‘We are not his slaves’: Lawmakers demand respect before a property tax special session

State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha. Feb. 22, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

LINCOLN — Nebraska lawmakers blasted Gov. Jim Pillen on Tuesday night for his “blatant disrespect” to the Legislature in not yet formally calling a special session to address what many have called the state’s property tax “crisis.”

Pillen has said for a month that he intends to call senators back to Lincoln this Thursday to iron out property tax relief ideas. Most recently, he has said the “ Nebraska Plan ” he’s worked on throughout the summer would result in major savings to taxpayers, with up to 50% savings in property taxes for the average Nebraskan. Many senators have questioned whether that would be the case or if property tax savings would be undercut by a broadened sales tax base .

Lawmakers were unsuccessful in passing a previous Pillen-backed property tax plan during the regular legislative session, which ended April 18, so Pillen immediately pivoted to a special session for the summer. However, he hasn’t yet issued a proclamation to do so, as he is required to do under the Nebraska Constitution .

That document must specify when lawmakers are to return to Lincoln and for which topics legislation can be introduced.

‘We are not his slaves’

State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha wrote in an email to all 48 of his colleagues shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday that state government is composed of three independent branches, which should respect each other’s roles.

But with fewer than 48 hours until a special session, Wayne said, lawmakers didn’t have the necessary information to do their jobs.

“I am compelled to express my profound disappointment and frustration with the Governor’s blatant disrespect in failing to call a special session in a timely and responsible manner,” Wayne wrote.

“We are not his slaves to be summoned at his whim,” Wayne continued. “We have families and lives, and this lack of consideration is unacceptable.”

Wayne said that to solve the problem of rising property taxes, lawmakers must ensure they can collaborate effectively. He and other lawmakers, such as State Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar, have voiced concern that Pillen’s proclamation could exclude ideas they’re working on to overhaul the state’s tax system.

Among those are ideas to legalize and tax online sports betting or marijuana sales, which Wayne said he is considering bringing.

Slama has said she’s working on legislation but declined to share details.

Multiple senators have confirmed to the Nebraska Examiner that dozens of bills — more than 80 — are being prepped by legislative staff ahead of the special session.

Special session schedule

Pillen first issued a “ save-the-date ” on June 17 for the special session, to be held between July 26 and Aug. 15. A week later, he landed on July 25 as the starting date, and Speaker John Arch of La Vista offered a suggested schedule for the special session.

Under that schedule, lawmakers would introduce bills within the scope of Pillen’s call for three straight days this week, Thursday through Saturday. No bills could be introduced after that, per legislative rules .

Full-day hearings would start next Monday on the bills introduced.

“This issue of property tax has been something we’ve been working on for a long time, and not this session of the Legislature, but for a long time,” Arch said.

Wayne, chair of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, said that during regular legislative sessions, committee chairs provide a “basic level of respect” by working with other lawmakers to schedule hearings. Wayne said Arch also helps in providing advanced notice of daily agendas.

Regardless of if or when Pillen formally calls a special session, Wayne said, lawmakers should demand a week’s notice before a special session begins and otherwise should adjourn “sine die.” Such a vote requires a simple majority of those present to pass. If successful, it would send lawmakers home unless the governor chose to issue another call for a special session at a later date.

It’s unclear how many lawmakers will attend the first day of the session. Arch has been contacting lawmakers to ensure that at least 25 of the 49 senators show up to meet quorum.

Previous special sessions

Since 1940, considering 36 special sessions for the Unicameral, Nebraska governors have, on average, given at least seven days’ notice between when a proclamation is issued and the time senators are called to meet in Lincoln, according to the Legislature’s records.

Previous governors called lawmakers back just one day after issuing the proclamation three times: Gov. Bob Kerrey, in 1988, and Gov. Val Peterson, for two special sessions in 1952. Gov. Kay Orr gave the longest notice in 1988, at 37 days.

Former Gov. Pete Ricketts gave 17 days’ notice before the 2021 special session on redistricting; Gov. Dave Heinemann gave one week’s notice before a 2011 special session on oil pipelines.

“If that is too daunting for some,” Wayne continued, he suggested lawmakers should meet Thursday but at least recess until Aug. 1, giving senators one week to draft bills within the scope of the session.

“It is time we assert our independence and demand the respect we deserve,” Wayne said.

Speaker leaves scheduling door open

Arch agreed that any special session is a “serious sacrifice” for many senators who must earn a living outside of their elected duties as “citizen legislators” with annual salaries of $12,000.

Wayne, an attorney, noted that his trials and court hearings can’t proceed until an official “call” has been sent.

“He has points in what he brings out,” Arch said of Wayne.

Arch said lawmakers will “wait and see” for the proclamation, though they shouldn’t anticipate that the topics they’re working on related to property taxes will be excluded. Senators will police themselves in determining what is within the scope of the session, Arch previously told the Examiner.

Asked about Wayne’s suggested schedule, Arch left the door open. He wants to see what Pillen’s proclamation contains and what bills are introduced. He also wants to consider how any schedule change could further disrupt lawmakers’ lives.

“The further you push this out, the more weeks are impacted. We’ll have to make that call,” he said.

Arch described Pillen’s outlined property tax proposal as a “framework” that doesn’t have all the details and said that will certainly be part of the discussion in solving “the property tax crisis.”

The speaker said many Legislatures have come up to the plate to address that crisis but backed away because reforms always involve “very politically difficult decisions.”

“Decisions that affect a large number of people that, unless you see the big picture, and if you’re only focusing on one piece of the plan and not the whole picture, it’s just very different,” Arch said. “It’s just very easy to just say, ‘No. No, that’s a bad idea.’”

But put together, Arch said, the ideas could provide a way forward.

“Maybe we can come together and have some significant impact,” he continued.

Lawmakers echo criticisms

State Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard was among a handful of lawmakers to voice support for Wayne’s suggestions, adding that “perhaps after Labor Day” would work to reconvene.

State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha thanked Wayne “for expressing so clearly what many are feeling.” She led a group of lawmakers in hosting public listening sessions in Omaha and Lincoln last Sunday and Monday after Pillen hosted town halls in 26 smaller cities across the state.

“I would welcome the opportunity to adjourn after the first day until such time that our deliberative body had appropriate notice for undertaking a special session,” Cavanaugh wrote.

Slama said she “entirely” agreed with Wayne and said the “lack of transparency and timeliness” had “compromised the integrity of the Legislature as a co-equal branch of government.”

“It is incumbent upon Speaker Arch, as the leader of this branch of government, to demand the minimal level of respect of having enough time to draft bills to properly conduct the special session,” Slama wrote back. “The integrity of the institution depends on it.”

State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, who has served in three special sessions during her tenure, said the governor is “well within his legal right” to delay calling the session until the last possible moment, though it might not be a “recipe for success.”

She cautioned that now is not the time for “creative procedural distractions” that, while important, could reflect poorly on the institution.

Conrad said procedural options should remain on the table for the future but told her colleagues they shouldn’t back away from a plan that she believes “will collapse naturally under its own weight when subjected to public analysis and engagement.”

“I look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate that indeed our Founders were right to be skeptical of an all powerful Executive and democracy should remain inconvenient to bad ideas.”

Pillen’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the emails.

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