The intent is to allow constituents to read a summary of a bill earlier in the process to understand its intent, as opposed to reading the entire bill. This is another good rule change and will be helpful to everyone.

After approving those two changes, Senator Kauth moved to amend the rules changes by including a rule change to eliminate the “Present Not Voting” vote and to change the cloture rule if members are absent. This idea was somewhat controversial because it was not voted out by the committee and had opposition. After several hours of debate, the Legislature voted to approve a limited version of the rule change. The final change requires all Senators present for the vote on Final Reading to vote yes or no. If you vote “Present Not Voting,” your vote will be recorded as “No” with an asterisk.

I know many constituents have opposed the “Present Not Voting” option because they want their Senators to clearly state their position on a bill with a clear vote. It is important to understand that there are several reasons for Senators to not be voting when they are present during the first and second rounds of debate. First, let’s remember that even if you are “checked in” you may be off the floor when a vote is held. You may be in the Rotunda, in meetings in your office, in the restroom, or any other number of places. If the vote is an important vote, the bill introducer will generally ask for a “call of the house” which requires all Senators who are checked in to return to the floor prior to the vote. The Red Coats or the State Patrol could come and get you if the bill introducers ask them to do so. However, if you are checked out, your vote will be recorded as Absent. Final Reading votes require all Senators to be in their seats unless they are checked out.

It is also important to keep in mind that it generally requires 25 “Yes” votes to pass a bill, amendment, or motion. A present not voting is the same as a “No” vote since you did not vote yes.

Following this rule change, Senator McKinney tried to amend the rules to remove the 20-bill limit approved last year. After much debate, that rule change failed. I believe that 20 bills are a large number of bills to manage and also interfere with your attendance in your assigned committee when you are presenting your bills to other committees. I think we owe it to our constituents who travel across the state to testify to be present to hear them testify as much as possible.

This week, we will host Chief Justice Funke for his State of the Judiciary Address on Wednesday. Thursday, we will begin morning floor debate as bills begin to be advanced to the floor by committees. Hearings on bills before the standing committees will continue in the afternoons.

As a reminder, if you are not able to make the trip to Lincoln but have views on a particular bill you would like to share, each bill will have a public comment link at the top of its page once it is scheduled for hearing. If you submit comments up to 500 words in length. If they are submitted before 8:00 a.m. CT on the day of the bill’s hearing, you can opt for your comments to be included in the hearing record. If you don’t want your comments included in the record or make your comments later in the process, all of those comments are still available for Senators to read and review.

I look forward to continuing to hear from you about 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.

Last Friday marked the end of Day 8. The first week focused on electing our leadership and the chair of the Committee on Committees. From there, committee assignments were determined and the first of the bills for this session were filed. Last week, the standing committees elected their vice-chairs, which are elected at the committee level rather than the entire body. I was fortunate to be elected Vice Chair of the Revenue Committee. I look forward to working with Senator Brad von Gillern, who chairs the committee, to make progress on fixing our broken tax system.

I have gotten several questions regarding the current projected revenue shortfall of over $430 million as we enter this biennium. The shortfall is based on a significant projected revenue decline anticipated by the Revenue Forecasting Board. However, their December projection increased revenues by approximately $200 million, cutting the shortfall by nearly half.

I was part of a small group of Senators who had an early look at the Governor’s budget and discussed his plan to remove any shortfalls. The plan focuses primarily on cutting state spending and repealing some of the spending bills passed in 2023 and 2024. In the end, the Governor’s proposed budget would reduce state spending by half a percent as opposed to the normal 2-3% increase. On a $5.5 billion state budget, this adds up to real money. Of course, these budget recommendations are subject to modification by the Appropriations Committee and, ultimately, the full Legislature.

On Thursday, the Rules Committee held hearings all afternoon to allow the public to weigh in on 24 proposed rule changes. It is important to remember that rule changes are very hard to make because there is no limit to debate if a proposed rule change is voted to the floor. In 2017, the Legislature spent the first 30 legislative days debating changes to the filibuster rule. In the end, the attempt failed and the Legislature moved on to other business. There are some proposed rule changes this year that seem to have broad support. Those rules could see traction on the floor if they are voted out of committee.

