Week of January 13, 2025
The 109th legislature has begun, and the stage has been set for it to look markedly different from recent sessions. With 17 new senators sworn in, the departure of certain termed-out members who were crusaders for their signature issues, and shakeups in leadership and committee membership, many are hopeful that this session could present a clean slate for lawmakers to come at the issues facing Nebraskans with fresh eyes and perspectives. On the other hand, the institution’s nonpartisan label stands on ever-shakier ground, with an arguably stronger filibuster-proof conservative majority and progressives losing ground when it comes to holding leadership positions.
If you didn’t neurotically monitor our 2024 state legislative elections like some of us did, here’s the long and short of how they shook out and what’s different this year:
Elections Recap
In the 49-member body, last year we officially had a 32-17 split until then-Democrat Sen. McDonnell changed his party registration to Republican, technically giving conservatives a 33 vote supermajority, the amount needed for cloture or to be “filibuster-proof”. I say technically because McDonnell didn’t vote in lockstep with his new party on every issue and was known as a swing vote on certain bills; notably, he remained a consistent holdout on changing our state’s split presidential electoral voting system to winner-take-all.
This past November, 25 seats were up for election. There was an unusually high number (15) of open seats – seats in which there was no incumbent to challenge– because 13 incumbents that had held those seats were term-limited from running again and Sens. Slama and Meyer opted not to file for re-election. In the other 10, most incumbents held onto their seats except for Sens. Day (D) and Aguilar (R), who were defeated by newcomer Bob Andersen (R) and former Senator Dan Quick (D).
Results played out such that Republicans once again have their 33-vote supermajority over 16 progressives (15 registered Democrats & Sen. Hunt, who is an Independent.) Political observers have noted, however, that a handful of the newly sworn-in Republicans may be more moderate than their predecessors, or defeated more extreme far-right candidates in their races, so there’s some speculation as to whether that 33 is on the whole as conservative as the previous class, and it’s not a given that they will always vote in lockstep with one another.
What to Expect: Pillen’s Priorities
Last month, Governor Pillen announced his policy priorities for the session. They include:
- Restricting trans students’ rights to use bathrooms and locker rooms, or to participate on sports teams, from K-12 to the collegiate level. This bill was already introduced this week as a press conference was held to unveil a revamped version of last year’s “Sports and Spaces Act”. This year, Sen. Kauth has brought LB 89 which she has dubbed the “Stand with Women” Act. This bill is more far-reaching than its predecessor in that it’s broadened the population referenced to include university athletics, but also applies now to all state government agencies and spaces and their restrooms– including prisons and mental health facilities– and puts a narrow, biological definition of man and woman in statute.
- Revamping TEEOSA, the state’s school funding formula, and likely trying again to broaden sales taxes on services, in an effort to further drive down property taxes
- Banning the sale of lab-grown meat, which he has said is a threat to our state’s cattle industry
- Changing Nebraska’s split electoral vote allocation to a Winner-Take-All system: Sen. Lippincott has introduced LB 3 to take another stab at the issue, citing a possibility for more success with new membership and different dynamics post-election cycle.
Budget Squeeze to Compete with Property Tax Relief
The Gov has been relatively quiet about the elephant in the room which is our state’s projected $432 million budget shortfall, and in this biennial budget-setting long year, the legislature will be under pressure to tighten its belt and make cuts in order to make the budget solvent. Many have questioned whether and how any significant attempts at tax reduction could be responsibly undertaken under the circumstances. Newly elected Revenue Chair Von Gillern has said he thinks it is a good year to try to nibble around the edges of property taxes while holding the line to make sure that the tax burden doesn’t become worse; and returning Appropriations Chair Clements has expressed doubt that much in the way of tax relief will be possible.
Potential solutions floating around are changes to the massive income tax cuts for top earners (LB 754, 2023) which are contributing to an ever-growing dent in the state’s budget; new revenue sources that could be available through things like legalization of online sports betting and betting on in-state college sports teams; or other likely less popular ideas like rebalancing income tax brackets for the wealthy or rolling back some of Nebraska’s large corporate tax incentive programs.
In any case, something will have to give, and CSN readers will no doubt need to be on the lookout for cuts to critical social services programming which is often the first on the chopping block in lean budget times.
What’s Next
Monday is day 4 of the 10-day bill introduction period. Governor Pillen will deliver his State of the State address to the body on Wednesday at 10:00am. On Thursday at 1:30pm, the Rules Committee will hold a public hearing on those rule change proposals introduced by senators prior to the hearing deadline. Debate on rule changes advanced by the committee, as well as public hearings on bills, will begin on Jan. 22.
NEW THIS YEAR: Talk to me! What’s the buzz?
With the new year, we’re going to try something new. Do you have a request for me to discuss or explain something that’s happened (or not happened) in the legislature that’s confusing, or which I haven’t covered? Want me to expand more on a point I made in a previous post? Anything you’re generally curious about with the process that’s unclear, or want to know what it’s like to be a Capitol staffer? Send your questions, comments or requests to Laurie at CSN and she’ll get them to me. We’ll determine which questions I’m able to answer (without blowing my cover, of course! 😉 and if appropriate, you might see a response in next week’s blog.
Until Next Week,
Your Capitol Fly on the Wall
