Senator Tom Brewer
43rd District
1-10-2020

Wednesday, January 8th was the first day of the second session of the 106th Legislature. Nine of my bills from last year carried over to this session. The following is a brief overview of the new legislation I am working on so far this year:

LB 818 proposes updating the nameplate capacity tax for industrial wind turbines. This tax is paid in lieu of property taxes, and it has not been updated since it was introduced ten years ago. This bill would adjust the tax by the consumer price index each year so the amount paid in taxes by the wind companies keeps up with inflation. Right now, inflation of the dollar means the real cost of the tax is reduced every year, while people paying property taxes keep paying more and more.

LB 819 is my bill to un-tax Social Security benefits. Nebraska is one of only a handful of States that apply income taxes to Social Security. This is wrong. I think this money will do far more good for Nebraska if it stays in the hands of the people who earned it.

I introduced LB 821 at the request of the city of Rushville to update the law concerning city planning and zoning commission meetings. Now the law requires them to meet quarterly. If there is no business before the commission, they shouldn’t have to meet just to immediately adjourn. That burns out volunteers and doesn’t accomplish anything for the people. My bill changes the law so they only have to meet once a year unless there is new business to be dealt with.

LB 823 adds a safeguard to public power’s use of eminent domain. Projects would use eminent domain because an out-of-state organization requested the project, then voters in the affected counties would decide in a special election if eminent domain should be authorized.

LR283CA is my proposed constitutional amendment to change one word in the constitution. Instead of “every” citizen can vote, this would read “only” citizens can vote in our elections. This would make clear in our state constitution that non-citizens are not authorized to vote in public elections.

LR284CA is a constitutional amendment I am proposing to eliminate the state income tax. Business incentive bills with the label “economic development” slapped on them will be heavily debated this session. I just can’t see how letting government bureaucrats pick winners and losers in Nebraska’s economy is a good idea. Instead, lets become the tenth state in the union that doesn’t have an income tax. Let the rising tide lift all the boats. Lowering taxes is the best economic development program there is.

LR285CA is a proposed constitutional amendment to redirect a portion of the $45 million in annual revenue the state collects from the lottery to a fund that is designed to address the on-going staffing and overcrowding problems in Nebraska’s Department of Correctional Services. Once the problems are fixed, the money reverts back to its current distribution.

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 #1101, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509 or call us at (402) 471-2628.

Senator Tom Brewer
43rd District
1-3-2020

The US Airforce commander of the 55th Wing at Offutt AFB has instituted a new policy on the base. Beginning January 2, 2020, the commander has directed that the transportation of privately owned firearms on Offutt Air Force Base, with few exceptions, will be prohibited. This means personnel with lawful concealed handgun permits will no longer be able to carry a personal firearm on the base.

Our armed forces on the base are now un-armed forces.

I disagree with the commander’s policy change. In it he states, “…the commander’s intent for this change is that firearms will be effectively controlled and safely handled on Offutt AFB and is reflective of the full confidence in the 55th Security Forces Squadron’s ability to defend the installation and its personnel.”

Apparently our warfighters can only be trusted to “effectively control and safely handle” a firearm when they are deployed to a combat zone. People on the base need to know that when seconds count, the military police are only minutes away.

Infringing upon the constitutionally-protected rights of any American is alarming. In light of recent events where lawfully armed citizens prevented horrific tragedies, such as the recent church shooting in Texas, this policy change is simply astonishing. I hope he re-considers this decision and restores these rights immediately. It is well within his authority to do so.

It’s my hope he could take a lesson from the US Marine Corps. Recently, Lieutenant General George Smith, Deputy Commandant, for Plans, Policies, and Operations, announced that the Marines were changing their policy following the December shootings at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola and at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Hawaii. He said, “These tragic events prompted Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC) to accelerate existing efforts to develop concealed carry policies.”

Nearly every day there is another example of how restricting the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans does absolutely nothing to reduce or stop gun violence. Instead, we see example after example of a lawfully armed citizen preventing or stopping a mass shooting. Perhaps I am wrong and there are in fact good reasons not to trust military personnel on Offutt AFB to responsibly carry a gun. If that is true, then I fear there are problems far deeper than just this policy. Let’s not forget, the military personnel at Offutt AFB are in charge of America’s nuclear weapons. One would think they could be trusted to carry a pistol.