One of the proposed rule changes would change the filibuster rule again. Today it takes 33 votes to pass a cloture motion to end debate. More importantly, it takes 17 “no” or abstaining votes to defeat a cloture vote. The third caucus has 16 Senators, the first caucus has 16 Senators, and the Second caucus has 17 Senators. Lowering the threshold to end debate would require even more members to stop a bill from progressing. All too often, the focus is on stopping the minority party from holding up legislation, but the minority could also be urban vs rural. A former Senator once told me, “Be careful what you wish for.” I have never forgotten that. I am skeptical when it comes to making changes to this rule.

The urban/rural divide often becomes very apparent when we’re talking about Nebraska’s tax structure. As we focus on ways to reduce property taxes, there have been several ideas expressed over the years. This year Senator Hardin re-introduced the EPIC tax. As many of you know, I am not a fan of EPIC because the plan would send all taxes to Lincoln and the Legislature would decide how the funds are divided. When you consider who controls the votes in Lincoln, how comfortable are you that enough funding would be appropriated to rural Nebraska?

Senator Kathleen Kauth also introduced LR12CA, a constitutional amendment that would change how property taxes are assessed. The problem I see with the proposal is that it eliminates the lower valuation for agricultural land (currently at 75% of market value) and simply caps taxes at 1.5% of the present market value. If passed, this would be horrible for farmers and ranchers because it would compound the property tax problem for owners of agricultural land. The imbalance of values and the tax burden on agricultural land has been far out of balance. The gap has worsened as more and more investors have jumped into the market. We can’t forget these unintended consequences when crafting tax policy.

I look forward to continuing to hear from you about 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.

This past Friday marked the end of Day 3 of the 109^th Legislature. The first day was devoted to officer and committee chair elections. I am happy to report that I was elected as chair of the Banking, Commerce, and Insurance Committee and, as a result, I have moved to office 1117 designated for the Banking Committee chair. With this change, I now have a larger team working with me. Joshua Christolear is my committee Legal Counsel, and Tori Osborne has become my new Legislative Aid. Kristina Konecko will continue as my Administrative Aid. Joe Murray has secured a Legislative Aid position with newly elected Senator Dan McKeon. I want to thank Joe for his past service and look forward to working with a truly awesome team!

My legislative email will remain the same (mjacobson@leg.ne.gov), and my constituents can still reach my office at 402-471-2729.

I spent most of this past week moving into the new office and attending meetings of the Committee on Committees. Having served on this committee last year, I had a good idea of what to expect. I was not disappointed.

We often talk about the “nonpartisan” Nebraska Legislature, but clearly, the Legislature is filled with 49 Senators who are either registered Republicans, Democrats, or Independents. The current Legislature consists of 33 Republicans, 15 Democrats, and one Independent. Although political affiliation does not matter on many bills, there are bills that become very partisan, such as social bills, gun bills, and tax bills. It goes without saying that those in the majority party want to control the leadership and makeup of key committees to help ensure that important bills can be voted out of committee and other bills can be stalled.

For purposes of committee assignments, Senators are divided into three caucuses, roughly along similar lines to those of Nebraska’s three Congressional Districts. The Third Caucus is heavily Republican. The First and Second Caucuses are more evenly divided, with Republicans having a slight majority in the First and one more Democrat than Republican in the Second. Since the First and Second Caucuses have nearly equally split, the practice has been to appoint two from each party to the Committee on Committees and one each to the Executive Board. However, this year the Second Caucus deviated from this practice and filled all their seats on the Committee on Committees and Executive Board with Democrats. Meanwhile, the First Caucus stayed with tradition and split the two bodies equally.

The role of Committee on Committee members is to bring their caucus’s preferences to the committee as it works through committee assignments following the election of committee chairs. Committees are filled by rotating between each caucus in order following the chair. So, if the chair is in the first caucus, then the next member is from the second caucus, then the third caucus, and so on. Of course, the committee must also ensure that each Senator has a committee assignment for each day of the week.

