UNICAMERAL UPDATE Stories published daily at Update.Legislature.ne.gov Vol. 40, Issue 16 / Apr. 18 - 21, 2017 Tax cuts, new ag land valuation method debated he Legislature debated a bill April 21 that would change the Tway agricultural land is assessed and cut the state’s top income and corporate tax rates if projected state revenue growth meets certain targets. As introduced by Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion, LB461 proposed a technical change to state tax law. A Revenue Committee amendment would replace the bill and incorporate provisions from several other bills, including: • LB338, introduced by Bancroft Sen. Lydia Brasch on behalf of Gov. Pete Ricketts, which would change the state’s method for valu- Revenue Committee chairperson Sen. Jim Smith (right), sponsor of LB461, confers with Sen. ing agricultural and horticultural John Stinner, Appropriations Committee chairperson, during floor debate April 21. land to an income-based approach; sonal exemption amounts. • LB337, introduced by Smith also Smith said the proposed tax cuts would grow the state’s on behalf of the governor, which economy by helping Nebraska compete with its neighbors would use economic growth rates when attracting and retaining businesses and workers. to trigger income tax cuts; and Changing the state’s method of valuing agricultural land • LB452, introduced by Omaha Sen. would, over the long term, help to relieve the dispropor- Brett Lindstrom, which would tionate burden of property taxes on farmers and ranchers, change income tax rates and per- Sen. Brett Lindstrom he added. (continued page 3) Lethal injection drug provider privacy discussed bill that seeks confidentiality for certain records threats, while still making the identity of the drug and any relating to the state’s lethal injection protocol was lab analysis publicly available. A considered by lawmakers on general file April 19. “Only the identity of the individual or the entity [would Under LB661, introduced by Heart- remain] confidential,” Kuehn said, adding that 15 of the 31 well Sen. John Kuehn, records contain- states with a lethal injection protocol have such shield laws. ing any information that reasonably Harassment by death penalty opponents has resulted in would lead to the identity of any the commercial unavailability in the U.S. of certain drugs person or entity that manufactures, used in lethal injection, he said, so a shield law regarding supplies, compounds or prescribes the the identity of drug providers could increase the availability substances, medical supplies or medical of such drugs for other purposes as well. equipment used to perform a lethal in- Sen. John Kuehn “LB661 is written specifically only to address public jection would be confidential and exempt from disclosure records statutes,” he said. “It does not affect the judicial under the state’s public records laws. application, sentencing or court processes regarding the Kuehn said the bill would protect providers of drugs death penalty.” used in a lethal injection protocol from harassment and Venango Sen. Dan Hughes supported the bill, noting (continued page 2) INSIDE: Meet Sen. Hilgers • Bill enabling early teacher retirement advanced • Medical cannabis bill stalls April 18 - 21, 2017 Lethal injection drug provider privacy discussed (continued from front page) that he was involved in the initiative said the state already deviates from the public has a right to know how petition process that overturned the the principle of transparency in gov- that money is spent. Legislature’s 2015 abolition of the ernment when there is a compelling “[This bill] is designed to deprive death penalty. Voters have clearly in- reason to do so. Full disclosure of the public of information it ought to dicated their desire to have the death drug manufacturers has led to a lack have about how its government is car- penalty carried out in Nebraska, he of high quality drugs with which to do rying out the most solemn, the most said, and lawmakers have a duty to the state’s business, he said. consequential, act that a government make that happen. “Transparency is a core operating can perform,” Chambers said. “I was one who carried a petition principle for our government but it’s Sen. Kate Bolz of Lincoln raised to get this issue back on the ballot,” not a universal principle,” Hilgers questions regarding the ability of the Hughes said. “During that process said. state Department of Correctional the pledge that I made to those that I Kuehn agreed, noting that current Services to properly administer lethal talked to was that the law was not bro- deviations from full transparency in- injection drugs without knowing their ken, the process was broken,” Hughes clude correspondence between state source. said. “And if indeed the voters of the senators and their constituents, names A recent state audit uncovered state of Nebraska gave us this law back, of stockholders in companies that re- serious mismanagement of existing I would