Sen. Jim Smith (left) and Speaker Jim Scheer
An effort to address high property taxes collapsed in the waning days of the legislative session.
The end came quietly.
“The next items on General File, 640, 947, and 1103, we will pass over and move on to LB 791,” Speaker Jim Scheer of Norfolk announced late Monday afternoon from the legislative floor.
The three bills took various routes to reduce property taxes.
Scheer had met with the sponsors of those bills, Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte, Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion, and Sen. Curt Friesen of Henderson, as well as Sen. Tom Briese of Albion and Sen. Burke Harr of Omaha over the weekend. The group met Friday evening and Sunday evening for a total of nearly eight hours without reaching consensus.
Scheer placed LB 640, LB 947, and LB 1103 on the Monday agenda in case weekend meetings bore fruit, so one could be used as a vehicle for a compromise.
“But, nothing was agreed upon over the weekend, so there was no reason to keep any of the bills in play at that point in time, so that’s why we passed over them,” Scheer tells Nebraska Radio Network.
Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion won’t second guess the Speaker but says he had hoped the governor’s tax-cut proposal would return to the floor for a vote.
“It seems to me that it would be appropriate to have a vote; a cloture vote even,” Smith says. “And if it fails, it fails.”
But none of the property tax bills returned to the floor for debate. No votes were taken.
AUDIO: Brent Martin reports [:50]