Nebraska lawmakers pass bills to slow the rise of property taxes. Some are pushing to try harder.

Nearly a month after being summoned back to the Capitol to address soaring property taxes, the Nebraska Legislature has adjourned without passing significant relief.

Lawmakers passed an anemic slate of bills that does little more that slow the increase of property taxes. An 11th-hour push by a handful of lawmakers to come back later in the year with a new measure was voted down Tuesday before the body adjourned the special session. That measure would have allowed voters to decide whether to lower the property tax rate for homeowners.

What passed instead was a main bill to cap the tax levies of city and other local governments and to “front-load” an existing property tax credit so that everyone eligible will automatically receive it. Two companion bills make a series of budget cuts to pay the nearly $140 million cost.

Republican Gov. Jim Pillen called the special session last month after the Legislature failed in the regular session to pass his proposed plan to cut property taxes by an average of 40%. The move to seek relief comes as soaring home and land prices in the state have led to ballooning property tax bills for homeowners and farmers alike.

Rather than scaling down his plans after the regular session, Pillen called for even more ambitious cuts, proposing a 50% reduction on average of property taxes. His proposals for the special session included not only the tax levy caps and budget cuts but a shift to vastly expand goods and services subject to the state’s 5.5% sales tax. It also sought to create new excise taxes on liquor, cigarettes, CBD products and other items.

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