Removing Barriers for Nebraskans

Rolling out the GOAT

Rolling out the GOAT

The Platte Institute has joined with six state senators to roll out a package of bills aimed at modernizing and streamlining Nebraska’s regulatory environment to be as efficient and accountable as possible. The GOAT (an acronym for Government Oversight Accountability and Transparency) is a bipartisan effort of senators representing urban and rural districts around the...

By Laura Ebke

Nebraska Revenue Committee Must Be Ready for Reconciliation

Nebraska Revenue Committee Must Be Ready for Reconciliation

Nebraska’s Revenue Committee faces an unusual challenge this year. Federal lawmakers are likely to change the federal tax code in ways that will impact Nebraska’s revenue streams, and the federal changes will occur during the legislative session.   Speaker Mike Johnson announced his intent to pass President Trump’s budgetary agenda within 100 days through the budgetary...

By Michael Lucci

109th Nebraska Legislature Issue Guide

109th Nebraska Legislature Issue Guide

The Platte Institute’s Legislative Issue Guide for the 109th Legislature provides a concise and up-to-date public policy guide for state and local policymakers.  The topics included in this guide reflect public policy best practices targeted at reducing barriers to economic opportunity in the 2025-26 biennium and beyond. To download the full Legislative Issue Guide for...

By Nicole Fox

Nebraska Must Defend Its Historic 2023 Income Tax Cuts

Nebraska Must Defend Its Historic 2023 Income Tax Cuts

Nebraska’s 2023 income tax reforms are the Cornhusker State’s ultimate tax reform achievement of the last generation. Governor Pillen and Nebraska lawmakers secured a permanent, transformational reform that would qualify as a crowning achievement on any lawmaker’s legacy. It was the type of achievement that lawmakers wait a whole career to accomplish.   As Platte Institute wrote...

By Michael Lucci

Reforming Nebraska’s Tangible Personal Property Tax

Reforming Nebraska’s Tangible Personal Property Tax

Nebraska’s tangible personal property tax (TPP) needs to be reformed. Nebraska ranks 45th in the nation for overall property tax competitiveness, and TPP is one of the culprits for Nebraska’s uncompetitive property tax system.   Tangible personal property (TPP) includes the machinery, equipment, fixtures, and supplies that businesses use to conduct business. Unlike real property, which...

By Michael Lucci

Nebraska should tighten the inflation adjustment for its property tax cap

Nebraska should tighten the inflation adjustment for its property tax cap

Nebraska lawmakers imposed a property tax cap in LB 34, which was passed during the 2024 summer special session. The property tax cap allows cities and counties to raise property taxes by 0% or inflation, whichever is greater.    So far, so good.   But not all inflation measures are created equally. In fact, the metric LB...

By Michael Lucci

Regulatory Modernization Polling Results

Regulatory Modernization Polling Results

As we approached the 2025 Legislative session, the Platte Institute commissioned some polling to see whether Nebraskans were with us on one of our 2025 priorities: regulatory modernization and reform.   We asked questions similar to those asked in a survey another policy institute asked in Wisconsin, found here. We wanted to compare the results in...

By Laura Ebke

Nebraska Needs School Choice

Nebraska Needs School Choice

Nebraska needs school choice, which empowers families to select what is best for them, creates pressure on all schools to improve, and fosters harmony among diverse people. To best serve Nebraskans, the amount of choice needs to be much greater than what the state has tried to date. First, because choice is something that all...

By Neal McCluskey

Nebraska should repeal its Corporation Occupation Tax

Nebraska should repeal its Corporation Occupation Tax

Nebraska’s Corporation Occupation Tax is a business tax levied upon a business’ net worth in Nebraska rather than the business’ profitability. This form of property taxation is generally known as a capital stock tax, and is calculated based upon the value of capital within the state. The Corporation Occupation Tax funds the Nebraska Secretary of...

By Michael Lucci

Less Bureaucracy, More Opportunity: Nebraska’s REINS Act Vision

Less Bureaucracy, More Opportunity: Nebraska’s REINS Act Vision

Check out our new video to see how the Platte Institute is advocating for a state style REINS Act in Nebraska. In Nebraska, our strong communities and thriving economy depend on a regulatory system that empowers growth, innovation, and opportunity—not one bogged down by unnecessary red tape. But every year, new rules and mandates are...

By Laura Ebke

2023-2024 Nebraska Occupational Licensing Review

2023-2024 Nebraska Occupational Licensing Review

The Platte Institute began its work in occupational licensing policy in earnest in 2016. Our 2018 review highlighted the many reasons for improving the licensing environment for Nebraskans seeking employment. In 2018, the Platte Institute celebrated the passage of LB299, the Occupational Board Reform Act (OBRA), which has since seen the review of every occupational...

By Laura Ebke

Regulatory Reform in Nebraska: Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities

Regulatory Reform in Nebraska: Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities

Nebraska was an early mover in regulatory reform, but there is still room for improvement. The State RegData project, in a first-of-its-kind inventory of state regulations, found that in 2017, the state of Nebraska had 100,627 regulatory restrictions on the books—that is, terms within regulatory text that create legal obligations or prohibitions, such as the...

By Patrick McLaughlin

Ensuring Property Tax Relief: Strengthening Nebraska’s School Funding and Tax Caps

Ensuring Property Tax Relief: Strengthening Nebraska’s School Funding and Tax Caps

Last week Governor Pillen provided state senators with the newly published 2024 School Property Tax Collection Report and asked them to consider legislation to address inconsistencies in state aid to schools.   We applaud the Governor’s ongoing efforts to improve the competitiveness of the state’s education systems and believe addressing the perceived disparities in the state...

By Michael Lucci