Inside the Rotunda

Sine Die The exhausted looks in the Capitol corridors and the conversations about vacations to come conveyed the sense last week that lots of people were ready to get out of the Capitol when the Legislature adjourned sine die. But some senators weren’t ready to leave.  Final Business The final two days

Business Incentives Vs Property Taxes A week of high drama last week ended with a whimper for those pushing two tax bills, one aimed at creating a new business tax incentive program and another a last-ditch effort to reduce property taxes. LB183 (Briese), a bill supported by rural senators pushing for property tax reductions, stalled on

Early Sine Die The rumors of an early sine die became reality last week as Speaker Scheer announced that session will end Friday, May 31. He also added next Tuesday and Wednesday (May 28-29) as recess days. The condensed timeline means that bills scheduled for final reading next week could be subject

Early Adjournment? With the Nebraska Legislature marching through its agenda this session and first-round approval of the budget behind us, the rumor around the Capitol is that senators may adjourn sine die significantly earlier than Day 90 (which falls on June 6). Just when they will adjourn is still a guess, but the rumor

Big Decisions It’s show time for the Nebraska Legislature’s budget and tax packages. Tuesday afternoon, state senators will take up LB289 (Linehan), which is the Revenue Committee’s tax proposal. AM1572 contains all the key provisions, but expect further amendments on the floor. The showdown will cross party and ideological lines as a diverse array of interest

Oh, We’re Halfway There The legislative session officially hit its halfway mark last week, priority bills are all set and hearings winds down this week. Just as the seasons change, so do the legislative periods, each bringing their own distinct characteristics. Soon all the legislative action will be in the George Norris

Hard Feelings The Nebraska Legislature is currently debating a number of controversial social issues, which is creating hard feelings on the floor. It began last week during debate on LB44  (Chambers), which sought to repeal the death penalty in Nebraska. The vote fell short, as some opponents argued it has been too soon

Big Issues Await The Nebraska Legislature is more than two-thirds of the way through session and senators continue to roll through a number of bills that have a strong consensus of support in the body, but some of the largest questions await. A number of senators are happy with the