This year, the primary disagreement was over who would serve on the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. The Second Caucus had the right to appoint three of the eight members to the committee because the Chair (Sen. Rita Sanders) is in the First Caucus. The makeup of the committee in the previous biennium was five Republicans and three Democrats. So, when the second caucus appointed three Democrats to the committee, the balance shifted the control to the Democrats on a 5-3 basis. Ultimately, after much debate, the First and Third caucus made trades to move Senators Conrad and Raybould to the Natural Resources Committee to balance the Government Committee. I feel bad for both Senators because they have seniority, but there was no other way to get to the desired outcome.

I truly apprecite both Senator Conrad and Senator Raybould for their understanding and grace in moving forward with their new committee assignments. I have developed a good relationship with both Senators over the past two years and believe we can continue to work together on bills on which we have a common agreement.

I am optimistic that we can accomplish much this coming session if we can put partisanship behind us and focus on getting results for Nebraskans. I look forward to seeing what ideas will be put forward this year as we continue with bill introduction and hear the Governor’s State of the State Address on Wednesday.

It is a privilege to represent you in the Nebraska Legislature, and I look forward to hearing from you regarding issues that are important to you. I can be reached at 402-471-2729 or by emailing me at mjacobson@leg.ne.gov.

As we begin the new year, we also begin a new legislative session. On Wednesday, January 8, we begin the 109^th Legislative Session. Since this is the beginning of a new biennium, the first day begins with the swearing-in of the newly elected Senators and the election of leadership for the coming two years.

This day also marks the end of the term for those 15 Senators who are term-limited. I want to personally thank them for their service and wish them well in the next phase of their lives. I also want to welcome the newly elected Senators who will replace them. In western Nebraska, we will be welcoming Paul Strommen (District 41) and Tanya Storer (District 43). Both Paul and Tanya have already made very positive impressions with the rest of the body; I have no doubt that they will represent their districts very well.

I was invited to attend a meeting on Friday at the Governor’s residence to discuss the Governor’s proposed budget proposal. As of the latest Forecasting Board revenue projections, revenues were reduced to the point that the current budget projects a $432,639,146 deficit for the upcoming biennium ending on June 30, 2027. If no changes are made in this biennium, the deficit will grow to $1,128,632,184 by the end of the next biennium, ending on June 30, 2029. But, since our state Constitution requires a balanced budget, adjustments will need to be made this session.

Some have suggested that we have plenty of money in reserves, so there is nothing to worry about. That is generally true, but we need to keep in mind that, in addition to our rainy-day fund, there are many funds within various agencies that have large reserves that are committed for future projects that are still in development stages. The more relevant funds to target are Cash Funds. Cash funds represent funds that were allocated to various agencies for operating expenses that went unspent during the fiscal year. Those funds will clearly be targeted to be swept to help fund the current deficit since they are not committed to other projects.

In addition to using cash funds to assist in funding the deficit, I am happy to share that the Governor’s budget focuses on spending cuts and, in particular, the repeal of several bills that were passed this in the last few years that had spending tied to them.

Although I have some reservations about a few of the cuts, I understand the need to have a fair approach to balancing the budget. Keep in mind that this is the Governor’s proposal, which only serves as a starting point for the Legislature’s budget process. The hundreds of bills that will be introduced during the first 10 days of the session will certainly include bills that will run counter to what the Governor will propose or request spending. But in the end, one thing that must be completed in the upcoming 90-day session is approving a budget.

Keep in mind that the Forecasting Board will continue to meet and will update the revenue forecast each time. Many of us are skeptical of the significant reduction in forecasted revenues. Hopefully, the forecast will be adjusted higher as we move forward. Meanwhile, we will work with the numbers we have to work with.

I will continue to keep you updated as the session moves forward. It should be interesting.

I look forward to continuing to hear from you about 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.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and was able to enjoy it with family and friends. Christmas Eve church services are hard to beat. This year was no exception. I look forward to the new year and hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable New Year’s celebration.

The beginning of the 109th Legislative session is scheduled to begin on January 8. Bill introduction takes place during the first 10 legislative days. I have several bills ready for introduction, but perhaps one of the most significant bills I intend to introduce is a bill restricting the expansion of Bitcoin mining.

