Omaha World-Herald on Dec. 31: 5 reasons property tax relief is so hard to pass in Nebraska

The history of the State Legislature has been that it acts most swiftly when there’s a crisis at hand. The state’s farmers and ranchers, who have seen their property tax bills explode, say a crisis is upon them, especially with low prices for crops and a trade war blocking access to some major markets. But are urban homeowners screaming as loudly for property tax reductions?

Renee Fry of the Open Sky Policy Institute said she’s heard from newly elected urban legislators who got grilled about high property taxes. She said it’s starting to feel like the late 1980s, when concerns about equal educational opportunities in K-12 schools fueled the landmark state aid to schools bill, Legislative Bill 1059, which, for a few years, reduced property taxes.