It's going to be "something done for everybody," or nothing gets done when the Legislature reconvenes later this month and confronts a trio of major issues, including proposed property tax relief, Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn said Wednesday.Â
The fate of three big bills will be at stake, Linehan said during a webinar hosted by the Platte Institute that featured a question-and-answer session with the chairwoman of the Legislature's Revenue Committee.
None of the three proposals can command the 33 votes that would be required to break the bill loose from the grip of a filibuster, she said, so the fate of each may depend now on a package deal.
"It's the way you get it done," Linehan said.
* LB1106 would provide $520 million in local property tax relief by lowering valuations and increasing state aid to schools.
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* LB720 would enact a new business investment tax incentive program to replace the Nebraska Advantage Act, which expires at the end of the year.
* LB1084 would commit the state to provide $300 million in funding to help build a blockbuster $2.6 billion center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center to respond to national health threats and crises if the federal government chooses UNMC to perform that task.
Linehan said a group of 10 senators has been meeting quietly to seek a property tax compromise agreement.
"People are resistant to change," she said in discussing opposition to the current property tax relief proposal voiced by school representatives, much of which is directed at proposed school spending restraints.
Linehan acknowledged that she finds the somewhat unexpected opposition from small schools in rural areas to be "very frustrating."
"The tax burden on all Nebraskans is too high," she said, and property taxes are "way too high."
If the current property tax proposal is blocked by the Legislature during its concluding days, Linehan said, "I don't have a Plan B."
Linehan said she is "not a fan" of the state's property tax credit fund, which has served as the fallback vehicle for recent property tax reduction.
"It's not working," she said. "Property taxes go up faster than the credit."
Linehan said the state needs "a complete overhaul of our tax structure."
With a proposal to authorize casino gambling at Nebraska race tracks likely to be on the general election ballot in November, Linehan said, voters may be tempted to support the issue now because it would direct 70% of the proceeds from an accompanying gaming tax to the state's property tax credit fund.
"Many more conservative people today are ready to give in to gambling because they're tired of taxes," she said.
However, she noted, the expanded gambling proposal is going to run into opposition from "a very strong personality named Tom Osborne."
The gambling issue is awaiting certification for inclusion on the November ballot while the secretary of state's office determines whether petitions contain the required number of valid signatures.Â