Platte Institute participated in 93 public hearings in Unicameral

Every bill introduced in the Nebraska Legislature in 2021 has now received a public hearing. But that’s just the beginning of the Platte Institute’s work to lower taxes, provide good governance, reduce red tape, and increase government transparency.

During the first few months of the 2021 session, many of the staff at the Platte Institute participated in the legislative process by testifying before senators on bills related to our mission to remove barriers to growth and opportunity in Nebraska.

In total, Platte weighed in on 93 different pieces of legislation; 89 of those were bills and 4 were constitutional amendments.

To see some of the bills we participated in, see our Take Action page.

During the first few months of the 2021 session, many of the staff at the Platte Institute participated in the legislative process by testifying before senators on bills related to our mission to remove barriers to growth and opportunity in Nebraska.

The focus of these bills ranged from property tax changes, occupational licensing issues, government transparency and reporting, pensions, broadband, regulations on alcoholic beverages, overall tax reform, among many others.

In total, the Platte Institute testified before 12 of the 14 standing committees. The committees where our staff spent the most time this session were the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee and the Revenue Committee.

Testifiers in legislative hearings can take one of three positions when speaking on a bill: support, oppose, or neutral. Neutral testimony often provides technical advice about a bill or the issue areas it impacts, or can be offered when testifiers agree or disagree with parts of the bill, but not enough to speak in complete support or opposition of the proposal.

Out of the 93 pieces of legislation, the Platte Institute was neutral on 23 bills, opposed 10 bills and supported 60 bills. These pieces of testimony were delivered to committee members either in person with oral testimony or via a submitted position letter.

Now that the Legislature has concluded with hearings, the real work begins on the floor. Committees will continue meeting to vote on bills they believe deserve floor debate.

The Platte Institute will continue to follow bills and assist lawmakers to advance priorities that will modernize our tax code, make it easier to get a job or start a business, and promote good governance and transparency.

As our testimony totals show, this has been a productive year so far for advancing legislation that removes barriers. The number of proposals for major tax hikes and new red tape was fairly limited compared to past sessions. But introduced bills can sometimes be amended later in the session to move in the wrong direction.

Our team will not only keep working to get bills we support across the finish line, but carefully watch the lawmaking process and remain on guard against policies that would increase the state’s already high tax burden on things like housing, workforce, and investment, and speak out against bills that reduce economic opportunities for jobseekers and entrepreneurs.