Last Thursday Gov. Jim Pillen delivered his State of the State address to the Unicameral Legislature. The primary focus of the speech was devoted to tax relief, especially property tax relief. So, I listened closely to hear his plans for tax relief. Although he vows to reduce property taxes by 40 percent, he never offered any kind of substantive plan for doing so. Gov. Pillen’s plan continues several of the same stale practices which have never worked in the past, such as creating more property tax credits for businesses and transferring more revenues into the state’s property tax cash-credit fund. Gov. Pillen is even pinning his hopes for income tax relief on a 3.9 percent income tax rate…coming in the year 2027! The Governor’s tax plan amounts to nothing more than slight of hand tactics to fool the public into believing that meaningful and significant tax relief is on its way.

January 17 was the last day for State Senators to introduce new bills. Sadly, none of the new bills offer meaningful and significant tax relief for Nebraskans. The best legislative proposal was offered by Sen. Brad von Gillern of Elkhorn. His bill, LB 1241, would require political subdivisions to reduce their property tax levies by the same percentage of increase in property valuations. The result would be no increases in property taxes, but no reduction in property taxes, either.

Sen. Lou Anne Linehan also of Elkhorn is chair of the Legislature’s revenue committee. Sen. Linehan introduced LB 1315, a bill for an increase in the state sales tax rate. Sen. Linehan’s legislative plan is to raise the state sales tax from 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent with 2.75 percent of the revenues being earmarked for Nebraska’s Good Life districts. Her hope is that by appropriating some $500 million to economic development efforts, we can eventually reduce property taxes.

Several new bills were introduced to raise more sales tax revenues for the State. Several State Senators introduced bills to eliminate various sales tax exemptions. Sen. Fred Meyer of St. Paul introduced LB 1311, which would remove the sales tax exemption for pet, storage, and moving services. Sen. Linehan introduced LB 1319 to eliminate the sales tax exemption for data centers. Sen. Von Gillern introduced LB 1308 to repeal the sales tax exemption for accounting services and ag services, and Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha introduced LB 1345 to remove the sales tax exemption for legal services. What each of these bills have in common is generating more sales tax revenue for the State.

What all of these new tax plans have in common is that none of them cut taxes. The fact of the matter is that the Governor, the chair of the Legislature’s revenue committee, and the other members of the Unicameral Legislature have no viable plans to reduce the overall tax burden of Nebraskans this year. All that has been offered up this year amounts to nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Much like the Wizard of Oz, those behind the curtain are unable to solve Nebraska’s tax problems. Nebraska’s tax system is broken, it cannot be repaired, and all of the new legislation proposed this year only further verifies this fact.

To further show how broken our tax system is, consider Sen. Linehan’s bill LB 1317. The entire text of LB 1317 states succinctly that: “1) Property taxes are too high; and 2) Legislative changes to lower property taxes are needed and desired.” That’s it! LB 1317 is known as a shell bill. Sen. Linehan introduced the bill in this way so that she can hopefully amend it mid-session with some kind of meaningful property tax relief plan. However, if she already knew how to reduce property taxes, she would not need a shell bill to amend later in the session.

I share these things today to show readers how broken our tax system really is and how the Governor and the Unicameral Legislature are unable to fix it. The EPIC Option Consumption Tax bill that I introduced last year with my personal priority designation, continues to be ignored and continues to be the only viable option for meaningful and significant tax relief. The EPIC Option Consumption Tax is the only option currently on the table with a workable model and endorsements by some of our nation’s leading economists, such as Art Laffer, Stephen Moore and Nebraska’s own Ernie Goss.

Without the EPIC Option Consumption Tax, Nebraska will continue to flounder as one of our nation’s worst tax states. According to the Tax Foundation Nebraska is the 38th worst tax state in America for its overall tax burden and is the 40th worst state for property taxes. We are worse than all of our surrounding states, but the EPIC Option Consumption Tax would propel us to the front of the line and make us the most tax friendly state in America. When I ran for office eight years ago, I vowed to offer Nebraskans meaningful and significant tax relief, especially property tax relief. The EPIC Option Consumption Tax remains the best legislative option for accomplishing that goal. Please visit our website at www.epicoption.org.

When I first arrived in the Nebraska Legislature in 2017, Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha stood in front of me on the legislative floor. He turned around and gave me some good advice. He told me to learn the rules. I began to read the rules. Upon doing so, I quickly learned how confusing the Rule Book of the Nebraska Legislature was. So, immediately upon adjournment last year, I turned my attention to re-writing the Rule Book.

The project of re-writing the Rule Book of the Legislature focused primarily on two tasks. The first task was to rearrange the material in the Rule Book so that the rules for each stage of debate could be found in a single rule. The second task was to develop a separate rule for how the Legislature would go about debating and passing proposals for changes to the Rule Book. After working with a committee of eight staffers, what resulted was a much more user-friendly and more complete re-write of the Rule Book of nearly 100 pages. The most important rule change that the Legislature could pass this year is this complete re-write of the whole Rule Book.

I have served on the Rules Committee of the Nebraska Legislature ever since I first arrived back in 2017. I have never seen the rules become more convoluted than what they have been for the last couple of years. Last year we had 57 proposed rule changes presented to the Rules Committee. This year we toned it down to 34 proposed rule changes.

Last week the Legislature began the process of making rule changes. The Rules Committee held a very efficient public hearing on these 34 newly proposed rule changes, then the Rules Committee met in an executive session for five hours to deliberate over the proposed rule changes. The members of the Rules Committee engaged in a full, fair, and robust debate over the rules. We did not always agree, but the spirit in the room was always very congenial, cordial and to the point. I very much appreciated that the members of the Rules Committee could disagree without being disagreeable.

