Special Session 2024 Recap

Governor Pillen’s call for a special session of the Legislature brought all 49 senators back to the Capitol from July 25 to August 20 for a (somewhat) focused property tax debate.

Senators took 17 legislative session days to review several iterations of property tax relief plans until finally settling on an amendment to LB34 to provide tax relief without enacting new taxes as was originally proposed by the governor.

The Lincoln Chamber was actively engaged in the debate. Our long-standing policy against tax shifts guided our efforts. The Chamber is committed to working to protect Lincoln taxpayers and our local/regional economy from the undue burden of tax shifts. Thanks to good efforts with many business and agri-business organizations, plans for raising taxes to lower taxes were turned back. We are proud of the work of Lincoln senators.

The main property tax relief proposal contained ideas that we and others have been suggesting and supporting for almost a year.

Key Provisions:

• LB34 redirects current property tax credits so that citizens receive direct relief on their local tax statement. Please note that this “relief” is provided by your own payments of income and sales taxes to the state. Still, at least the state is giving some of your money back and this method ensures all property owners benefit. This has been a part of discussions with the governor and senators since the first governor’s working group organized in 2023.
• Local spending caps with exemptions for public safety have been touted as a means for ensuring tax relief funds result in actual local relief, rather than supplemental funding.
• Additional funding for the expanded relief was paid for by state revenue growth and budget tightening in separate measures developed by the Appropriations Committee and Governor Pillen. Some of these measures were controversial, however, most senators supported them.

We extend a special thanks to our Lincoln Chamber members who engaged in the debate and provided insight into the impacts on business. We are proud to have worked with chambers and other business and agri-business organizations throughout the special session.