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 #1101, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509 or call us at (402) 471-2628.

Note to Editor: Senator Brewer is a retired Army Colonel. He is a decorated, combat-wounded veteran of multiple combat tours in Afghanistan, and was once stationed at Offutt AFB serving the Secretary of Defense aboard the National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP) aircraft based there.

Senator Tom Brewer
43rd District
12-20-2019

The Nebraska Constitution only requires the Legislature to do two things: It must meet on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January, and every two years it has to pass a balanced budget. The next legislative session is almost upon us.

In even numbered years, the session is “short” with 60 legislative days. We will pick up where we left off last session with a number of bills that are ready to be debated on the floor. Three of my bills from last session will be up early in the session. LB 153 is a bill to un-tax a portion of a person’s military retired pay, like all the states around Nebraska already do. I want to attract retiring military personnel to settle in Nebraska after they leave the service. LB 582 is a bill to make it a crime to possess a gun a person knows is probably stolen. This will help the police gang units in Nebraska’s bigger cities take stolen guns off the street and out of the hands of criminals who have no right to possess them in the first place. LB 157 is a bill we’ve been working on for three years. It helps protect Nebraska beekeepers.

Since it is a short session, I’ll be introducing a small number of bills. I want a bill to end the practice of taxing Social Security as income. Nebraska is one of only a handful of states that do this. I think this is wrong for a number of reasons. The money has already been subjected to income tax when it was paid into Social Security in the first place. Social Security is the only source of income for over two-thirds of people drawing it. I think the people of Nebraska would be way better off if the $120 million in income tax revenue the state collects was left in the hands of our seniors on a fixed income.

I’m also looking at a proposed constitutional amendment to do away with the income tax in Nebraska. Nine States do not have an income tax, including two of Nebraska’s neighbors. There is a way to run our state on just sales taxes that is both fair to low-income people, and good for business. I think Nebraska’s economy would take off like a rocket if we didn’t have an income tax. Instead of people and businesses leaving or never coming to Nebraska, we could reverse that trend. No State in history has ever taxed and spent its way to prosperity for its citizens. We have tried being a “high tax state” for decades now. I think the results of that failed experiment are clear to see. We need to at least start the discussion about changing this.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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 #1101, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509 or call us at (402) 471-2628.

Senator Tom Brewer
43rd District
12-13-2019

The next legislative session is coming up fast, Wednesday the 8th of January. It is a short (60 day) session that will be packed-full of important work, but I want to take a break from politics this week. I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. As families come together this time of year to give thanks and rejoice in the holiday season, Kelli and I would like to offer our very best wishes to all the hard-working families across Nebraska.

With the Christmas season upon us, let us pause for a moment and remember our brave men and women serving our country and protecting our freedom at home and abroad. We thank you and your families for all the sacrifices you make.

We would also like to extend our prayers and wishes to the families across the great State of Nebraska – from the cattle ranches to the row-crop farms, from our family-owned small businesses to the factories creating products sold worldwide. Your hard work makes the Cornhusker State proud.

May your holiday be filled with love and your New Year rich with God’s blessings.

From our families to yours; from Julie, Tony, Dick and Michael, we wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

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 #1101, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509 or call us at (402) 471-2628.

Senator Tom Brewer
43rd District
12-06-2019

“What if?” is an often used question to inquire about contingency plans. In other words, is there a Plan B, if Plan A fails to materialize?

Historically, Nebraska farmers and ranchers have depended upon their Ag groups to lobby the State Legislature and the Governor’s office in order to develop a “Plan A” for substantive property tax relief. For more than 40 years, the property tax relief “can” has been kicked down the road with nothing but hollow promises of “maybe next year.”

You, that is, our Nebraska farmers and ranchers, are currently being told that this next Legislative Session will be “the One” to finally bring property tax relief. The Ag lobbyists and the Legislature’s Revenue Committee have been working overtime in conjunction with our Governor to bring another “Plan A” bill to the floor of the Legislature for debate and passage. But wait! “What if” this Plan A bill is just another empty “can” being kicked down the road? If the bill passes, and it turns out to be just another meaningless token of property tax relief, will we be stuck with it? Will that be all the relief we ever get? Or, is there a Plan B option for the voters?

