Legislator assesses State of State address

On Thursday of this past week, Governor Pillen delivered his State of the State address. The governor began his speech by thanking members of law enforcement, first responders and road crews who have worked countless hours in recent days in the brutal winter weather conditions across the state. He next touched on his priorities for this year, which included property tax relief, reducing the regulatory burden of state government and protecting Nebraska from foreign adversaries. He lent support to several legislative proposals, including ones which would cut the number of boards and commissions, provide incentives for Nebraska companies, amend Nebraska’s tax structure and modernize existing statutes restricting foreign land ownership, among others.

I anticipate efforts to try to deliver property tax relief will be among the most contentious issues of this year. The governor highlighted a proposal by Sen. Dover, which would front-load property tax credits so property taxpayers will see them directly on their property tax statements instead of having to go through the process to claim them through their income taxes months later. This proposal follows reports from last fall when the Department of Revenue announced that over $200 million in property tax credits went unclaimed. Other proposals spotlighted by the governor include a hard cap on local government spending and eliminating various sales-tax exemptions on goods and services, such as candy and accounting services. I believe all options currently on the table need to be considered. When I meet with constituents, property taxes are among the top issues I continually hear about.

The governor also highlighted his recommended adjustments to the biennial state budget as well as his suggestions for spending the remaining unallocated American Rescue Plan Act money. Included in his proposal is a $25 million investment in rural workforce housing, incentives for child care provided by employers, exempting Nebraska National Guard members from income taxes and transferring $87 million in unused and reallocated ARPA funds to deal with inflation upping the cost of state highway construction projects. The governor’s budget recommendations would result in a net General Fund increase of $14.6 million in fiscal year 2023-24 and a net General Fund appropriation reduction of $34.1 million in fiscal year 2024-25. The ending General Fund balance of $674.6 million for the 2023-2025 biennium would exceed the minimum three percent General Fund reserve requirement of $331.6 million.

This past week, the legislature also continued debate on the rules. The first half of the week was spent debating the remainder of the 12 proposals that were advanced from the Rules Committee on a unanimous 5-0 vote. A three-fifths majority, or 30 senators, is required to amend the rules of the legislature on the floor. Several proposals adopted include requiring grammatical and technical changes to a bill be adopted before other amendments can be made during Select File, treating transfers to or from the Cash Reserve Fund the same as an appropriations bill, which are held until late in the session before being passed, and increasing the threshold for the number of senators needed to remove a bill from the consent calendar from three members to five members. The majority of these changes were technical or cleanup in nature, so I voted in support.

Senators then began debating the five proposals that advanced from the Rules Committee on a divided vote. One amendment to the rules by Sen. Erdman proposed to change the voting process for the election of committee chairs from a secret ballot to a roll call vote. Arguments for the rule change included increased transparency, but opponents expressed concern that it will cause senators to vote along party lines instead of for the most qualified person. After several hours of debate, this proposal failed on a 26-16 vote.

With the conclusion of rules debate on Friday, senators will spend the next several weeks debating bills and resolutions in the morning and participating in committee hearings in the afternoons. I would encourage people interested in specific bills introduced this year to consider testifying at the Capitol in Lincoln. Additionally, once a bill has been scheduled, members of the public can search for that bill on the Legislature’s website and submit a public comment. Comments submitted by 8 a.m., on the morning of that bill’s public hearing can become a part of the hearing record.

Contact me at any time; I always appreciate hearing from you. Call my Capitol office telephone number at 402-471-2801 or send email to [email protected]. My mailing address is: Senator Barry DeKay, District #40, P.O. Box 94604, State Capitol, Lincoln, NE 68509.