Housing assistance for abuse survivors clears first round

A measure that would increase taxes on Nebraska real estate transactions to help meet the immediate housing needs of sex trafficking and domestic violence survivors was expanded and advanced from the first round of debate March 19.

Currently, counties collect a documentary stamp tax on the transfer of real estate at a rate of $2.25 for each $1,000 in value. Counties remit all but 50 cents of each $2.25 collected to the state treasurer, who credits the proceeds to affordable housing and other programs.

LB78, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Eliot Bostar, would increase the rate to $2.32 for each $1,000 in value and direct the additional proceeds to a new fund administered by the state Department of Health and Human Services.

The department would use the funding to provide housing-related assistance, including rental and utility payments, for survivors of domestic violence and sex trafficking based on a formula it would create. The department could contract with qualifying nonprofit organizations to provide the assistance.

Bostar said the proposal would alleviate a current bottleneck at shelters, saving lives and decreasing the risk that survivors and their families become homeless.

“If victims don’t have a safe place to go, our other efforts to keep them safe will fall short,” he said.

LB78 would allow the department to distribute excess funds to certified organizations serving domestic violence or sex trafficking survivors to acquire or build housing for survivors.

The state Department of Revenue estimates that the 7-cent increase would generate $830,000 for the program’s cash fund in fiscal year 2025-26, $1.1 million in FY2026-27 and $1.2 million in FY2027-28.

Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln supported the bill, saying it would raise a relatively modest amount of funds to address an urgent problem.

“If you’re able to provide individuals a place to go after they’ve experienced these situations … it allows them oftentimes to live outside of that cycle and then break that cycle of abuse,” he said.

Elkhorn Sen. R. Brad von Gillern, Revenue Committee chairperson, also supported the measure. He said the 7-cent documentary stamp tax increase would add approximately $19 to the closing costs on a $270,000 home.

“The committee felt that this was a compelling enough matter to … go against the current norm, and that is not increasing any fees or taxes,” von Gillern said.

Sen. Dunixi Guereca of Omaha introduced an amendment to include provisions of his LB159, under which Nebraska courts could consider a defendant’s status as a survivor of sex trafficking, domestic violence or abuse when determining sentences.

The amendment would not require judges to reduce a sentence based on those factors, he said.

Lincoln Sen. Carolyn Bosn supported LB78 and the amendment. She said Nebraska has seen a series of “absolutely horrifying” domestic assaults and murder-suicides in recent months.

“Efforts like this, where we are acknowledging the problem and trying to address the problem in a respectful way, I think we all have to get behind,” Bosn said. “In this particular case, I think the good far outweighs any of those negative impacts of a 7-cent increase on a doc stamp.”

After voting 33-2 to adopt Guereca’s amendment, lawmakers advanced LB78 to select file on a vote of 43-0.