The answer is: Yes – there is a “Plan B” option for the voters. A petition drive is currently circulating throughout the State to put a ballot initiative for a Constitutional Amendment on the ballot for the November 2020 election. This Constitutional Amendment would provide real property owners in Nebraska with the opportunity to receive a refund of 35 percent of their property tax bill in the form of a Nebraska State Income tax credit; however, if the refund is more than the amount of income tax owed, the taxpayer would be issued a check for the balance.

The big challenge, as with all petition drives, is to gather enough signatures to officially place the initiative on the ballot. We have already gathered a significant number of signatures. However, in order to ensure success we need the farm and ranch organizations to step-up, get involved, and to enthusiastically endorse the ballot initiative. We need them to encourage their own membership to help in the effort by gathering signatures.

So, what can you do? First, you can visit the initiative petition website at www.truenebraskans.com to educate yourself on the ballot initiative. Second, you can encourage the adoption of a resolution at your organization’s annual convention requiring your organization to endorse and promote this ballot initiative for a Constitutional Amendment to provide true and meaningful property tax relief for all Nebraskans, be they farm, residential or commercial property owners. Contact your local and state organization’s leadership and encourage them to give you the power at the ballot box. You are the grassroots of your organization. You are in the driver’s seat. Steer your organization to give you the option of a “Plan B” in the event that the Legislature, once again, kicks the “can” down the road regarding property tax relief.

We can make significant property tax relief a reality so long as we all work together!

Submitted by Sen. Steve Erdman, LD47, Sen. Tom Brewer, LD 43, Sen. Steve Halloran, LD33 and Sen. Dave Murman, LD38.

Senator Tom Brewer
43rd District
11-22-2019

The 2nd Session of the 106th Legislature begins on the 8th of January. I have three “carry-over” bills from last session that have been voted out of committee. They will hopefully be among the first bills we debate after the session starts.

LB 153 is a bill which exempts fifty percent of a military retiree’s pension from Nebraska income tax. All of the states around us either do not tax military retirement at all, or give this income much friendlier treatment than we do. Consequently, most military retirees don’t settle in Nebraska. Addressing this problem is long overdue. (I should disclose the fact that I and my legislative aide are both retired Army colonels and will personally benefit from this bill if it passes.) I am glad I have the opportunity to be a strong voice for the military and our veterans. I am sincerely grateful to Sen. John Lowe from Kearney for making this his priority bill.

LB 582 is a bill that would help take stolen guns off the street. It will be particularly useful to the prosecutors and the brave police officers working the “Gang Unit” in our large cities where stolen firearms pose the greatest threat to public safety. Instead of taking guns from citizens without due process of law which so-called “Red Flag” laws do, this bill takes guns out of the hands of criminals who shouldn’t have them to begin with. According to a study by the Heritage Foundation, “as much as 80 percent [of] gun-related crimes are carried out with illegally owned firearms.”

LB 157 is another carry-over bill that helps protect Nebraska’s Beekeepers. Each year, hundreds of truckloads of bee hives from out of state are brought into Nebraska. They often site these hives right on top of a Nebraska beekeeper. This is no different than me grazing my cattle on my neighbors pasture, stealing his forage. Two-thirds of everything you see in the produce aisle at the grocery store is there because of a honey bee, and they are having a real tough time right now.
I want to close with a thought about Thanksgiving. It was President Lincoln who made Thanksgiving a federal holiday. It amazes me that he could think of a reason to give thanks in the Fall of 1863. I can’t think of a darker year in American history. Lincoln didn’t use the proclamation to score political points or bash the Confederacy. He used it to give thanks for the entire country, even though it was bitterly divided. I think we all can realize that despite all our differences, it’s not 1863 in America. We really do have a lot to be thankful for. On behalf of all of us here so honored to represent the good people of Western Nebraska, I wish you all a blessed Thanksgiving.
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.

Senator Tom Brewer
43rd District
11-15-2019

There is a lot of discussion around the Nebraska Capitol about how to “balance” taxes. We hear a lot about the “three-legged stool” of income, sales, and property taxes. In Nebraska, the income tax leg of the stool is about 26 percent. Sales tax makes up about 30 percent. Property and “other” taxation make up the remaining 44 percent.

