BELLEVUE- Gov. Pillen took his push for property tax relief on the road Friday, launching a series of town hall meetings aimed at finding the 30 to 33 legislate votes he needs for a promised special session this summer. Pillen told an audience of roughly 50 people at Bellevue University that he remains committed to offsetting $2 billion the $5 billion Nebraska is spending each year on property taxes.

He asked those in attendance to let lawmakers know that people can't sustain current property tax loads. His main goal is to have lawmakers pass a proposal to pull forward, or "front-load," about $750 million in already approved income tax credits for property taxes paid. Having the state pick up the tab on community colleges, said Pillen, would help the state grant another $248 million in property tax relief.

Despite criticism, Pillen also announced that he would still like lawmakers to consider up to a 1-cent increase in state sales tax, which would raise nearly half a billion dollars. One of Pillen's main targets is to increase the tax on cigarettes, which he argued was too low, and to add the sales tax to pop and candy purchases.

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