Nebraska’s special legislative session is high on conflict, low on progress to ease property taxes

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — In the more than three weeks since the Nebraska Legislature kicked off its special session aimed at cutting property taxes, lawmakers have seen long days and plenty of conflict but few results.

The special session has featured several filibusters and days that have stretched more than 12 hours. Democratic Sen. Justine Wayne at one point called the Speaker of the Legislature a dictator. Republican Sen. Steve Erdman declared during an attempt to steamroll legislative rules that lawmakers “can do whatever we want with 25 votes.”

“This entire process has been like a firestorm,” said Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha, a Democrat in the officially nonpartisan Legislature.

Republican Gov. Jim Pillen called the special session last month after the Legislature failed to pass his proposed plan to cut property taxes by an average of 40% during the regular session. The move came as soaring home and land prices in the state have led to ballooning property tax bills for homeowners and farmers alike.

Pillen’s proposals included mid-year budget cuts to state agencies, tax levying caps on local governments and a shift to expand the sales tax base and create a number of excise taxes, including those on liquor, cigarettes and CBD products. He has promised to keep calling lawmakers back into session “through Christmas” if they fail to pass significant property tax relief.

But by Monday, of the more than 100 proposals introduced, the only ones that had real traction included a stripped-down bill that would cap some local governments’ tax levies and automatically allot an already existing property tax credit, as well as two companion bills to pay the nearly $140 million cost.

That amounts to about 3% of the property tax savings Pillen had sought — well below the increase many property owners are currently seeing, said Erdman.

“Most people’s property tax is going up 10%, 12%, 15% this year, but we’re going to give you relief of 3%,” Erdman said.

In a mid-session letter, Pillen called lawmakers opposed to his plan obstructionists, prompting angry responses from lawmakers on both ends of the political spectrum.

Democratic Sen. Danielle Conrad called his threats to keep lawmakers in session and his attempts to force through his plan at the exclusion of others “an abuse of power.”

Republican Sen. Julie Slama dubbed the governor “King Jimmy” in scathing social media posts.

“We should be expanding homestead exemptions, freezing valuations and capping spending — but those ideas are ignored,” Slama said. “Pillen doesn’t profit enough from those.”

The highly-charged summer session interrupted family vacations, disrupted the medical treatment of lawmakers dealing with cancer and other maladies and altered the back-to-school plans of legislators and staff with young children.

The tension at times has been reminiscent of that seen during the highly contentious 2023 session, when conservative lawmakers’ push to restrict health care for transgender minors and abortion access led a minority group of Democratic lawmakers to filibuster nearly every bill of the session — even ones they supported.

“The wheels are falling off this special session and they are falling off fast,” Slama said. “We are so past being capable as a legislature of passing a bill with 33 votes that makes any sizable impact for property tax payers.”

The special session was set to convene again Tuesday to debate the final rounds of the main property tax bills.