In recent years, states around the country have started experimenting with different methods of voting. Ranked Choice Voting. Instant Runoff Voting. Open Primaries. Approval Voting. All of these methods of voting are being proposed or experimented with in an assortment of configurations in different jurisdictions. From local elections to statewide elections; from primary elections to...
High Resolution Downloadable Study Here. Introduction Nebraska’s property tax burden is the central issue in the state’s tax debate. Property taxes are high and unevenly distributed, making it hard to develop clean solutions for direct tax reduction. Indeed, legislative action in the last several sessions shows that Nebraska lawmakers are working to tame the state’s...
As we prepare for the new legislative session, Nebraska’s facing a substantially changed landscape in the Unicameral. There are 16 new state senators, which is nearly one in every three legislative seats. In addition, our governor’s office is transitioning and a wave of retirements is occurring for legislative employees responsible for the important behind the...
The elections are over, and Nebraskans now know who will be representing them in the Nebraska Legislature. People run for public office for a variety of reasons. For many, the decision is because they want to make a difference and help others. For some, they feel that elected officials currently serving have let them down....
Nebraska ranks 39th in the country for property tax competitiveness. How do we modernize our tax policy to keep and attract more people? Today, we’re talking about the future of Nebraska’s tax policy and how we compare to other states. Given the changes in the economy, states are competing to keep their current population and...
For decades, Nebraska’s public school funding system has exerted major influence over the state’s tax policy. In 1989, the state adopted the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Act (TEEOSA), in an attempt to alleviate disparities in property tax burdens and education funding between districts by having the state take on a larger responsibility in funding...
Foreword by Jim Smith Jim Smith is Chief Strategy Officer at the Platte Institute and former President of Blueprint Nebraska. He also previously served as a State Senator and chaired the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee of the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature. In 2018 and 2019, I had the opportunity to work with business leaders from across...
The complete economic and fiscal impact report on the Blueprint Nebraska tax modernization plan by Regional Economic Models, Inc. is available in PDF format at this link. This page provides Blueprint Nebraska’s summary of that report. Nebraska has an outdated tax system that features relatively high taxes and inefficient and unpredictable funding of essential government services....
Executive Summary Public pension debts from three major municipal plans in Nebraska are approaching $1 billion, and an analysis of Omaha’s two municipal systems and Lincoln’s public safety plan suggest that this shortfall is likely to continue to expand unless policymakers make meaningful changes to how the city funds and manages the retirement plans. In...
Executive Summary Nebraska has been seeking ways to modernize its tax code for several years, and unfortunately, the inheritance tax has often been left out of the analysis. The inheritance tax is a worthy subject for tax modernization and reform because only six states continue to have this tax: Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey,...
Introduction Across the U.S., local zoning ordinances limit the amount of housing that can be built within their jurisdictions and drive up costs for housing that is permitted. These regulations are particularly burdensome for low-income households.1 The effects of land use regulations on housing costs are largest in high-cost coastal regions, but the ubiquity of...
Introduction Much has changed since our 2018 review of Nebraska’s progress on occupational licensing policy and reform. The first year of licensing reviews growing out of LB299, Nebraska’s Occupational Board Reform Act, were completed in 2019. Committees of the Unicameral reviewed 26 individual licenses across eight of the standing committees. Several of the other committees—either...
Government and industry responses to the COVID-19 pandemic created a variety of unique situations for agriculture. The “stay-at-home” orders forced consumers to be homebound, which increased the demand for food in grocery stores while simultaneously reducing the demand for food in restaurants. Reduced consumer travel caused the demand for ethanol to fall, impacting distillers’ grains,...
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit our nation, Congress reacted by enacting a historic $2 trillion spending plan to keep our nation from falling into financial ruin. In total, there have been four pieces[1] of federal legislation enacted with the intent to help individuals and states combat the health and economic crisis that occurred, of which...