Bitcoin mining involves large desktop computers that solve equations to support the blockchain technology that supports Bitcoin creation. Unfortunately, these computers consume massive amounts of electricity. The most extreme example is the large Bit Coin installation located on the east edge of Kearney. The computers are housed in portable storage units and consume more electricity than the entire city of Kearney. In addition to this facility, there are smaller facilities popping up across rural Nebraska.

As many of you know, Julie and I own farmland where I grew up in Clay County. The family that does some custom work for me has their headquarters a couple of miles west of Sutton along Highway 6. There is an electrical substation operated by the South Central Public Power District diagonally across the intersection from their large bin site. A Texas-based Bitcoin miner leased 1.5 acres of pastureland next to the substation and placed two large portable storage units next to the substation. Note that they pay no property taxes on the land or the storage units (although they will pay personal property taxes for 5 years on the storage units and computers). They have someone drive by in a pickup truck to monitor the facility. So, no property taxes, no sales taxes, and no full-time employees. Since they get paid in Bitcoin, I don’t know if they are paying Nebraska income taxes. Yet, they are consuming massive amounts of electricity. The farmers next door have had several power surges since this facility was completed.

So why is a Texas-based company locating this Bitcoin facility in Nebraska? I would say the answer is abundant, low-cost electricity with limited to no restrictions.

My bill will add an excise tax to all Bitcoin mining facilities to replace the taxes that would have been collected if they were a manufacturer or other commercial business that employs people, builds buildings, and pays state and local taxes. I will want to target this new revenue to property tax relief. The tax would need to be high enough to cause new facilities to think twice about locating in Nebraska.

This revenue stream may be short-lived, but we cannot grow productive new businesses that employ workers who will help grow our state if we cannot keep up with the energy demands.

I will follow up next week with other bills of interest.

I look forward to continuing to hear from you about 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.

I want to open my article this week to acknowledge how proud I am of the Husker women’s volleyball team and their incredible season. Although they fell just short of advancing to the NCAA Championship game, they did an outstanding job representing the University of Nebraska Lincoln and the entire state! Their character, teamwork, and athleticism have inspired a loyal fanbase, and – together – we are part of the new era for women’s sports. It’s amazing to see!

With the 109^th Legislative Session scheduled to begin on Wednesday, January 8, I am working on finalizing the bills I intend to introduce. I appreciate all the input many of you have provided to me and will try to deliver on your expectations.

We will be welcoming 17 newly elected Senators on Day One. It will be a very busy day, beginning with the swearing-in of all the newly elected Senators and the election of leadership, including committee chairs. Once the committee chairs are elected, there is a massive reshuffling of offices as committee chairs move from their existing offices to the committee chair offices. These offices are larger to accommodate the additional staff that support the committee’s work. At that point, all open offices are available for other Senators to move into based on years of seniority. Once you secure an office, you can retain that office for the remainder of your time in the Legislature, unless you become a committee chair later.

In addition to the standing committees, the body will also elect a chair of the Committee on Committees. This committee consists of the chair and four members from each of the three caucuses. This committee assigns all other members of the Legislature to their committee assignments, such that they will serve on enough committees to have an assignment every day. The Appropriations Committee is the only one to meet every day, so most members will be assigned to at least two committees. We have a few one-day committees that meet on Monday or Tuesday, a few two-day committees that meet Monday and Tuesday, and several three-day committees that meet Wednesday to Friday.

Unless introduced at the request of the Governor, Senators and Committees must introduce bills during the first 10 days of the session. The earlier you begin, the more likely you are to have something back from bill drafters that you can introduce in time. I have several bills that I intend to introduce and will share them with you next week. Senators will face another new bill introduction hurdle this year as well. The rules were changed last year to limit each Senator to 20 bills per legislative session. We have had Senators introduce as many as 60 plus bills in the past. Senators with a lot of ideas will need to either prioritize or shop bills around to other Senators. In my mind 20 bills is plenty, and will ensure Senators don’t miss too many of their committees’ hearings introducing bills elsewhere.

