Latest news with #VonGillern
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pillen-backed bill would help reduce state budget shortfall by $71M, aiming at business incentives
State Sen. Brad von Gillern of Omaha. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — A proposal that legislative supporters say would take a $71 million bite out of Nebraska's projected $289 million biennium budget gap — largely through clawing back several business-related incentives — cleared a hurdle on Friday. The amended Legislative Bill 650 is an effort by the Nebraska Legislature's Revenue Committee and supported by Gov. Jim Pillen to help create a required balanced budget. A nearly three-hour discussion ended in a 36-2 vote by lawmakers to advance the package to its second stage. State Sen. Brad von Gillern of Omaha, committee chair, said the proposal would save $71 million in projected state spending over the next two budget years by scaling back or eliminating several programs approved in recent years by the Legislature and Pillen. Von Gillern said the committee used a 'last-in-first-out' approach, targeting newer initiatives and considering input from an earlier public hearing. He characterized the package, which hits both rural and urban economic development, as largely a loss for programs designed to grow jobs and the economy. He said such moves were necessary in an era tighter than previous years when federal and pandemic related funds were more plentiful. 'We are talking about minimal impact to consumers,' he said. 'It's primarily a negative impact on businesses.' The bill is but one piece of a budget-making process set to continue over the remaining days of a 90-day session that wraps up in early June. State Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln, a member of the Revenue Committee, anticipates more contentious debate on other bills, such as expansion of sales and use taxes that he said could more specifically affect 'everyday working people.' Of LB 650, he said: 'All said and done, I do think it represents a good step forward with some proverbial low-hanging fruit in order to try to make up some of that budget deficit.' The package calls for scaling back incentives including: an income tax credit for food donations; credits to retailers for collecting sales tax; a tax credit for reverse osmosis water-related systems; employer tax credits for relocating new workers; and income tax credits for short-line railroad maintenance expenditures. It calls for cost-cutting changes to or repeal of the Urban Redevelopment Act, the Nebraska Advantage Rural Development Act, the Renewable Chemical Production Income Credit, Nebraska Biodiesel Tax Credit, and the Creating High Impact Economic Futures (CHIEF Act). Von Gillern said he didn't yet have a financial breakdown of anticipated savings attributable to each program. In addition, a handful of other bills would fold into LB 650, most of which von Gillern said are attempts to clarify or improve earlier laws. One of the five, LB 547 introduced by State Sen. Victor Rountree of Bellevue, at a projected cost of $288,000, would exempt disabled veterans from the state's motor vehicle tax. An exchange with State Sen. Margo Juarez of Omaha — who wanted to know how certain components would hit the pocketbook of an average consumer — sparked more explanation from von Gillern. He said the focus was on business-related and other incentives — saying less of them had been used than anticipated. Asked, for example, about the clawback of the biodiesel tax credit, von Gillern said it largely affects truck and agricultural users. Of the scaled back credits for retailers for collecting state sales tax, he said that would lead to as much as $2,000 a year additional loss for a retailer and was not aimed at consumers. State Sen. Terrell McKinney of Omaha cast one of the two 'no' votes on the amended package. He took particular offense to repealing the Urban Redevelopment Act, a tax credit intended to help grow small businesses and investment in urban cores, and paring back the CHIEF Act, a tax credit designed to encourage individuals and businesses to make charitable contributions that ease chronic economic distress. McKinney wanted to know more specifics on the projected savings, noting those two programs were just recently enacted. He said the information the committee chair distributed to lawmakers was not complete. 'Please explain to me … what is the increase in revenue that the state is getting? What is the savings?' He urged lawmakers instead to consider saving dollars by halting construction of a new prison, with costs expected to surpass $350 million, which he said would be overcrowded on Day One. State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, who cast the other no vote, pointed out reduced tax credits for food bank donations and for the installation of a reverse osmosis water filtration system. 'So we're clawing back tax credits to help feed the hungry and the poor,' she said. 'And adjusting or changing the little bit of help we can provide to Nebraskans who have undrinkable water in their homes.' Conrad said the state is in the position of having to 'scramble' for dollars due to the 'self-created, reckless and irresponsible' actions of Pillen and the Legislature to promote income and corporate tax cuts that Conrad said benefitted the wealthiest Nebraskans and corporations. Von Gillern said the last-in-first-out approach aimed for an unbiased process. Committee discussions led to restoration of a few programs originally to be cut, such as the sales tax exemption for agricultural twine and a tax credit for pregnancy assistance organizations. State Sen Beau Ballard of Lincoln said the employee relocation tax credit he pushed over the finish line last year — now to be scaled back — addressed a state priority: luring new talent. Ballard said he was looking forward to working in the future with the Revenue Committee on a restoration. State Sen. Mike Moser of Columbus said he was encouraged by the committee's work, and noted that much is ahead in the budget-making process. 'This is just the beginning of the discussion,' he said. 'We've got a number of things we're going to have to do to make this all add up.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Lawmakers approve no longer issuing front-facing license plates in Nebraska by 2029