Some folks insist that reducing property taxes means being in favor of increasing sales and income taxes. But I favor another method: spending less money. I think our taxes are too high, and I want to lower them by controlling government spending, not by picking a different victim.

Property tax hurts farm families and ag businesses because it attacks the ground under their feet. Land is the most basic tool that ag needs to produce food, fiber, and fuel. Property tax affects farmers like a perpetual diploma tax would affect doctors and lawyers. It is a tax on the basic asset that allows them to be productive in their work.

Income tax hurts, too. Every dollar that is taken in income taxes is a dollar that could have been reinvested in a Nebraska enterprise. Raising income tax is not a cure for high property taxes. It is like taking blood out of the patient’s left arm just to transfuse it back into his right arm.

I think Nebraska would take off like a rocket ship if we got rid of the income tax and funded state-level operations with just sales taxes, letting the local units of government operate on property tax revenues with strict levy limits. We have had an income tax since 1967, and the results are in. Our corporate income tax rate is one of the highest in the country. This runs off businesses and discourages others from locating here. I think it is time to end this 52-year income tax experiment. Nebraska could join the other nine states that get along without an income tax. We are already neighbors with two of them: South Dakota and Wyoming.

There are many ways to do this that are fair; that don’t disproportionately hurt the poor; that don’t starve the state of needed revenue to fix our prison system, fix our roads and bridges, and properly fund public education. Nebraskans spend a lot of money on government, but that does not mean we are getting a better government. Senator Linehan has proposed a number of intriguing ways to deliver public education more effectively while better protecting the taxpayer. It is time we had these discussions. The life of our state depends on it.

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.

Senator Tom Brewer
43rd District
11-08-2019

We have had a real busy interim this summer and fall. We’re putting the finishing touches on a few bills I will introduce on the first day. As always, my constituents gave me several great ideas for bills. The coming session starts January 8th. The constitution says the legislature will convene on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January. This session will be a short one – 60 legislative days. Right now, the end of the session is scheduled for the 23rd of April.

This session is going to be very interesting and definitely worth watching. It is Sen. Ernie Chambers’ last session after which he will reach his term limit (for a second time). He is one of the most prolific orators in the body, and I am certain he will have plenty to say this time.

LB 720 is a bill called the Nebraska Imagine Act which will provide “business incentives.” There will be a lot of debate on this measure. It replaces the Nebraska Advantage Act, which sunsets this year. I have serious concerns about this bill. It does not deliver anything for rural Nebraska. It provides incentive money for wind energy companies. Estimates show roughly $120,000 in tax incentives will be spent to create just one $40,000 a year job. The claim is that Nebraska needs bills like these to incentivize businesses to come to our high tax state. Our high income and property taxes scare away a lot of people and businesses. I am not confident that the government picking winners and losers in our state economy will bring jobs or economic development into our state.

LB 289 is a bill to lower property taxes. I hope this will be one of the first bills discussed. Much has changed about this bill since last session. I believe we will all get to see what’s in the new bill before Thanksgiving. I would imagine it is not as ambitious as it once was. Some oppose doing away with certain sales tax exemptions to fund it. Some oppose re-purposing the Property Tax Credit Relief Fund to fund it. Some interest groups will strongly oppose any limits placed on a school’s ability to collect and spend property taxes. These circumstances make it really hard to pass a bill that delivers substantial and permanent property tax relief. I suspect the solution to this problem will ultimately lie with the people.

In a couple weeks we will move our office for the fourth time in three years to room 1101 as the Capitol remodeling and HVAC project continues. Please bear with us during this transition.

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.

Senator Tom Brewer
43rd District
11-01-2019

With Veterans Day approaching, my thoughts turned to something I heard as a soldier many years ago; “Land of the free BECAUSE of the brave.”

I think it is altogether right and proper to credit the American soldier for protecting and guaranteeing the freedoms we enjoy in the United States. There is no question that without the sacrifices made by the men and women of our armed forces, there wouldn’t even be the country we have today. I hope everyone takes a moment and reflects on this fact this Veterans Day.

