Senators Continue to Work on Property Tax Relief

Dates of late-night sessions announced

State Director Bob Hallstrom reports from Lincoln on the small-business agenda for the legislative week ending April 12

With only one legislative bill involving extended debate during the past week, lawmakers were able to process a significant number of priority bills. With only 31 days remaining in the legislative session, just under 50 percent of the bills designated as priorities have advanced beyond the first stage of debate.

Speaker Jim Scheer (Norfolk) has released a schedule of “late night sessions,” in which floor debate generally continues until 9 p.m. or later to allow sufficient time for lawmakers to process the state budget and remaining priority bills. Late-night sessions have been scheduled for the following dates:

Monday, April 29
Tuesday, April 30
Wednesday, May 1
Tuesday, May 7
Wednesday, May 8
Thursday, May 9
Monday, May 13
Tuesday, May 14
Wednesday, May 15
Tuesday, May 21
Wednesday, May 22
Thursday, May 23
Tuesday, May 28
Wednesday, May 29
Thursday, May 30
Monday, June 3
Tuesday, June 4

Property Tax Relief Measure Being Formulated

The Revenue Committee met once again in an executive session on Wednesday evening to continue formulating its plan for property tax relief. While no votes have been taken to date, the property tax relief package unveiled in a presentation to the committee by Chairman Lou Ann Linehan (Elkhorn) and Sen. Mike Groene (North Platte) contains the following provisions:

Tax Increases

- increase the sales tax rate by at least .5 percent, to as much as one cent
- remove the sales tax exemption on pop and candy and plumbing and moving services
- increase the tax on cigarettes

Real Estate Property Tax Valuations

- reduce the valuation of agricultural land for property taxes from 75 percent to 65 percent
- reduce the valuation of commercial and residential property for property taxes from 100 percent to 90 percent

State Aid to Education

- provide foundation aid, per-pupil aid, to school districts through the school funding formula to provide state aid to a broader range of schools

The proposal would also designate revenues derived from the collection of sales taxes on internet purchases for the property tax relief package and utilize the current $224 million annual allocation to the Property Tax Credit Cash Fund to help offset costs associated with providing property tax relief.

Since the proposal contains provisions that have not received public input, a joint public hearing on the ultimate property tax relief proposal has been scheduled for hearing before the Revenue Committee, Education Committee and Retirement Committee on April 18 at 1 p.m.

Additional Funding for Property Tax Credit Advances

The Revenue Committee has advanced Legislative Bill 303 to General File. Introduced by Sen. Brett Lindstrom (Omaha), LB 303 would provide an additional $51 million in funding to the Property Tax Credit Cash Fund, increasing the annual amount of property tax relief to $275 million.

Bill to Allow Exchange of Employee Compensation Information Given Final Approval
The Legislature has given final approval to Legislative Bill 217, a measure introduced by Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks (Lincoln), which would make it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to retaliate against any of its employees or applicants for employment, because he or she has inquired about, discussed, or disclosed information regarding employee compensation.

NFIB played a key role in crafting amendments adopted during Select File debate to address liability and privacy concerns raised by those in the business community. The amendment clarifies that employers with fewer than 15 employees are exempt from the provisions of LB 217, and that there is no obligation for any employer or employee to disclose information regarding wages, benefits or other compensation. The amendment would also prohibit employees from discussing compensation information during working hours and prohibit the disclosure or dissemination of (a) proprietary information or trade secrets; or (b) compensation information of other employees to a competitor of the employer.

With the adoption of the amendment to LB 217, NFIB has removed its opposition to the legislation.

Unemployment Insurance Leave Amendment Dropped

A bill relating to unemployment insurance benefits for construction workers was given first-round approval this week. Legislative Bill 428, introduced by Sen. Curt Friesen (Henderson), would create an exemption for employees in the highway, street, and bridge construction industry from the requirements to actively search for work for a period of not less than 120 days.

While NFIB does not have a position on LB 428, when the bill was advanced from committee, it included an amendment containing the provisions of Legislative Bill 306, a measure that had previously been considered by the Legislature and which failed to receive approval after advancing to Final Reading. LB 306, as introduced by Sen. Sue Crawford (Bellevue), would treat an individual leaving his or her employment to care for a family member with a serious health condition as having good cause for voluntarily leaving employment under the Unemployment Insurance Act.

Earlier in the session, the Legislature adopted an amendment to address concerns raised by NFIB and other business representatives to ensure that an employee makes “all reasonable efforts (e.g., taking a leave of absence or considering an alternative work schedule) to preserve employment” prior to voluntarily leaving employment to care for a family member with a serious health condition. NFIB had opposed LB 306 in its original form but had taken a neutral position on the bill, as amended.

During floor debate, senators expressed concerns over the propriety of amending LB 306 into LB 428, and an amendment to strike the LB 306 provisions from the bill was adopted and LB 428 advanced to Select File.

Small Business Day at the Capitol

NFIB/Nebraska will co-sponsor a Small Business Day at the Capitol on April 17, in Lincoln.

NFIB’s co-sponsors are the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, the Lincoln Independent Business Association and Nebraskans For Workers’ Compensation Equity and Fairness.

Small Business Day gives NFIB members an opportunity to network with other small business owners. Gov. Pete Ricketts is expected to speak, and there will be a legislative briefing by state senators.

Click here to register for Small Business Day at the Capitol.