Lincoln Chamber Eyes Tax Relief in 2016 State Legislative Session

Lincoln Chamber of Commerce (www.lcoc.com) members are part of something bigger than their individual businesses.  Banded together they speak with a powerful collective voice, a voice that can create a better business climate and a state in which we can thrive.

At all levels of government, the staff at the Lincoln Chamber work tirelessly to represent the interests of our members so they can spend their time doing what they do best – run their business.

As you read this column, the 2016 Nebraska legislative session is underway at the State Capitol.  The Chamber is actively lobbying on dozens of bills related to making Nebraska a better place to do business, raise a family, and follow the American Dream.

At the top of our priority list is tax relief for all Nebraskans.

It is comforting to know tax relief is also one of the top priorities for Governor Pete Ricketts and many State Senators. While the Lincoln Chamber will continue its focus on providing income tax relief, we join the Governor in his concern for addressing the heavy burden local property taxes place on property owners.

Up for debate on the property tax side of the equation will be a package of bills, LB 958 and LB 959, which would cap aggregate statewide Ag land property values increases of no greater than 3%. In addition, the package of bills will attempt to tighten local government spending and budget lid provisions. In addition to these bills, the Governor also noted the nearly half a billion dollars in direct property tax relief efforts provided by the state over the two-year budget. The application of the Governor’s two Ag land property tax relief bills introduced this Session is expected to require more state funding for the state school aid formula.

Governor Ricketts and key lawmakers have also prioritized investing in one of the Lincoln Chamber’s top issues – road construction. The Lincoln Chamber is pleased to support LB 960, the Transportation Innovation Act (TIA), introduced by Sen. Jim Smith.

The TIA will accelerate the state highway improvement program by creating two additional project delivery methods for NDOR: Design-Build and the Construction Manager/General Contractor Approach. This bill also will include a program to promote innovative solutions to accelerate repair and replacement of deficient bridges on the county road system.

LB 960’s Transportation Infrastructure Bank (TIB) will support accelerated build out of the Expressway System and other high priority corridors. The TIB will use a $150M transfer from the Cash Reserve to begin and it is the intent to use state motor fuels tax revenues from last year’s fuel tax increase to replenish the fund. In addition to transportation funding, the Chamber will support: Innovative bills related to attracting and retaining talent via tax credits for student loan repayment programs (LB 685, Bolz) and/or tax credits for recent Nebraska college graduates (LB 870, Harr); greater investment in the Site and Building Development Fund (LB 1091, Hilkemann); enhancements to the Business Innovation Act (LB 1028,  Morfeld); sales tax exemption for custom software (LB 812, Smith); “Data Analysis” as a qualified business under the Nebraska Advantage Act (LB 1051, Harr); enhancements and increased funding for the InternNE program (LB 1017, Lindstrom); updates and uniformity changes under the Convention Center and Arena Facilities acts (LB 884, Scheer); creation of the Bioscience Steering Committee (LB 987, Morfeld); creation of the Venture Development and Innovation Task Force (LB 1083, Williams); and creation of a Veterans’ Treatment Court Pilot Project (LB 915, McCollister).

The above list doesn’t include all the Legislative bills the Chamber is supporting or opposing. It merely highlights some of the priority issues under our state policy agenda. If you would like more information on a specific bill, you can contact Bruce Bohrer in our office.

The old saying – “You must be present to win” rings true in the halls of the Capitol.  You can rest assured the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce is there to represent the best interests of business every day. Thank you for making it possible through your continued investment.

The Chamber’s mission is to improve the lives of Lincoln residents by providing increased economic opportunity and can only be accomplished together. For more information on the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, (www.lcoc.com) please contact Jaime Henning at jaimehenning@lcoc.com.