I would like to begin by expressing my gratitude to the various power company employees who restored power to Bayard. After the storm cut off power to more than 80 percent of the city of Bayard on June 12th, it was restored in a very timely fashion. Thank you to all the power company employees for your dedication, hard work, and persistence in getting the job done.

As I have said before, next January I will introduce a constitutional amendment on property tax relief. I am currently working on forming the language for that amendment now. I have been working with several groups, some senators, and even a few select individuals on how to word this amendment.

There are two questions which need to be answered. The first question is a “how much” kind of question: How much property tax relief would be appropriate for our state? In other words, should this be a percentage or should it be a specific dollar amount? Until we know the answer to this question, we really cannot answer the second question.

The second question is a “how to” kind of question: How do we accomplish our goal? There are several options which we are exploring. Some states have gone down this road before us, so we are researching and looking at what these states have done and what the long term effects have been. If there is no need to reinvent the wheel of property tax relief, then we don’t want to waste our time and efforts trying to do it for Nebraska.

I will continue to explore options and hold meetings until we come to a conclusion. Our goal is to find the best solution for Nebraska, and we will press forward until we reach that goal. In the end, we want to make a significant dent in the amount of property taxes we all pay.

We have been talking about property tax relief for at least 40 years. Now it is time to actually do something about it. This is what my constitutional amendment shall accomplish, and this is my solemn vow to you as your representative in the Nebraska State Legislature.