Imagine taking your car to an auto mechanic for repairs and receiving an estimate for parts and labor totaling $100, but when you return to pick up your car the mechanic hands you a bill for $200! Good automotive mechanics know better than to deviate from an estimate without first getting permission from the owner of the car. Getting permission is just the morally right thing to do. In some states, such as Illinois, mechanics are even required by law to get permission whenever the repairs exceed more than 10 percent of the original estimate. Well, what about the government? Shouldn’t the government get permission before they raise your taxes?

Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair, Nebraska introduced a bill this year which requires local units of government to do just that. LB 644, which is known as the Property Tax Request Act, requires that a postcard be mailed to all of the landowners of a political subdivision whenever that political subdivision intends to raise taxes higher than they were the previous year. I call that: Transparency.

In addition, the Property Tax Request Act requires political subdivisions to hold public hearings in order to justify raising property taxes. Just like an auto mechanic who works on your car, shouldn’t a hike in your property taxes be justified? Well, the Property Tax Request Act alleviates that problem to a degree by holding those with tax asking authority accountable to the taxpayers.

The Property Tax Request Act even goes one step further. The Act requires political subdivisions to pass a resolution or an ordinance in order to raise property taxes higher than the previous year’s taxes. This is important because it forces elected officials to go on record for raising your taxes. Taxpayers need to know precisely who it is who is responsible for raising their property taxes. By requiring a resolution or an ordinance, the mystery of who has been raising your property taxes will finally be made known.

Legislation which promotes more transparency in government is always a good thing. When is transparency ever a bad thing in government? Taxpayers have a right to hold their elected officials accountable, and the Property Tax Request Act facilitates that process.

The Property Tax Request Act shifts the balance of power slightly back in favor of the taxpayer, and government officials generally do not like that. For this reason organizations which promote property tax relief, smaller government, and greater transparency in government, such as the Platte Institute and Americans for Prosperity, testified in favor of this bill at the public hearing. Conversely, the lobbyists who typically fight against property tax relief, smaller government, and greater transparency in government testified against this bill at the public hearing.

The bottom line is that the Property Tax Request Act is a good bill. So, when it came up on the floor for debate last week, I supported it, and I am delighted to report that this bill has advanced to Select File. Sen. Hansen is working to make this bill even better by amending it. His amendment will answer some of the objections that were raised against the bill during the floor debate. It is always good to make a good bill even better.