Property tax relief bill in Nebraska Legislature advances to final round

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Senators voted Thursday to advance a bill that would gradually increase the amount of state property tax credits given to landowners.

Legislative Bill 243, which was introduced by Sen. Tom Briese, was advanced to the final round of debate with a 41-0 vote.

The bill includes a 3% cap on the total revenue growth of school district spending.

Briese filed an amendment, which would make exceptions for rapidly growing school districts. 

He said the cap can be exceeded by several factors.

“One factor is student enrollment growth,” Briese said. “If they have revenue growth of 4%, they can exceed that 3% with another 4%.”  

But even with the amendments, those who oppose the bill – including the OpenSky Policy Insitute – still have some concerns.  They said each district has its own circumstances.

“Once these caps come into place,” Rebecca Firestone said, “some school districts may find that they have challenges in sort of managing their revenue flows, even with the new amount of education funding coming in.”

Gov. Jim Pillen, who supports the bill, has previously said the measure would be part of the largest package of tax cuts in state history.