Senator Tom Brewer
43rd District
5-24-2019

Last week I wrote about the failure of LB 289 to advance. This was our best chance of lowering property taxes this year. Since then, another bill, LB 183, has also failed to advance. This bill was a stripped-down version of LB 289 that would have delivered a much smaller amount of property tax relief. The vote was 23 Yes, 7 No, and 16 Present Not Voting. Three of my colleagues were excused. In this example, a “yes” vote was a vote to lower property taxes. 33 votes were needed.

In the meantime, LB 720 — called the ImagiNE Nebraska Act — has also failed to advance. This bill would replace the Nebraska Advantage Act. It is a business incentive bill. It starts with $125 million in spending, and grows at three percent a year for the next ten years. The vote was 30 Yes, 18 No, 1 Excused. A “no” vote on this motion was also a vote to lower property taxes. Again, 33 votes were needed. I was the excused senator for this vote, because I was among a number of Purple Heart recipients asked to participate in an Honor Flight to our nation’s Capital. I would have voted “No” with my eighteen colleagues who opposed the motion.

The 18 senators who voted “no” on the motion to stop debate on LB 720 actually support economic incentives for business. Most do not “oppose” LB 720. These 18 senators know that there is a lot of support for this bill and it will easily pass if it ever makes it to a vote. Stopping this bill by failing to end the filibuster (33 votes) will now compel senators interested in business incentives to work with senators who want property tax relief. A majority of senators want both.

For the first time this session, I believe conditions have finally been set to bring senators together on these two very important issues. It is clear from the votes on these two bills that the fate of property tax relief and business incentives are now joined at the hip. Either they both pass, or they both fail. One cannot advance without the other. This is a very good thing. Now another important issue hangs in the balance. In the Army we used to call this “being properly motivated.”

In the few remaining days of this session, I hope senators leading both of these efforts will come together and craft a single compromise amendment that will address both of these important issues. After the previous attempts to pass property tax relief have all failed, these 18 senators have given us one last chance. I remain cautiously optimistic we will still get some kind of property tax relief done this session. Instead of adjourning early, we should spend every available minute on negotiating an agreement that addresses both high property taxes and other economic development needs. That is better than a special session, but we must act now!

Please contact my office with any comments, questions or concerns. Email me at tbrewer@leg.ne.gov, mail a letter to Sen. Tom Brewer, Room #1423, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509, or call us at (402) 471-2628.