Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
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Last Thursday an Interim Study was conducted at the Capitol in Lincoln on LR357. According to Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue, the sponsor of the legislation, the purpose of the study was "to determine to what extent, if any, there is a necessity to bolster election security in the State of Nebraska." To be sure, Nebraskans need to have confidence that their elections are secure and that the vote counting process accurately reflects the will of the people. The two recent assassination attempts...
This week I want to continue my explanation of LB 34 and what it means to you as a property tax payer. Three lawmakers, Sen. Steve Halloran (LD33), Sen. Justin Wayne (LD13), and myself did a press release last week, alerting members of the public to the fact that taxpayers will not be able to claim their property tax credit for their 2023 property taxes paid. That press release got the attention of the members of the Legislature's Revenue Committee and the Nebraska Department of Revenue, who...
As you may recall, I have written about the not-so-special legislative session in some of my recent articles. For the past week I have been researching the implementation of LB 34, the so-called property tax relief bill that was passed during the special session of the Legislature in August. As I have read and reread that legislation, it has become apparent to me that the legislature, including me, missed an important piece about how that bill would be implemented. The special session started...
Because the Nebraska State Legislature failed to pass any kind of meaningful and significant property tax relief during the special session, and because Nebraska now ranks as the second worst state in the nation for mortgage delinquencies, today I would like to inform the public about a significant development in the courts which now affects those with delinquent property tax liens. According to Nebraska State Statute 77-1801, the properties of those with delinquent property tax bills can be sol...
As I write this article it is the 14th day of the Unicameral Legislature's special session for property tax relief and it is still ongoing. 81 bills have been introduced during the special session to deal with taxes while 24 resolutions have been introduced to change the Nebraska State Constitution. Each one of these bills and resolutions has had a public hearing. Most of these bills were referenced to the Legislature's Revenue Committee. So, the members of the Revenue Committee combined several...
The Governor's new property tax relief plan for the special session is in deep trouble. Last Thursday the Legislature voted to adjourn until Monday, August 12, in order to fix several problems in the bill and to garner more support for it. LB9 along with AM51 is getting tossed about like a wave of the sea without enough votes to get it passed. It is not my intention today to sink the Governor's property tax relief bill; instead, I want to save it. Last Thursday I offered Nebraska State Senators...
On July 30 a public hearing was held at the State Capitol in Lincoln on LB 16. LB 16 is the latest and most updated version of the EPIC Option Consumption Tax, which I introduced for the special session of the Legislature. According to the Governor's proclamation only bills which focus on property tax relief may be considered for the special session. The public hearing was outstanding for the EPIC Option Consumption Tax. One member of the Revenue Committee commented afterwards that nearly 100 pr...
The special session of the State Legislature has now begun. The first three days of the session were devoted to bill introduction. Gov. Pillen introduced his property tax relief plan first. I followed him shortly thereafter with the introduction of four pieces of legislation for the EPIC Option Consumption Tax. Today I would like to provide readers with my own analysis of the Governor's property tax relief plan by comparing it to the EPIC Option Consumption Tax plan. The Governor's property tax...
Two ballot measures will appear on your ballot in November which would legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. The first initiative would make it legal for physicians to prescribe medical cannabis, while the second initiative would regulate the dispensing of the drug. The reason for two separate ballot initiatives has to do with the single subject rule stipulated in the Nebraska State Constitution, which states in Article III, Section 2 that “Initiative measures shall contain only one s...
I imagine that most readers are expecting me to write this week about the upcoming special session of the State Legislature. The Governor has not yet formally called for a special session of the Legislature and his plan for property tax relief remains under construction. When news becomes available, about a special session or about his plan for property tax relief, I will be sure to let the readership know. I am committed to keeping the folks of Western Nebraska informed about state news. When i...
Today it is with great disappointment that I must report that the EPIC Option Consumption Tax team did not meet the required signature count to place our two initiatives for constitutional amendments on the November general election ballot. While the team met the first goal of securing signatures from at least five percent of registered voters in 38 counties, the team fell short of the second requirement of securing signatures from ten percent of the registered voters statewide. I would like to...
Are you satisfied with your property valuation? The time has come to revolt. Nebraskans will never be heard until we collectively decide to protest our valuations. Protesting valuations is the most cost-efficient way to lead a tax rebellion. Therefore, I want to encourage every property owner in Nebraska to file a protest. Form 422 be delivered in person to the county clerk or mailed with a postmark no later than June 30, 2024. Instructions for filing and Form 422 can be found on the Nebraska...
Did your property assessment go down this year? Perhaps you are one of the very rare Nebraskans who by chance received an equivalent valuation as last year or even a slight reduction. Once again, this year's valuation notices aptly demonstrate how broken our tax system is. The process of valuating properties in Nebraska is completely subjective. There simply is no uniform, objective methodology for valuating properties. County assessors determine the value of properties as they see fit, and...
