Senators gathered in Lincoln for a special session of the Nebraska Legislature aimed at addressing ...

Senators gathered in Lincoln for a special session of the Nebraska Legislature aimed at addressing the issue of property tax relief. Senators spent July 25 and July 26 introducing bills. The last day for bill introduction is July 27. Committee hearings will begin Monday, July 29, at 9:30 am.

The Ag Leaders Working Group sent a letter to all state senators, emphasizing the importance of property tax relief for farmers and ranchers, while also reinforcing our opposition to imposing new taxes on inputs used in agriculture and manufacturing production processes because that is a bad tax policy that will make our state's two largest industries less competitive. You can read the letter by clicking here.

The Ag Leaders met Friday and will meet again Sunday afternoon to go through bills to determine our position on each, line up testifiers, and prepare testimony. For your reference, the Ag Leaders group consists of the following organizations:

• Nebraska Cattlemen,
• Nebraska Corn Growers Association,
• Nebraska Farm Bureau,
• Nebraska Pork Producers Association,
• Nebraska Sorghum Producers Association,
• Nebraska Soybean Association,
• Nebraska State Dairy Association,
• Nebraska Wheat Growers Association, and
• Renewable Fuels Nebraska.

The Reference Committee is anticipated to refer the proposed legislation to the relevant committee for hearings scheduled for next week. We will provide you with updates on the committees to which they were referred, as well as the dates and times of the hearings, as the schedules are finalized.

If you have any feedback on the bills or if you are interested in providing testimony next week, please reach out to Bruce Rieker, Senior Director of State Legislative Affairs. NEFB can also assist with submitting written comments. Contact Bruce at [email protected] or 402-432-4185.