I do plan to serve on the Committee on Committees and the Executive Board (which also serves as the Referencing Committee) as I have in the past. I am slated to chair the Banking, Commerce and Insurance committee as my two-day committee and hopefully move to the Revenue Committee as my three-day committee. Even with limits on bill introduced, it will be a very busy session.

In closing, Julie and I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a safe holiday season. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. As a kid, my parents did not have much money, but they always made certain that we attended church every Sunday and that we knew the true meaning of Christmas. Somehow, they also found a way to have gifts under the tree. It was clear that they loved each of us and were willing to make personal sacrifices to see to it that our Christmas was special. Despite the hardships, some of my fondest memories were around Christmas. Remember the reason for the season.

I look forward to continuing to hear from you about 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.

I continue to read articles and hear statements made at several trade group meetings regarding the so-called lost year of property tax relief. At the risk of beating a dead horse, I will attempt to once again explain the facts of LB34 and hopefully answer some of the questions people still have regarding this issue.

Prior to the passage of LB34, the State was providing property tax relief through an income tax rebate, which had been in place for several years and grew to 30% of the amount paid by property taxpayers for their public school and community college real estate taxes. Individuals were required to claim the income tax rebate when income taxes were filed the year after the real estate taxes were paid. In many cases, taxpayers who did not avail themselves of a professional tax preparer failed to claim the income tax rebate. Others did not claim it because the amount was too small, or they did not want to go through the process of looking up the legal descriptions of their land to complete the necessary claim form to be filed with their income tax return.

For example, if you paid your 2022 property taxes prior to December 31, 2022, you could have claimed the income tax rebate when you filed your 2022 income tax return by April 15, 2023. If, however, you paid the 2022 property taxes in 2023, which is common for most property taxpayers, you could not have claimed your income tax rebate until you filed your 2023 income taxes in 2024.

If you paid your 2023 property taxes by December 31, 2023, you were able to claim your income tax rebate when you filed your 2023 income tax return in the spring of 2024.

During the special session in 2024, the legislature passed LB34, which capped property tax increases by cities and counties and converted the income tax rebate to a property tax credit. There were two steps to the conversion of the property tax relief. First, the income tax rebate ended effective January 1, 2024, meaning that no property taxes paid in 2024 will be eligible for the income tax rebate.

Second, the Legislature added funds to provide for a property tax credit. Everyone by now should have received their 2024 property tax statements. You will note that, in addition to the legacy property tax credit known as the “Tier I Tax Credit,” there is a new property tax credit that was created by LB34. This property tax credit should approximate what would have been your 2023 income tax rebate (associated with only your public school property tax). The benefit of this change is it eliminates the need to apply for the rebate, thus allowing all property taxpayers to receive the credit. The property tax relief is applied in the year the taxes are assessed. This change is important because those homeowners who escrow their real estate taxes will get their escrows recalculated in the first quarter and see their house payments go down in the first quarter of 2025. Had the income tax rebate still been in place, they would not have received the property tax relief associated with their 2023 property taxes until mid-year 2025.

If someone tells you that your property taxes went up, I would ask them to look at their 2024 property tax statement.

So, what about the so-called lost year? To the extent there is a gap, it is merely due to the timing of income tax filings versus property tax payments. For those who pay their property taxes in the year after the tax is assessed instead of in the same year the property tax is assessed (e.g., paying 2024 property taxes in 2025), your relief will be “delayed” because of when you pay your property taxes. But that doesn’t mean you miss out on a year of relief. If you are paying your real estate taxes a year in arrears, you will need to pay your real estate taxes current before selling your property. You will have the benefit of the property tax credit at that time.

For those thinking there is something that needs to be “fixed” next year, they need to look no further than State expenditures for property tax relief.

Under both the income tax rebate and the property tax credit scheme, the State foots the bill for property tax relief. The State paid $560 million last year to reimburse taxpayers through the income tax rebate. This year, the State will pay $760 million in property tax credit reimbursements to counties in order to make the political subdivisions whole since the property taxpayers pay less (not more). If there was truly a lost year, the State would have a corresponding gap in its expenditures for property tax relief. It does not.

I look forward to continuing to hear from you about 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.