Nebraskans are now receiving their new property valuation notices in the mail. As a result, many Nebraskans are suffering from sticker shock once they see how much the value of their property has increased since last year. Mine, for example, went up forty percent! Other property owners are seeing their valuations increase by as much as fifty percent. What these property valuation notices demonstrate is how broken Nebraska's tax system is. To be sure, you can bet your last dollar that the tax...
How many American flags have ever flown on the moon? If you answered, six, you are correct. Each lunar American flag was made of nylon material and was fixed to an aluminum telescoping pole. These flags came in a special kit which were carried on the outside of the Apollo Lunar Module on the descent ladder and were stored inside an insulated tubular case to protect them from the heat of the exhaust, which could reach temperatures up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of the flags measured 3 X 5 f...
On May 30, 2024, a jury in a New York courtroom read the verdict, convicting the former President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Trump 's lawyers will appeal the case and the decision will likely get overturned by a higher court. This decision should get overturned because it represents one of the biggest travesties of justice ever to come out of an American courtroom. I call this a travesty of justice because nobody, not even the...
Jesus once said, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends," John 15:13. I am not trying to get religious, but this is the expected principle to live by when you serve as a chaplain in the military. Of course, that principle is much easier said than done. Nevertheless, four Army chaplains once displayed this kind of love and courage during the days of WWII, so today I would like to recall their story. The SS Dorchester had been requisitioned as a troop...
One of the questions we often receive about the EPIC Option Consumption Tax concerns the two ballot initiatives. Many folks ask us, "How is the petition drive doing?" Today I am prepared to give an update and I have some very good news to report. The EPIC Option Consumption Tax currently has two petition drives running concurrently to put two separate ballot initiatives on the ballot for the voters to decide on November 5. The first ballot initiative would eliminate all taxes other than...
On Friday May 3, 2024 citizens concerned about Nebraska’s overly burdensome tax system packed the Warner Chamber at the Nebraska State Capitol Building in Lincoln to hear an honest debate and exchange of ideas about the EPIC Option Consumption Tax. While we invited numerous representatives from those organizations who openly oppose the EPIC Option Consumption Tax, such as the Open Sky Institute, the State Chamber of Commerce, the League of Municipalities, the Nebraska Farm Bureau, and No New T...
One of the most important bills that I ever introduced in my career as a Nebraska State Senator was my destroyed property bill, originally LB 482. The contents of that bill were later amended into LB 512 and passed as a Christmas Tree bill back in 2019. The bill enables landowners with destroyed or damaged properties to have their valuations readjusted for property tax purposes, provided that the damage exceeds 20 percent of the property’s value during the current assessment year and the p...
April 18th was the last day of the 108th Legislature and marked the end of my days as a legislator, even though my term won't officially expire until January 5 of next year. For those who may be wondering about my future in politics, I have no plans to return to the Unicameral Legislature, except for a possible special session later this year; however, it has been a pleasure to represent the good people of Legislative District 47 for the past eight years. I never anticipated the depth of the...
April 18th was the final day of the 108th Legislature. This was the shorter 60-day session and, save for a special session of the Legislature later this summer, this completes my tenure as a Nebraska State Senator. It has been a pleasure for me to serve the good people of Legislative District 47 for the past eight years. When I came into the Unicameral Legislature eight years ago my number one goal was to provide the people of Nebraska with meaningful and significant property tax relief. First,...
On the 58th day of this year's shorter 60-day legislative session Nebraska State Senators debated the Governor's actual tax plan. That plan was amended into the Revenue Committee's shell bill (LB 388) with an amendment (AM 3468). I have been saying throughout the legislative session that the Governor's plan would not deliver 40 percent property tax relief, as per his promise, and that amendment only proved my point when the bill advanced to Final Reading late last Wednesday night. The Governor...
Last Wednesday was a very busy day at the Capitol in Lincoln. Every State Senator's phone and email lit up with messages concerning LB 764, a bill commonly referred to as the "Winner Take All" bill. Nebraska is one of only two states which splits its electoral college votes during a presidential election. Current Nebraska State law allows voters to choose one presidential elector for each of Nebraska's three congressional districts and for two additional presidential electors to be chosen at lar...
When it comes to the generation of power, Nebraska does a lot of things right. Nebraska ranks as the number one state in the nation for residential electricity reliability, and Nebraska ranks as the fifth best state in the Union for the overall cost of electricity. Electrical utilities in Nebraska are completely owned by the public; there are no privately owned power companies in Nebraska. Nebraska has been a leader in power generation ever since the State Legislature passed its first public pow...
