August 9, 2024

​​2024 Special Session

​Legislature Adjourns to Rework Tax Package

The Nebraska Legislature adjourned Thursday afternoon and is expected to reconvene at 1:00 p.m. on Monday. This came unexpectedly, as the Legislature was originally set to debate all day on Friday and Saturday of this week.
 
The Revenue Committee worked on Monday and Tuesday to craft a compromise amendment for the overall tax plan. LB 1, introduced by Senator Lou Ann Linehan (Elkhorn) on behalf of Governor Jim Pillen, represented the original plan. Due to amendments and motions filed on LB 1, the Revenue Committee now plans to use LB 9 as the primary vehicle to accomplish property tax relief. LB 9 was introduced by Senator Jana Hughes (Seward) and would have reduced the maximum levy authority for school districts from $1.05 to $0.25 per $100 of taxable valuation and made other adjustments to the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act (TEEOSA) formula. It is expected that LB 9 will combine many of the provisions of LB 1 and a handful of other bills when the Revenue Committee finally votes to advance the measure.
Initially, the committee amendment to LB 9 was expected to be released and voted on when the Legislature convened on Wednesday. However, due to delays in drafting, it was not released until late Wednesday evening. The amendment was then sent back for corrections on Thursday morning while the Legislature engaged in a heated debate over both the procedures and substance of the 2024 Special Session. In a surprise to many, Senator Linehan moved to adjourn the Legislature until Monday due to the lack of consensus around the tax package. The Revenue Committee will continue to work with other members of the Legislature to reach a compromise on the plan.
 
In its most recent form, the committee amendment to LB 9 has the main components of LB 1 and LB 9, which include caps on city, village, and county spending, elimination of sales tax exemptions, enactment of new sales taxes on services, and state funding to school districts with a corresponding reduction in the levy from $1.05 to $0.25. A detailed summary of the most recent draft of the LB 9 committee amendment can be found here.

Full-Text PDF