do whatever I could to fix the ceive tax incentives and the identity of pharmaceutical procedures within the process.” finalists for some high-paying state jobs. department, Bolz said, which should Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln “We all know and can agree that be a cause of concern regarding how opposed the bill. Manufacturers and there are instances where that pri- the new lethal injection protocol pharmacies involved in lethal injection vacy [interest] outweighs the need would be carried out under the bill. are not private actors whose privacy for transparency and full disclosure,” “Can we trust this [agency] to should be protected, he said, but rath- Kuehn said. implement these medications as they er entities that should be considered Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers op- should be, especially when there is “agents of the state” who must comply posed the bill and offered a series of not clarity and transparency about the with public records laws. amendments in an effort to extend source of these drugs?” Bolz said. “In “When the state is executing its debate. The courts have stated that other words, is this the right time to own citizens, the process should be as open records laws should be applied discuss this policy change?” transparent as possible,” Morfeld said. liberally when it comes to the expendi- The Legislature adjourned for the But Lincoln Sen. Mike Hilgers ture of public funds, he said, because day without taking action on LB661. g UNICAMERAL UPDATE The Unicameral Update is a free, weekly newsletter published during the legislative session. It is produced by the Clerk of the Legislature’s Office through the Unicameral Information Office. For print subscriptions, call 402-471-2788 or email [email protected]. Visit us online at Update.Legislature.ne.gov and follow us on Twitter.com/UnicamUpdate. Clerk of the Legislature: Patrick J. O’Donnell Editor: Heidi Uhing; Writers: Kyle Harpster, Kate Heltzel, Ami Johnson; Photographer: Bess Ghormley Printed copies of bills, resolutions and the Legislative Journal are available at the State Capitol room 1104, or by calling 402-471-2709 or 800-742-7456. Status of bills and resolutions can be requested at that number or can be found on NebraskaLegislature.gov. Live video of hearings and floor debate can be viewed on NET2 and at NetNebraska.org/capitol. Senators may be contacted by mail at this address: Senator Name, District #, State Capitol, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509-4604 Assistance provided by the Clerk of the Legislature’s Office, the Legislative Technology Center, committee clerks, legal counsels, journal clerks, pages, transcribers, mail room and bill room staff and the State Print Shop. The Unicameral Update is available as an audio recording from the Nebraska Library Commission’s Talking Book and Braille Service. Call (800) 742-7691 for more information. THE NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE’S OFFICIAL NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1977 PAGE 2 • UNICAMERAL UPDATE • 105TH LEGISLATURE April 18 - 21, 2017 Tax cuts, new ag land valuation method debated (continued from front page) “We have a tax problem in the until the rate reaches state,” Smith said. “The answer is not 5.99 percent. simple and can only be found through Beginning in 2018, a compromised and consistent effort. agricultural and hor- And it must be both reasonable and ticultural land would affordable to meet the standards of be assessed using an Nebraska’s businesses and Nebraska’s income-based ap- citizens.” proach instead of the The bill would collapse the bot- current market value tom two personal income tax brack- approach. ets — with rates of 2.46 percent and A new committee 3.51 percent, respectively — into one led by the state tax bracket, which would pay a rate of 3.25 commissioner would percent, in 2019. The bill also would establish capitaliza- decrease the state’s top corporate tion rates for each income tax rate from 7.81 percent to class of agricultural 7.59 percent that year. or horticultural land, To help pay for those cuts, the bill including irrigated Sen. Lydia Brasch said the income-based valuation method would eliminate income tax exemp- cropland, dryland would be a more fair and accurate way to assess agricultural tions for some high earners, Smith cropland, grassland and horticultural land. said. LB461 also would suspend two used for grazing, grassland use for capitalization rate set by a committee. tax credit programs: the New Markets haying, wasteland, nurseries, feedlots Even though LB461 is not perfect, he Job Growth Investment Act and the and orchards. said, it would provide needed relief to Nebraska Job Creation and Mainstreet The committee would ensure that the state’s agriculture industry. Revitalization Act. aggregate agricultural use value for “Right now, property taxes are kill- Nebraska’s top individual income each class of land is between 55 and 65 ing our No.