News
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE, April 29, 2019
Death & Taxes Three things are certain in life: death, taxes and change. You can't avoid change, it's mandatory. Progress however is optional." - Unknown DEATH Sen. Chambers introduced LB44, his latest attempt to abolished the death penalty. In 2015, the senator...
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE, April 22, 2019
Serenity Now! Revenue Committee Chair, Lou Ann Linehan, stepped-up her game at a press conference last Wednesday. She outlined a legitimate property tax plan that would shift some costs for funding K-12 and community colleges from property taxes to sales taxes. The...
Nebraska Coalition Says “WOTUS Rule” Replacement A Step In The Right Direction
As a founding member of the Common Sense Nebraska Coalition, which was formed three years ago, the Nebraska Agri-Business Association continues to work towards improvements to the Waters of the US (WOTUS) Rule. “This new proposal addresses many of the concerns our...
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE, April 15, 2019
Turnin' Up The Heat It's hot in the Capitol. Yes, it's literally hot in the building! Happens every year. Seasons change, temperatures fluctuate, and the building's heating and cooling system (patented by the Romans) cannot be adjusted without either a proclamation by...
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE, April 8, 2019
Smarts and Insurgents Last week’s floor debate was mostly noise. Not to be critical of all noise. Just the chest-thumping, nose-twerking, bruised-ego kind of adult noise that entertains political wonks on public television and does little to move policy forward. Think...
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE, April 1, 2019
Feelings In the 1949 comedy, "It Happens Every Spring", a college professor (Ray Milland) accidentally discovers a fluid that when wiped on an object (like a baseball) is repelled by wood (a bat). The Prof takes leave from the university to pitch in the Big's. Cute...
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE, March 25, 2019
Semikaput Last week, the Legislature strolled past midpoint of their 90-day session. With 44 legislative days remaining (until June 6), and a smattering of hearings this week, we approach the time when hundreds and hundreds of completely unpassable concoctions are...
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE, March 11, 2019
QUANDARY WalletHub says Nebraska’s effective total state and local tax rate is 49th worst in the country. The Tax Foundation ranks our property taxes the 40th highest. They also say we are middle of the pack in terms of our sales taxes (#25) and business tax climate...
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE, March 4, 2019
FINAL FINAL Reading in Nebraska's unicameral process is the third and FINAL round of floor debate. Advancing a bill to FINAL Reading is a simple step-by-step process. Step #1 Senator introduces the bill. BTW, your friendly neighborhood lobbyist can be a terrific...
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE, February 25, 2019
30 Days In the mid-2000’s, “30 Days” was a reality television series on the FX Channel. Each episode, a person was immersed for thirty days in a totally unfamiliar lifestyle, like working for minimum wage, as a prisoner, or a Christian living as a Muslim. It was...