But after the military, who else delivers freedom and prosperity to the American people every single day? I would argue it is the American Farmer and Rancher who does that. We all must eat every day; we must have food.

Former US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said “Every one of us that’s not a farmer is not a farmer because we have farmers.” Less than two percent of the US population feeds the other 98%. Thanks to that two percent, the rest of us have the freedom to choose whatever it is we want to do with our lives. We do not have to worry about growing the food we eat, so we can choose to become doctors, artists, lawyers, welders, teachers, and state senators because we can rely on someone else to provide us with a safe, reliable supply of affordable food. I have spent a lot of time in places in this world where the people could not take this for granted. While we reflect on our brave military on Veterans Day, we need to take stock in the many other things we have the luxury to take for granted in the United States.

Reflecting on this one quickly realizes we should be doing everything we can to support and protect the small part of our population that provides the rest of us with this vast amount of freedom. Agriculture is Nebraska’s #1 industry. At least one in every four jobs, and at least one in every five dollars in our State’s economy comes from this industry. Why then do we ask about 5% of Nebraska’s population who owns the farm and ranch ground to pay over 30% of all the property taxes collected in the state? Why would we do that to our most important industry who delivers so much freedom to the rest of us?

Thank a Veteran this Veterans Day. If he or she is a farmer or rancher, thank them again. We cannot enjoy the life we live in this country without either one of them. If you haven’t already, please sign the property tax ballot initiative. The people need to help the legislature break the political log-jam we’re in. Our Ag producers pay the highest agricultural ground property taxes in the country. If we continue to take for granted that about 80,000 of our 1.9 million citizens are going to be able to keep paying about $1.3 BILLION in property taxes, we’re all going to end up going to bed hungry one day.

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.

Senator Tom Brewer
43rd District
10-04-2019

On Friday, October 4th, my staff attended a legislative summit hosted by the Omaha-based Platte Institute. The theme of this event was “Imagine the Possibilities.” The Platte Institute supports free markets, lower taxes, and lower government spending, and they do a good job of advocating for these values. Since those are values I share, I am always glad to see Platte Institute folks walking the hallways at the Capitol.

There were a couple of major themes discussed at the Platte event, but they all centered around getting big government out of the way in Nebraska. Two Nebraskans received the “Connie Brown Freedom Award.” Dawn Hatcher of Columbus and Karen Hough of Arnold played a key role in legalizing equine massage, something that Sen. Mike Groene got done in 2018. These two business owners found something they were good at and that their neighbors wanted. Unfortunately, the government was in the way. I join the Platte Institute in cheering on these efforts to make Nebraska better — not just for horses, but for small-business owners who know all too well just how much red tape there is in between a good idea and a paycheck.

Cutting government red tape was also the topic of discussion for a panel that included my friend Sen. John Lowe from Kearney. Sen. Lowe talked about the mountains of bureaucratic regulations on the books here in Nebraska. We have two interim studies from Sen. Lowe scheduled for hearings in the Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee for Friday, October 25th. One will focus on rolling back harmful over-regulation. The other will discuss some ideas for making state agencies stretch every public dollar.

My committee legal counsel, Dick Clark, was a speaker on another panel, which discussed a good law passed in 2018 that requires the Legislature to review, reform, or even eliminate occupational licenses and other regulations that make it harder for people to work. Dick did hundreds of hours of research needed to get this new law operational. With Nebraska requiring state licenses for over 150 jobs, reviewing these licenses — some over 120 years old — is long overdue. If there is a bad law keeping people from doing productive work, my fellow senators need to know about it.

The single most important discussion of the day was on property taxes. Sen. Mike Groene and Sen. Lou Anne Linehan were the two lawmakers who participated in that conversation. The Platte Institute passed out information on sales and property taxes. Their property tax handout said more or less what I have been saying since the end of session, that the Legislature’s mission in 2020 has to be to “develop a 33-vote consensus on major property tax reform or face a possible constitutional amendment ballot initiative…” Senators who ignore that warning are going to be faced with some unpleasant choices after next November. I continue to hope that we can get them to do the work to make property tax relief more than a campaign slogan. If we cannot, voters will take matters into their own hands.

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.