Nebraska Update

Sen.Jen Day introduced a bill during Friday’s special session that would force the sale of the state plane Gov. Jim Pillen uses to get around the state. According to flight logs, on July 25, the first day of the special session, Pillen took three flights connecting Lincoln, Beatrice and Nebraska City. Day said selling the $3.6 million plane would provide additional money for the state’s general fund. That money, she said, could be put toward property tax relief or other purposes.

Senators began a special session of the Nebraska Legislature devoted to property taxes by introducing a variety of proposals.

A Federal district court in Missouri ordered Thursday that the Biden Administration’s rule protecting transgender youth from discrimination not be enforced. Earlier this spring, Nebraska’s attorney general Mike Hilgers and five other state’s attorneys general filed a lawsuit asking the court to stop a new regulation by the U.S. Department of Education.

Nebraska voters could decide whether to legalize online sports betting in the state this November, thanks to legislation introduced in the special legislative session dedicated to lowering state property taxes. Thursday morning, Sen. Elliot Bostar put forth a bill and constitutional amendment that would put legalization on the November ballot. It will advance if 60% of the legislature is in favor.

Both campaigns in the U.S. Senate race between Deb Fischer and Dan Osborn have very different perspectives on where things stand. An internal poll from the Fischer campaign found the senator has a 26-percentage point lead over Osborn, while a poll from the Osborn campaign showed the candidates tied at 42% each. According to the latest fundraising numbers, the Fischer campaign has more cash on hand, but Osborn raised more than his opponent in the last three months.

The Nebraska Legislature is set to begin a special session on property taxes, amidst uncertainty over the outcome.

Nebraska’s Department of Environment and Energy is receiving $307 million from the EPA. Nebraska Public Media’s Sarah Lawlor reports on the funds.

Soil science is a relatively new field and becoming more critical in the work to keep soil healthy and productive. The discovery of century-old soil samples at a land-grant university could offer big clues into how soil has changed over time.

A dozen state senators from a variety of political perspectives hosted a listening session on property taxes in Lincoln Monday evening. The event comes ahead of a likely special legislative session devoted to reducing property taxes in Nebraska. Gov. Jim Pillen has said he wants to reduce property taxes by at least 40% by having the state pay for K-12 schools and eliminating some sales tax exemptions.

Most people who attended an Omaha townhall about property taxes agreed they're a big problem, but there was little agreement about what should be done.