LINCOLN- State lawmakers have long been frustrated when it comes to finding ways to rein in Nebraska’s reliance on property taxes to fund local government, but a recent Tax Foundation report said a new law passed by the Legislature last year is helping. The analysis, commissioned by the Nebraska Chamber Foundation, said the legislation (Legislative Bill 34) championed by former Sen. Lou Ann Linehan and signed into law by Gov. Jim Pillen at the end of a special session “has teeth in ways that previous bills did not” in controlling property tax increases across the state.

But the Tax Foundation’s findings, shared with reporters in a Zoom call Friday, said the law needs to be amended to ensure local officials can keep meeting the needs of their communities while also preventing steep increases the law was designed to prevent. The law should also be tweaked to make sure Nebraska’s cash reserve remains at healthy levels in the event of an economic downturn, the report indicated.

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