Sen. Hughes headed back to Lincoln to finish session

Sen. Dan Hughes of Venango has enjoyed being on the farm during the Legislature’s recess due to COVID-19.
    Last week, he was busy on the combine, finishing up a wheat harvest.
    But that all comes to an end for awhile when he returns to Lincoln to finish the last 17 days of the 60-day session.
    There’s still plenty of heavy lifting senators must do before the end of the session.
    Topics like property tax relief, a new business incentive plan for the state and, of course, the budget will capture a lot of attention when senators return.  
    Just because he hasn’t been back to Lincoln since the recess began doesn’t mean he hasn’t been working the issues. He noted he’s spent plenty of time on the phone.  
    “We’re still now trying to find some sort of a solution on property taxes,” he said.
    The state’s revenue forecasting board meets this week. That’s a big reason why the session was delayed to July 20, he said.
    That way senators will get a good feel for Nebraska’s economy has fared during the COVID pandemic. “We need to see the numbers before we can have any kind of an idea of any significant property tax relief,” he added.
    The state has gotten more than $1 billion in federal money due to an aid package approved by Congress.
    Whether that will free up some state money for tax relief remains to be seen.
    He felt they were within a couple of weeks of getting tax relief accomplished when the session was halted. “So, we’ll deal with the circumstances we have now.”
    As residential property values have risen in the urban areas, more senators are hearing from their urban constituents about the need for tax relief, he said.
    Hughes has been visiting with a number of retailers who have indicated business  has been steady or better than last year. As a result, he feels the Nebraska economy is in better shape than some might suspect.
    People are still spending money, just in other ways, he said.
    That will play a key role as senators look at dollars for property tax relief, the budget and getting a new state business incentive program passed.
    He added there’s also a $300 million commitment needed to entice a new federal hospital to Omaha.
    These are big issues and he’s hoping the body can reach some compromises to accomplish all of the.
    Plus, there are plenty of other important issues that need to be dealt with.
    For instance, the tax collected to deal with leaking underground fuel tanks expired June 30.
    Legislation was on Select File to extend the sunset date on the fund before the session halted.
    No new bills can be introduced at this point but he expects efforts to tack legislation on to other bills.
    He also expects time to be spent by colleagues addressing injustices voiced by the Black Lives Matter movement.