Emergency grace period on vehicle registration and driver licenses ends August 31
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has rescinded an emergency executive order that effectively allowed some drivers and vehicle owners to continue operating their vehicles with expired licenses or unpaid registrations during the state of emergency declared for the COVID-19 pandemic. Executive Order 20-05 provided a grace period for permits, licenses, and registrations that expired on or...
Scheer: Legislature hasn’t reached consensus on major tax issues
Nebraska Legislature Speaker Jim Scheer and Executive Board Chair Sen. Mike Hilgers were guests on today’s Platte Institute Webinar. The focus of the webinar was the upcoming return of the Legislature on July 20, and what can be expected in the remaining 17 days of the legislative calendar. The Legislature’s session was suspended in March...
States are sticking with most CARES Act tax provisions
Just last week, the Nebraska Legislature’s Revenue Committee held a hearing on the impact conforming with federal tax provisions in the CARES Act would have on the state’s tax revenues. Revenue Committee Chair Sen. Lou Ann Linehan ended that meeting by stating that decoupling from CARES Act tax regulation was not out of the question....
More businesses may close if Nebraska rejects CARES Act tax changes
This week, senators on the Nebraska Legislature’s Revenue Committee met in Lincoln to discuss the impact of tax changes included in the federal CARES Act. Many of the federal relief plan’s tax provisions are designed to help businesses increase their cash flow during the recession, including expanding the net operating loss (NOL), which will allow...
Nebraska hospitality workforce 28% smaller than one year ago
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the May unemployment rates for 2020 this morning. Overall, it was a more optimistic picture for our nation. Rates were lower in 38 states, with Nebraska posting the lowest unemployment rate in the nation at 5.2%. The total unemployed in the state currently stands at 54,879 people, down from...
Nebraska gas tax set for automatic increase July 1
Prices at the pump in Nebraska could be about 4 cents a gallon higher, thanks to an automatic increase in the state’s gas tax set to take effect July 1. Today, the Nebraska Department of Revenue issued the latest figures for the gas tax, which is recalculated twice a year in accordance with state law....
Iowa to offer universal recognition of job licenses
Last weekend, our neighbors in Iowa took a big step forward in occupational licensing reform with the passage of House File 2627 by both houses of the legislature. The governor is expected to sign the bill—probably in a signing ceremony worthy of a significant reform effort—sometime in the next week. The Iowa bill does not...
Nebraskans to vote on property tax issues in online town halls
Nebraska voters and taxpayers can make their voice heard on the state’s top tax issue in a series of online events on property tax reform. The Platte Institute’s Virtual Property Tax Town Halls will be held on Zoom. The events are scheduled to run through July and August, as the Nebraska Legislature returns for the...
Nebraska’s new initial unemployment claims are starting to taper off
For the week of June 6, 2020, an additional 4,697 Nebraskans filed for unemployment. This new data takes the total of unemployment claims up to 138,091 in Nebraska since COVID-19 restrictions were put in place. While there was a major surge in mid-March to early-April as the economy began to slow down, that trend has started...
Senator’s Twitter poll asks about sales tax on streaming services
A recent online poll result on the Twitter account for Nebraska state Sen. Machela Cavanaugh showed overwhelming opposition to the idea of paying sales tax for online streaming subscription services like Netflix, Hulu, and Apple TV. Would you support a Nebraska state 7% sales tax on digital entertainment services? (i.e. Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV, etc)...
Arizona law avoids regulatory capture of job licensing laws
An Arizona bill just signed into law promises to reduce the dangers of “regulatory capture” in occupational licensing boards. Political scientists and public policy institutes concerned with transparency in governance often talk about the notion of regulatory capture. A quick Google search to define this term yields results that are different in tone, but point...