LINCOLN- A myriad of individuals from several different industries, including a retired judge, an Omaha City Council members, and a civil liberties lawyer, were among those who stood to support a bill on Thursday that would end what some have called government-assisted "home equity theft."

LB577, the bill in question, was introduced by Sen. John Cavanaugh and would, according to the lawmaker and several proponents, protect homeowners from losing property and equity valued far above the amount they failed to pay in property taxes. During a public hearing for the bill, Cavanaugh insisted that he would work with both sides of the debate to perfect the bill, since it came under heavy fire by proponents, mostly county treasurers who were concerned about additional costs.

Aimee Melton, of the Omaha City Council, spoke in support of the bill, saying, "I have to say it's somewhat rare when you get all seven Omaha City Council members to agree on something. I agree we all need to pay our taxes...But the current process we have is not equitable." However, John Ewing, the Douglas County Treasurer, stated that, if passed, the bill would cost his region $600,000 in the first year, as well as $443,000 in subsequent years.

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