Pillen says the next property tax push can wait for January

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen says he has no plans to call the legislature back into special session this year to consider additional property tax relief after final passage Tuesday of a pared-down proposal.

Rather than rush lawmakers back to Lincoln for more changes yet this year, as the governor discussed during bill negotiations, he said he would wait until the next regular session begins in January.

He also repeated his stance that he does not expect to call a special session for shifting the state's method of awarding Electoral College votes to winner-take-all unless something changes. Right now, he said, the proposal does not have the votes to pass.

Pillen pushed back on criticism by some senators who said he shouldn't have called them into special session July 25 if he didn't have the votes for his proposals. He said he understands his plans need more support.

"I think we know where we're at," Pillen said during a break in a pardons' board meeting. "We've all got to just kind of come together, and (we) plan on working with the new body after the first of the year."

Turning to voters for help

For him, the focus now shifts to engaging Nebraska voters in the November election. He said he wants people to send more conservatives to the legislature.

Pillen's political operation has spent months encouraging donors to give money to his campaign and political action committees so he can help more legislative candidates of his choosing.

Some GOP campaigns have complained that he has made fundraising harder for candidates and campaigns, because more than a few top donors are being told to funnel their political giving through him.

A first step forward

Pillen told the Examiner he is treating Legislative Bill 34 and the progress senators made this summer as a "first step forward."

The bill accelerates an existing income tax credit for property taxes paid, pulling forward the amount of money from the credit and applying it up front to people's property tax bills.

"It's obviously a step in the right direction - 55 or 45 percent of Nebraskans are going to have a 20 percent property tax reduction and won't need an accountant to get it," Pillen said.

The governor said he also appreciated LB 34's new spending caps on local government, which he called an important move toward controlling local spending he says is driving property taxes higher.

"Those are key," he said.

The caps have carve-outs for public safety spending that makes up the bulk of local spending, but they limit spending ranging from roads and potholes to parks and libraries.

He says more caps needed

Pillen said yes when asked directly if he still plans to pursue fuller state funding of K-12 education and harder caps on K-12 education spending in the next legislative session.

Both have to happen to make a dent in property taxes, he said.

"It's a critical piece of it," he said. "I think it's fundamental that we work to make sure the state is funding K-12 education and not property taxpayers."

Defenders of public education and local government have said the caps on local spending risk quality education and public services because governments won't be able to keep pace with needs.

Opponents of the caps fought instead to change Pillen's original plan to more broadly expand the state sales tax to more items, including some that touched agriculture.

The Nebraska State Education Association and others have said they know Pillen won't back down, and said they will be ready to remind Nebraskans of the value of local control.