LINCOLN, Nebraska (Nebraska Examiner) – What was planned as a simple, rare Saturday session of the Nebraska Legislature began with surging emotions but ended with nice attempts by key senators to save the very legislation that had been jeopardized by their fight.

At the heart of the debate was Legislative Resolution 2CA, a constitutional amendment that would allow the legislature, if approved by voters, to establish a different home appraisal process. Most properties in Nebraska are appraised at 100% or nearly 100% of their actual market value, with the exception of agricultural land, which is currently appraised at 75%. Voters authorized the legislature to appraise agricultural land differently in 1984.

State Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth, a farmer, said he came up with the idea for LR 2CA while sitting on his tractor. He was frustrated with how “tightly locked” the Nebraska Constitution was and wanted to see a concrete change.

State Senator Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, chair of the Finance Committee, pointed out that in at least 19 states the value of residential property is different from that of other types of property.

“This is not a scam,” Brandt said on Thursday after his proposal was unanimously rejected by the Finance Committee. “It’s simply something the legislature can do.”

Debate postponed to Tuesday

Lawmakers left the session on Saturday without advancing the bill, but let it sluggishly continue through Tuesday with about an hour of debate remaining. That’s because, at Brandt’s request, lawmakers voted 25-7 to delay debate in order to gain more support and encourage more senators to participate.

Had Parliament been able to vote on the bill itself on Saturday, it would probably have needed 33 votes. Only 36 senators were present, and several of them opposed it, including some who voted to give Brandt a chance.

On Tuesday, Brandt will likely need 33 votes again (he would need 25 if the debate ended before the four hours were up). To pass in the final reading, the bill would need at least 30 votes to appear on the 2026 ballot and at least 40 votes to appear on the November 2024 ballot.

Brandt said he was not sure he would get 40 votes, but was more confident about the lower hurdle.

Speaker John Arch of La Vista confirmed that he will schedule LR 2CA for Tuesday. The earliest the final debate could take place is Thursday. If the tax package and budget-related bills pass on Tuesday, lawmakers could simply vote to go home and end the session.

“Choose from our friends”

The move was a strategy negotiated between Brandt, Linehan and Omaha State Senator Justin Wayne, who initially had tensions between them. Senator John Cavanaugh of Omaha made the main motion for the move on Tuesday.

Wayne was the first to speak on Saturday and drew a clear line by telling Brandt: “This is what happens when you play political games with people’s lives.”

On Friday, lawmakers fell one vote short of a procedural motion that would have led to a vote on the exemption of residential electricity from sales tax under Bill 3. Brandt was one of 17 senators who opposed Wayne’s procedural motion, which sought to challenge the relevance or usefulness of the amendment and the possibility of an amendment in Bill 3. Wayne had 21 co-sponsors, but he needed 22.

“Let’s just say ‘to hell with the individual’ and focus on profit instead of people, because that’s what we do,” Wayne said Saturday.

Linehan saw the anger directed at her too because she was “present and did not vote” in that fight over LB 3, not knowing that her vote could have been the deciding one. She said even if she had known, it might not have made a difference, since she was following the lead of Budget Committee Chairman Sen. Rob Clements of Elmwood.

“The hardest thing for us here is choosing between our friends,” said Linehan, visibly frustrated, wiping his eyes with a handkerchief as he spoke.

Wayne and Linehan, both elected in 2016, are in their final year in Parliament. They have been on opposite sides of many issues but are close friends and often help each other out, even when they are diametrically opposed.

This session, Wayne has fought to get the Legislature to pursue more than what is currently included in the core tax package, LB 34, even though he opposes the current version and also opposes the original package in LB 1 that Linehan introduced on behalf of Governor Jim Pillen.

Wayne helped delay debate to give Linehan and others time to negotiate. He helped draft ideas. He took political hits for them. Often it was his progressive colleagues who refused to back down.

Agricultural leaders need a partner

Linehan, who delivered an angry speech on the floor on Saturday, recounted how many times the legislature had supported agriculture in its eight years, only to find that several senators from more rural districts opposed LR 2CA.

