Property tax measure amended, advanced to final round
Property tax measure amended, advanced to final round
A scaled-down property tax reduction measure that would limit annual increases in local governments’ property tax asking advanced to final reading Aug. 16 after lawmakers amended it to modify the cap.
As amended on general file, LB34, introduced by Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, would create a program to “frontload” state funding currently allocated to a refundable income tax credit against school district property taxes paid.
The bill would allow city, county and village property tax request authority to increase by the product of two factors:
• the amount of property taxes levied in the prior year increased by a growth percentage reflecting total property valuation increases due to new construction, improvements and certain other changes, minus any exceptions used; and
• the greater of zero or the annual percentage change in a price index that tracks state and local government expenditures.
One of several exceptions to the proposed limit would allow a political subdivision to increase its property tax request authority by an amount approved by a majority of voters at the next regularly scheduled election.
On select file, Elkhorn Sen. Lou Ann Linehan introduced an amendment that, among other technical changes, also would allow the issue to go before voters at a special election called for that purpose in odd-numbered years.
Sen. Jana Hughes of Seward supported the amendment, saying the majority of Nebraska counties currently hold elections only in even-numbered years.
The amendment was adopted on a vote of 37-11.
Linehan introduced another amendment that she said would allow LR2CA, a proposed constitutional amendment sponsored by Plymouth Sen. Tom Brandt, to be placed on the November 2024 ballot if approved by the Legislature during the special session.
Under Brandt’s proposal, voters could amend the state constitution to allow the Legislature to provide that owner-occupied housing constitutes a separate and distinct class of property for purposes of taxation and provide for a different method of taxing it than other types of property.
The presiding officer ruled that Linehan’s amendment was not germane to the underlying bill. She challenged the ruling, but her motion to overrule the chair was defeated on a 15-30 vote.
Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha also offered an amendment under which the second factor in the property tax request authority calculation would be the greater of 2.5% — rather than zero — or the percentage change in the index, a change he said would give local governments greater flexibility.
The amendment failed on a vote of 18-27.
After four hours of select file debate, Brewer offered a motion to invoke cloture, which ends debate and forces a vote on the bill and any underlying motions and amendments. The motion succeeded on a vote of 41-7. Thirty-three votes were needed.
Lawmakers then voted 39-8 to advance LB34 to final reading.