This year the Legislature will allow time up until the twelfth legislative day for deliberating over the rules. Back in 2017 the Legislature spent nearly 40 days debating rule changes, and that was inappropriate. This is why I wrote a separate rule for how to debate the rules. Nevertheless, the Rules Committee combined several rule changes and redacted others in order to present a package of rule changes that will make the legislative process more efficient.

The Legislature cannot duplicate what occurred in 2023. When I am out visiting with constituents, two subjects invariably come up. The first is usually taxes. The second is rule changes. It surprised me to learn how many people across our state watch the Legislature. The people of Nebraska sent their state senators to Lincoln to do the business of the state. That did not happen last year. While some may argue that the Legislature passed a lot of bills last year, that is not my concern. My goal is not to just pass legislation; my goal is to pass the kind of legislation that makes sense. Passing 31 bills through a Christmas tree bill with a single vote is not the right way to make laws.

The Legislature needs to learn how to work more efficiently. Introducing 850 bills in a single year and holding hearings on each bill is not the most efficient way of doing business. So, the day may be coming when state senators will be limited in the number of bills they introduce and not every bill necessarily deserves a public hearing. The bottom line, though, is that unless the Legislature can figure out how to become more efficient, we will continue to get what we have been getting.

Some people wonder why I am so interested in changing the rules during my final year in the Nebraska Legislature. The reason is the same as when I planted a tree at the age of 70. I may never get the chance to enjoy the shade from that tree, but my grandchildren will. Therefore, my intention is to leave the State Legislature in a better place than how I found it when I first arrived. That means that the rules should be changed such that state senators can disagree without becoming disagreeable, and that the majority can continue to rule while respecting the will of the minority.

The 2024 Legislative session has begun. Because the Unicameral Legislature operates in a two-year cycle, this will be the second session of the 108th Legislature. The session began on January 3 and will end on April 18. Since this is only a 60-day session, there will be less time for State Senators to get the business of the State done this year. Today I will share my priorities and goals for making this year’s legislative session a productive one.

I am the chair of the Legislature’s Rules Committee. Because of the chaos of last year’s session, some necessary rule changes need to be made at the beginning of this year’s session. I intend to leave the Legislature better off than the way I found it seven years ago. Because the Legislature’s Rule Book is not very user-friendly, first-year Senators often have a difficult time learning the rules. Therefore, one of the rule changes I have proposed constitutes a complete re-write and re-organization of the Rule Book; otherwise, I have proposed 11 other rules changes which are needed. Altogether State Senators have proposed a total of 34 rule changes.

While rule changes will have to represent my most immediate priority in the Legislature, my highest concern will continue to be for tax relief. The EPIC Option Consumption Tax bill that I introduced last year will carryover for 2024 and will continue to offer the best solution for our State’s broken tax system.

The time has come for Nebraska’s politicians to admit that we need the EPIC Option Consumption Tax. Last week Gov. Jim Pillen contradicted himself when he criticized the EPIC Option Consumption Tax, claiming that it would somehow hurt low-income families. Soon thereafter he announced his desire to raise the state sales tax by two percent, matching the EPIC Option Consumption Tax Rate of 7.5 percent. So, Gov. Pillen’s tax plan would retain the state income tax, the property tax, and the inheritance tax, whereas my plan would eliminate those taxes. Furthermore, Gov. Pillen’s plan would continue to tax used goods, which are important to low-income families, whereas the EPIC Option Consumption Tax would not. So, the EPIC Option Consumption Tax is far more friendly to low-income families than the Governor’s tax plan.

This year I will introduce several new bills. The first one is a detasseling bill. Nebraska is now the only state remaining which utilizes local teenagers for doing rogueing and detasseling work. Those jobs are being threatened by companies that only hire migrant workers. Because these jobs are important for introducing the youth of our state to agriculture, my bill will create transparency for holding seed companies accountable, who are already required by law to hire local workers first.

Another bill that I will introduce is a new school choice bill. This bill is an update to the My Student, My Choice Act that I introduced last year. This bill offers real school choice. The bill would fully fund public school students while providing about $8,000 for each student enrolled in a private school.

I may also introduce a bill to end C02 sequestration in our state. I was the only Senator who voted against LB 650 in 2021. Since that bill passed two years ago, State Senators have been learning about the dangers of pumping carbon dioxide through pipelines and storing it underground. It appears that CO2 travels most efficiently through pipelines with pressure set at 2,600 pounds per square inch (psi), but the pipelines which are designed for natural gas pump it with pressures that never exceed 1,200 psi. Pumping C02 through these pipelines could be very dangerous. Therefore, the Legislature needs to repeal the Nebraska Geologic Storage of Carbon Dioxide Act.

Finally, I plan to Introduce a bill to make the Nebraska State Historical Society a state agency. This is necessary due to the conflicts of interests that some of the board members have who oversee the organization as well as their need to be able to account for the state monies they receive.

State Senators have until January 17 to introduce new bills. Many of the concerns I have for our state are being addressed by other State Senators, so there is no need to duplicate their efforts. Issues such as election integrity, preventing the sale of Nebraska’s lands to foreign enemies, and enabling capital punishment are all issues that will get addressed this year. Overall, it is my sincere hope, plan, and desire to make this year’s session a very productive one.

Thank you for visiting my website. It is an honor to represent the people of the 47th legislative district in the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature.

You’ll find my contact information on the right side of this page, as well as a list of the bills I’ve introduced this session and the committees on which I serve. Please feel free to contact me and my staff about proposed legislation or any other issues you would like to address.

Sincerely,
Sen. Steve Erdman