Your Legislature and my office were tremendously busy this week.  Floor debate, Committee Hearings, and groups visiting kept things moving quite quickly.  On Thursday, Feb. 13, the Legislature passed nine Bills that were then sent to the Governor.  105 Bills had public hearings in Committees.  In addition to Bills, Committees voted on advancing gubernatorial appointments and heard reports from various agencies.

District 17 visitors included guests from Leadership Wayne, Wayne State College and Wayne High School on Tuesday; Representatives from Family, Career, Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) on Wednesday; and Leadership Dakota County and South Sioux City High School Student Council on Thursday.  Everyone has the opportunity to observe the Legislature in action from the balcony when they visit the Captol while we are in Session.  I was honored to have the Speaker of the Legislature recognize so many visitors from District 17 and to lunch with the Leadership Dakota County group.  If you or your group are planning a trip to the Capitol, please let my office know so that we can be sure to welcome you to the office and recognize you from the floor of the Legislature.

PROPERTY TAX RELIEF

There seems to be some misunderstanding about LB974, which is the Property Tax Relief Bill introduced and amended by the Revenue Committee.  I think it is extremely important that the people of District 17, and throughout the State, be given accurate information about how LB974 is designed to reduce the property tax burden with No New Taxes and replace it with State Aid to schools throughout the State.

First, the primary goal is to lower the property taxes for landowners throughout the state and to lower them with NO INCREASE IN TAXES.  This is accomplished by lowering the percentage of property valuations that can be taxed by local school districts over a 3-year period.  School districts currently levy the largest percentage of property taxes in both urban and rural areas.

Contrary to some naysayers, LB974 is designed to replace the decrease in property taxes schools collect by increasing State Aid to schools in order to make them whole, while protecting the Property Tax Credit Relief Fund that pays a portion of your property tax bill each year.  This includes a per student distribution to all schools. It includes foundation aid for every student in the state which will be approximately $2,300 per student in year 3.

Finally, LB974 is designed to encourage spending restraint at the local level by implementing commonsense policies to limit growth in school spending to economic realities such as growth in the Consumer Price Index plus real growth in population numbers.  This is not a cut to schools but an increase in State Aid designed to reduce school reliance on property taxes.  Remember, the State does NOT collect or spend property taxes. Naturally, local school districts are resistant to losing some of their taxing authority, but for the property tax relief plan to work, it is essential that each local government entity do its part by controlling spending, just like every family and business does, in accordance with its reasonable growth.

As you can see in the chart below, figures from the Fiscal Office addressing State Aid to schools in District 17 when LB974 was voted out of the Revenue Committee show some increases to make schools whole.  There are also provisions in place to draw from other funds should the impact on a school district be greater than anticipated.

The Bill and formula are somewhat complex but the goals are simple and the structure is designed to provide property tax relief and to provide our children with quality education, all without raising taxes.

While there may be changes to the complex formulas, the framework is reasonable and workable.  This is one reason I support LB974 in its current form and look forward to continuing to be a part of any work needed to make it even better.

As always, it is of great importance that I hear from my constituents to effectively do my job as your voice in the Legislature. I encourage you to contact me and I look forward to hearing from you.  You can reach me by phone at 402-471-2716 or by email at jalbrecht@leg.ne.gov