The Legislature’s floor debate agenda continues to be filled with major fiscal policy issues this week, including school revenue caps, a K-12 funding increase and income tax cuts. Meanwhile, the week’s hearing schedule includes yet another attempt to enact scholarship tax credits and a measure to streamline access to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
A packed floor agenda
First-round debate on LB 986 – which would cap the amount by which public school district revenues could grow – is likely to conclude early this week. The measure has been the subject of extended debate with several senators raising concerns about the bill, including its potential impact on our state’s largest school districts.
LB 890 – which proposes a $715 million increase in funding for K-12 education in order to help offset Nebraska’s high reliance on property taxes – will be debated on the floor once lawmakers wrap up discussion on LB 986. LB 891, LB 890’s companion bill, would make a variety of school finance and tax changes to provide funding for the increased K-12 aid but has yet to come out of the Revenue Committee.
LB 939 is also on the Legislature’s agenda for first round debate this week and would, as amended by AM 1780, ratchet Nebraska’s top personal and corporate income tax rates down to 5.84%. Non-Nebraskans, corporations and wealthy residents would be big winners under the bill, which would dramatically reduce state revenues and leave Nebraska vulnerable to cuts to schools and other key services, particularly once the federal dollars that are currently bolstering our economy stop flowing.
Wednesday’s Revenue hearings focused on new scholarship tax credit proposal
The Revenue Committee on Wednesday will hold a hearing on LB 1237, which could allow taxpayers to direct up to $25,000 or half their income tax dollars to private school scholarship funds, resulting in a tax break 7.3 times bigger than they would get for other charitable donations. Lawmakers this session already rejected LB 364, another bill that would have created scholarship tax credits.
Helping kids get access to health care
On Thursday, the Health and Human Services Committee will hear a bill that would streamline access to health care for some children. LB 857 would permit Nebraska’s Medicaid and CHIP programs to determine and recertify children by using enrollment data from SNAP, thus avoiding the need to submit separate applications for the programs.
Nebraska Public Media will stream all legislative debate and hearings live.