Marijuana, municipal aid proposed for property tax relief

Nebraska lawmakers heard proposal ranging from legalizing marijuana to sending state aid to cities during their special session to try and reduce property taxes.

Meanwhile, debate continues over what should and shouldn’t be in the big tax bill senators are expected to debate in the first full week of August.

Testifying on behalf of his bill to legalize marijuana, Sen. Terrell McKinney said the state could collect more than $100 million in taxes that could be used for property tax relief. And he urged the Legislature to get in line with the national trend toward legalization.

“The feds are in the process of deregulating marijuana as we speak,” McKinney said. "Many states already have legalization on the books or are working through it. For us to just be ignorant and ‘Just say no’ tells me that we're not serious about solving property tax relief and educational funding."

Opposing the bill, Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson faulted marijuana legalization in Colorado with contributing to problems in Denver.

“Denver is struggling with a lot of challenges right now: addictions, societal challenges, violence just being a few," Hanson said. "If you were to ask my opinion, which I'm assuming you're doing, I do believe a large portion of that is focused back on the rapid growth of marijuana industry."

Also Friday, debate continued over what the Revenue Committee should or shouldn’t include in what it sends to the full Legislature.

Gov. Jim Pillen has proposed a “hard cap” of zero percent or inflation, on annual increases in property tax collections by local governments, including cities. Sen. Justin Wayne told the Revenue Committee the state should give cities aid in exchange for accepting those caps.

"We need to figure out some kind of municipal aid to offset the hard cap," Wayne said. "Some people call it ‘burn’ money. We're trying to burn into this, call it what it is, we're trying to get their votes."

But Lynn Rex of the League of Nebraska Municipalities said the state has a history of providing aid, then yanking it away during tough economic times. Rex offered a polite “Thanks, but no thanks” to Wayne’s offer.

“We appreciate the effort. But we prefer the fishing pole than the fish, because of what our experience has been in the past,” Rex said.

Speaking to his fellow senators Friday, Speaker John Arch acknowledged some senators are getting frustrated with this special session. But he urged patience until all proposals are heard.

More from the Legislature's special session:

Education Committee considers school funding changes

Online sports betting touted as way to reduce property taxes

Committees hear support, opposition to Pillen’s budget and tax proposals

Legislation to legalize online sports betting introduced in special session

Senator introduces bill to sell state plane for property tax relief

“That's been part of our frustration, perhaps,that ‘Well, what's the plan? What's the plan? What's the plan? Where's the plan? Well, I mean, I think it's fair to say we need to hear all those bills before we say ‘Oh, here's the plan,’’’ Arch said.

The full Legislature is off until Wednesday morning. But the Revenue and Appropriations committees are expected to meet before then to start hashing out their tax and spending proposals.

Arch said after senators vote on those, they can decide if they want to continue. But he said that could be difficult, judging by reaction he got when he talked about meeting next Saturday.

“The feedback was, ‘But I've got kids, but I've got a job, but I have a life, but I have -- I mean, these things are conflicting,” he said.

And Arch says those conflicts will only increase as the session continues.

Correction: The audio version of this story described Gov. Pillen's "hard cap" proposal inaccurately. It is a cap of zero percent or inflation on the annual increase in property tax collections by local governments.