“I’m not mad at anyone here today,” Linehan said. “I’m mad at the Farm Bureau, who texted us this morning saying 2CA is difficult for agriculture.”

Brandt said the organization told him Friday night it was in favor of his amendment, but by Saturday morning the Farm Bureau had changed its mind. He shared an email the organization sent to him and state Sen. Jana Hughes of Seward that Brandt said contained “fanciful numbers.”

Linehan pointed to a key property tax proposal that passed in 2020, LB 1107, where lawmakers were negotiating a three-year funding period at the state Capitol while the Farm Bureau was busy negotiating a deal with lobbyists for a five-year proposal. She said, “They threw us under the bus.”

This moment was not a one-time exchange, Linehan added, arguing that agriculture was “really lucky” and “the angels were on their side.”

She sees LR 2CA as an opportunity for agricultural interests to join forces with private landowners and find a “partner” that the Farm Bureau currently lacks. As a result, Linehan argued, agricultural land could soon be valued at 100% of its market value again.

“You have to understand, Ag: If you’re ever going to make a difference, you need a partner, and the partner you should be holding hands with is the homeowners,” Linehan said. “And if you’re not going to do that, I can’t feel sorry for you anymore.”

“Mole whacking” for other types of real estate

State Senator Mike Jacobson of North Platte on Friday reiterated criticism he had voiced for the measure, saying it was “far too early” and “not yet fully developed.”

Jacobson said LR 2CA does not have 40 votes and may not reach 33. He has promised to block the bill in any case to avoid unintended consequences.

“Without pay-for programs, it’s a gamble,” Jacobson said. “One goes up, others go down. One goes down, the other one or two classes (of property valuation) go up.”

Others, including State Senator Brad von Gillern of Elkhorn, vice chairman of the Finance Committee, raised similar concerns about tenants and multifamily housing in commercial properties.

After resolving their differences, Brandt and Wayne proposed using property tax credits to offset the cost of lower assessments on owner-occupied properties. They said this could be done now without a constitutional amendment. The same would be true for agricultural land, where counties are affected by a change in assessments, Brandt said.

A look into the future

Senators Julie Slama of Dunbar and Mike McDonnell of Omaha, who also won’t return to the Legislature next year, were divided on whether the special session should continue to discuss other ideas. Slama opposed LR 2CA, McDonnell supported it.

Slama said that success in agriculture often requires negotiations that include getting something to urban areas. She said the special session, in a compressed time frame of “11,” has cranked emotions up, but that if lawmakers fail, “it’s not because they didn’t try.”

“They are on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, but that does not diminish the sacrifices people make to be here,” Slama said of the session, referring to lawmakers who have personal health issues or who have to leave “sick” family members at home when they travel to Lincoln.

McDonnell said suggestions from Jacobson and others to wait until January were not good enough and that senators could not simply say, “We tried.” He suggested voting on various proposals after an hour of debate, and then if a bill does not get 33 votes, it is dead for the duration of the session.

“I don’t think we should stop until we’ve exhausted every idea and had every possible discussion, because if we say we’re going to wait until next year, there are people out there who can’t wait,” McDonnell said. “There are people out there making life-changing decisions today – where they’re going to live and what they’re going to eat.”

MPs will meet for a scrutiny day from 9am to 9.30am on Monday. Debate on LB 34 (the core tax package), LB 2 (budget cuts), LB 3 (cash transfers and fee increases) and LR 2CA is due to continue on Tuesday. Special sessions will continue until MPs vote to dismiss.

Homes nationwide

At 85%, Logan County has the highest homeownership rate of Nebraska’s 93 counties.

The other nine counties with the highest values ​​(all 83%) are:

• Mr Boyd.
• Checkout.
• Deuel.
• Franklin.
• Gosper.
• Greely.
• Harlan.
• Nance.
• Pawnee, is an American soldier.

Hooker County has the lowest homeownership rate at 45%.

The other nine lowest ranked counties are:

• Cherry (58%).
• Lancaster (59%).
• Thurston (61%).
• Douglas (62%).
• Hall (62%).
• Sioux (62%).
• Dawes (63%).
• Cheyenne (65%).
• Dakotas (65%).

Source: Legislative Research Office

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