Legislature proposes rebalancing taxes, social media safety measures
By Fred Knapp , Senior Reporter/Producer Nebraska Public Media
13 de Enero de 2025 a las 16:52 ·

Listen To This Story
Sales taxes would be expanded, and scheduled income tax cuts would be reduced in order to give more state aid to schools and reduce property taxes, under proposals being introduced in the Legislature.
Children’s access to social media and cellphones at school would be limited in another package of proposals.
Sen. Tom Brandt is lead sponsor of three bills to change Nebraska’s tax system. One would tax pop and candy. Another would freeze Nebraska’s top income tax rate at just under 5%, instead of lowering it to just under 4% as currently scheduled.
A third bill would impose sales taxes on about two dozen currently exempt services, ranging from nail care to chartered airplane flights. Brandt said senators were selective in targeting which services to tax.
“It's… what we've classified as luxury sales taxes,” he said.
But he acknowledged there could be disagreements about whether some services, like dry cleaning, met that definition.
“Let's start with the easy ones. Is pool cleaning a luxury? Is chartering an airplane a luxury? Is hiring a limousine a luxury? Is hiring a tour guide a luxury?" he asked. "Sure, there are some of these that can be debated back and forth, but by and large, I guess, a group of us looked at these, and they have enjoyed a sales tax exemption for a long, long time. Maybe it's time they paid their fair share."
Brandt said the money raised would be use to lower the maximum property tax rate that schools can levy, from the current $1.05 per hundred dollars of valuation to 95 cents or lower. He said that’s the goal, but he’s not locked in to this these proposals as the way to get there.
“It's a scalable bill. We know it will take about $180 to $200 million. This is a step in that direction,” he said.
Also Monday, senators began introducing bills in a package that Attorney General Mike Hilgers and Gov. Jim Pillen said were aimed at protecting Nebraska children from some of the ill-effects of social media.
One proposal by Sen. Carolyn Bosn would require social media applications be designed to minimize the risk that children under 18 will become addicted. It would also prohibit them from directing advertising at minors.
“This bill is directed towards the design applications and not the content that is placed on them," she said. "This bill says algorithms shouldn't track children."
Another proposal, by Sen. Tanya Storer would require parental consent for minors to open social media accounts.
A third, by Sen. Brian Hardin, would penalize the use of artificial intelligence to generate child pornography.
A fourth bill, by Sen. Rita Sanders, would require schools to adopt policies to limit student access to cell phones during the school day. Sanders said the idea is popular among her constituents.
"When I'm in the grocery store and I run into people that I either don't know or know, and I ask them what they think of this and how that will affect them as a student, a mom and their student, and they are thrilled to get rid of the distraction,” Sanders said.
Hilgers described the goal as being “to ensure that every school has their own policy that restricts the use of cell phones in their school, while taking into account various reasonable exceptions.”
The bill would require school policies to prohibit students’ use of cell phones while on school property or attending school functions. It would allow exceptions if authorized by a teacher for instructional purposes, in case of emergency or health needs, or if required as part of a special education student’s individualized education program.
More from the Unicameral:
Senator introduces bill to place restrictions on transgender athletes
Abortion, winner-take-all, prop tax bills introduced in Legislature
Senator introduces winner-take-all legislation in Nebraska Unicameral
Nebraska state senators elect speaker and committee chairs on first day of 2025 session
Projected shortfall limits expectations for legislative session