Hello Neighbor,

This past week, as a member of the Education Committee, I was able to join the Revenue Committee and the Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee for a joint hearing to hear testimony on the proposed property tax relief plan. It was a very spirited hearing, going until almost 11:00 that night.

Under the proposed plan, state sales taxes would rise ½ of a percent to 6%. The plan also removes some sales tax exemptions on certain products and services. The money raised would go to property tax relief. Most of the relief is done through increased state aid to school districts. Every school district would get a certain amount of “foundation aid”, increasing the amount of state aid to many districts across the state. Since the state would be supplying more funding to the school districts, the districts would need less money from property taxes.

Further property tax relief is brought through reduced property valuations for tax purposes. Agricultural and horticultural land would be lowered from the current 75% to 65% of their assessed value. Residential and commercial property would be lowered from the current 100% to 90% of their value.

Spending growth for school districts will also be capped by the inflation rate. Schools will not be allowed to increase spending by more than the inflation rate or 2.5%, whichever is lower.

The Revenue Committee met the day after the hearing to discuss many of the concerns that were brought up. They worked hard to develop a comprehensive property tax relief package to present this session. I look forward to discussing their proposal on the floor in front of the full Legislature. As a body, we have a large task in front of us.

Since our last update, we also passed the Hemp Act through the first two rounds of voting. I was proud to be a cosponsor of this important legislation. By giving producers the option to grow hemp we are opening the opportunities for new commercial markets and growth in our state.The bill still needs to pass one more round of voting and be signed by the Governor.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact my office by phone at 402-471-2732, by email at dmurman@leg.ne.gov, or on my Facebook page.