"The Genius of Creative Energy," a mosaic at the Nebraska State Capitol, was unveiled as the backdrop for the new state license plate in May 2022. A new license plate cycle will begin in 2029, bringing a new design and changes to registration. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — By the start of Nebraska's next license plate cycle in 2029, the state could only issue drivers a rear-facing license plate and allow multiyear registrations. State lawmakers gave near-unanimous approval Thursday, on a 46-0 vote, to approve Legislative Bill 97 led by State Sen. John Fredrickson of Omaha. It included the new license plate change from State Sen. Brad von Gillern of the Elkhorn area (originally LB 297) and the multiyear registration allowance from State Sen. Rob Dover of Norfolk (originally LB 543). Von Gillern said he brought his change partly because it is often the 'norm' for new cars to no longer have brackets or mounts for front-facing license plates. He said that means some new car owners are left with three options: Pay the car dealership an average of $100 to furnish and install a front plate holder. Pay a $50 annual fee for a windshield decal conferring the right to display just a rear plate. Drill holes in the front bumper of someone's 'dream' car. Von Gillern said his bill, originally LB 297, could save taxpayer dollars by not issuing dual license plates to about 2 million vehicles in the state. Nebraskans currently pay $4.10 per license plate, leading to potential savings of about $8 million. Nebraskans incarcerated at the Nebraska State Penitentiary manufacture state plates. New car buyers could also save about $6 million to $8 million, von Gillern estimated. His bill could also have an environmental benefit, von Gillern said, reducing 200 tons of aluminum mined. At least 26 other states no longer require front-facing plates. Law enforcement officials from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office and the Omaha Police Officer's Association have testified neutral or in support of similar legislation in recent years. Von Gillern's proposal was added to LB 97 during first-round debate in a 30-5 vote. Under Dover's bill, auto owners could pay up to three years of registration taxes or fees in advance, giving them the chance to save if local taxes or fees increased in future years. Lawmakers during debate Thursday also passed LB 113 from State Sen. Dan Quick of Grand Island, which would allow licensed craft breweries to operate up to eight separate retail locations (up from five) and allow such license holders to directly sell for resale up to 3,500 gallons of microdistilled products (up from 500 gallons) each year to retail licensees in the state. State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln led opposition to the bill, as she's done during each of the bill's three stages of debate. She alleged it would give 'preferential treatment' to in-state operators compared to out-of-state or regional distributors, risking a lawsuit. 'It is only a matter of time that some regional distributor that plays by all the rules and adheres to the regulations and standards gets frustrated and files a lawsuit,' Raybould said. The longtime grocery store executive sought an attorney general's opinion on whether LB 113 could increase the risk of a lawsuit against the state's craft brewery laws on the grounds of violating the constitutional clause about regulating commerce over state lines. Raybould argued the lawsuit could undo some of the state's other alcohol-related laws. Quick told his colleagues to remember that they were discussing Nebraska small businesses and that lawmakers had added an earlier amendment to protect other statutes if LB 113 was ever challenged and ruled unconstitutional. 'This is a good bill,' Quick said. 'It will help a lot of our Nebraska businesses grow their business model.' State Sen. Tanya Storer of Whitman also defended the proposal. She said it had gone through 'significant compromises' from its original version and was 'just government allowing someone to distribute their own product to the retail market without being forced to pay a middleman some fee to distribute that for them.' The bill passed 33-13 — six senators were present but did not vote, which, under a legislative rule adopted earlier this year for final reading votes, meant their votes had to be categorized as 'no' votes. The Legislature also approved Thursday: LB 390, from State Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil, to require that public schools by the start of the 2026-27 school year publicly catalog all library books by school building. Parents could opt-in to be notified via email of when their child checks out a book, including the title, author name and the book due date. It passed 34-14. LB 457, from State Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln, to cap out-of-pocket costs for medically necessary epinephrine injectors, such as EpiPens, to no more than $60 for a two-pack. It also would require the state's health and education agencies to create model policies for schools and licensed child care programs for responding to severe allergic reactions, or anaphylaxis. It passed 47-1. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
