Nebraska
Gov. Pillen pushes back against legislative criticism of his property tax approach • Nebraska Examiner
LINCOLN — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen pushed back Thursday against recent legislative criticism of his approach and process for pursuing his favored property tax relief proposals.
In a statement, the governor thanked state senators he said have worked hard to find ways to deliver the “transformative property tax relief” he and others have sought.
He applauded them for resisting pressure from groups protecting sales tax exemptions on various items from the proposals he supports.
“These senators, who represent all political stripes and all corners of our state, are doing right by their constituents by engaging in tough negotiations, good faith exchanges of ideas, and collaboration with their colleagues to forge a compromise that will work for Nebraska,” Pillen said.
Calls tactics obstructionist
He criticized “a small minority” of senators who called him out Wednesday on the floor of the Legislature. It’s a group likely to filibuster the Pillen-favored bill, which most vote-counters say is still short of the needed 33 votes.
Pillen said those senators should “end their obstructionist rhetoric, stop their time-wasting tactics, and engage with their colleagues to craft a bipartisan consensus solution.”
Pillen said Nebraskans who want property tax relief are “watching carefully” and will hold senators accountable, hinting that those who fail to act will pay at the ballot box.
He also condemned “baseless personal attacks” alleging that he and his hog operation based in Columbus would benefit significantly from the tax relief he supports.
He repeated his stance that Nebraskans want a broader sales tax base, a cap on government spending and lower property taxes. He acknowledged that the plan continues to change.
“I know that any plan passed by the Legislature will be a hard-fought compromise and that it will not include every provision I believe in and am fighting for…,” Pillen said. “Doing nothing is not an acceptable option for Nebraskans.”
Some senators disagree with his funding sources
State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln and several others vented their frustrations Wednesday about the ways Pillen and others in his camp had handled the special session and his favored proposals.
Anger at Gov. Jim Pillen’s property-tax push spills into legislative debate
After the governor’s statement Thursday, she said she welcomed his right of free speech and said she would not be “bullied or silenced in my good faith efforts to represent my district.”
She and others who criticized Pillen for including only certain senators in early planning for tax proposals said they cannot justify raising sales taxes on everyday items that people need.
Conrad and George Dungan of Lincoln; Megan Hunt, John Cavanaugh, Jen Day and Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha; and Carol Blood of Bellevue questioned the governor’s approach from the floor.
Conrad said she would keep fighting against Pillen’s “misguided tax plan that would hurt working families, seniors, local businesses and our schools to benefit large wealthy landowners.”
She said average Nebraskans should not pay more. And she pushed to include other revenue options, such as gambling and legalizing marijuana, in any package to offset costs.
“I have enjoyed working with the governor on many issues,” Conrad said. “We simply have a principled disagreement about how to pay for our mutual goal of property tax relief.”
Hunt shared Pillen’s statement in a tweet Thursday and wrote, “Governor Pillen is calling upon all of us to stop being mean.” State Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar called him “King Jimmy.”
“King Jimmy is very angry senators are fighting his scheme to raise taxes on working Nebraskans. We should be expanding homestead exemptions, freezing valuations and capping spending, but those ideas are being ignored,” she tweeted.
“Pillen doesn’t profit enough from those,” Slama tweeted.
Linehan says property tax ‘war’ is not easily won
One of the lawmakers working closest with the governor, State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Omaha, echoed his defenders on the legislative floor on Wednesday.
She credited Pillen for being “willing to put everything on the table and take every political hit there is out there.” She pointed to “a bunch of senators” saying he’s the problem.
Linehan’s Revenue Committee postponed a couple of attempts at holding an executive session Thursday to vote out the committee’s new version of Legislative Bill 9, the latest vehicle for its tax proposals.
The eight-member committee was supposed to meet Thursday morning and early afternoon to vote out an amended LB 9, but significant technical changes needed to be made to a draft amendment.
That included clarifying how the state would capture the local slice of sales taxes from new items covered by the state sales tax and specifying how the state would revamp school funding.
Linehan’s group was waiting on fixes that several senators on her committee and beyond have sought from a draft amendment Wednesday evening. In total, more than 120 motions and 80 floor amendments have already been filed that will likely prevent changes on the floor.
Linehan said she understands “raw politics” and the fight ahead. She said her side needs to know that “battle is just battle” and that they have “to win the war.”
“That’s why it’s got to be perfect,” Linehan said of the bill’s language. “We won’t even get to an amendment that changes a comma that’s in the wrong place.”
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How about some Husker hoops during the holidays in Hawaii.
Nebraska (7-2 overall, 1-1 in Big Ten) begins its Diamond Head Classic slate on Sunday night in Hawaii against Murray State (6-4, 1-1 in Missouri Valley Conference). Tip for the game is set for 8 p.m. central time. It will be televised by ESPN with Roxy Bernstein and Sean Farnham on the call.
The Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic is a three-day tournament with games on Sunday, Monday and Christmas day on Wednesday. The action is played at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, the home of the hosting Rainbow Warriors.
Nebraska will play the winner of Hawaii and Charlotte in the second game on Monday. College of Charleston, Loyola (Chicago), Oakland and Oregon State make up the rest of the eight-team tournament field.
Here’s a look at the bracket, which can be viewed here:
Each team in the tournament will play three games in four games. That’s a lot of basketball packed into a short amount of time. That’ll no doubt be a different feeling for the Huskers, who have a schedule with a December stretch of just three games in 21 days.
Obviously, getting off on the right foot in the opener against Murray State is a must for the trip to be considered a success.
“This first one obviously is very important, to try to stay on the right side of the stay bracket,” Fred Hoiberg said during a press conference Thursday before the team departed. “We’ll worry about the second game when we get there, whether it’s Hawaii or Charlotte, and then have a day off to prepare for the third game that we will play.”
Nebraska will catch Murray State on a two-game losing streak. The Racers fell on the road at Western Kentucky 81-76 in overtime last Saturday, then dropped a game at Indiana State on Wednesday 84-74.
Hoiberg noted how Murray State dug itself in a hole early but never quit and made it a game at the end. The Racers trailed by as many as 22 points in the second half, 53-36 with 12:15 remaining, but slashed the Sycamores’ lead to a two-possession game, 78-74, with 1:37 left.
“It’s a team that shoots the ball as well or better than any team that we played to this point, and they’ve got quick, athletic guards that pose problems on both ends of the court,” Hoiberg said.
Nebraska is coming off a head-turning 85-68 victory against Indiana on Dec. 13, a solid rebound effort after getting embarrassed in a loss at Michigan State.
In the win over the Hoosiers, Brice Williams went off with an outing of 30 points, six rebounds and five assists. The 6-7 guard was named Big Ten Player of the Week and one of five USBWA Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week.
Williams also became only the second Husker in the Big Ten era to have at least 30 points and five assists in a game, joining Teddy Allen (2021).
Murray State will come into the game averaging 78.8 points per game (7th in MVC) while shooting 47.7% from the field (7th) and 38.6% from 3-point range (4th). The Racers’ defense is allowing 67.0 points per game (3rd) and have done well defending the perimeter, holding opponents to 27.9% shooting from 3 this season.
“Their ability to shoot is the thing that really stands out,” Hoiberg said. “They shoot over 40 percent as a team. Their guards are really quick, and they do a great job getting into the paint.”
Hoiberg knows Murray State head coach Steve Prohm well. Prohm was who took over for Hoiberg at Iowa State when he took the Chicago Bulls head coaching job.
“I think he’s a great guy and I think he’s a hell of a coach,” Hoiberg said of Prohm. “So they do a really good job of spacing the floor. They run a lot of really good actions, especially for their shooters when they get it going. And their bigs, the guys that do play, they’re very active going to the glass. They will throw it in there depending on matchups. I’ve been impressed with this team and their overall quickness and ability to shoot the ball. Those are the things that worry you most about this group.”
With the forecast for Honolulu calling for sunny skies and 80-degree temperatures during the days of the tournament, the Huskers want to enjoy the experience of being in Hawaii during the holidays.
But making sure winning basketball games and the tournament is the top priority.
“If we go out there and guys want to sit on the beach and do all that, we’re probably not going to be very successful,” Hoiberg said. “We’ve talked a lot to our guys about going out there, enjoying the experience and enjoying the process, but understanding when that ball goes up in the air, we got to be on point and we got to be ready to go.”
Nebraska preferred to fly to Hawaii on Thursday, but due to finals at UNL, the departure day was pushed to Friday. The Huskers landed in Honolulu on Friday afternoon local time.
Hoiberg said the Huskers had a light workout on the court after landing and will have a practice on Saturday before the Sunday game. The tight schedule won’t be an excuse, Hoiberg said, because every team in the tournament, outside of host Hawaii, is making the same trip.
“We’re all in the same boat on this trip,” Hoiberg said. “It’s something where the team that puts the distractions behind them — you got the time change, got a new ball that we’ve been practicing with all week — but it’s the same thing for everybody. It’s the short turnarounds, and the team that prepares the best will have the most success in the tournament this week.”
On Tuesday, the off day on Christmas Eve, Hoiberg said there will be a team meal with some of the family members that also made the trip. They’ll find time to fit that in between a practice and multiple film sessions.
An SEC defensive back is headed to Lincoln via the transfer portal.
Former Georgia DB Justyn Rhett has committed to Nebraska. He has three years of eligibility remaining.
Rhett appeared in four games over two seasons for the powerhouse Bulldogs. He finishes his Georgia career with three tackles.
The 6-1, 200-pound DB got to Athens from the football factory out of Las Vegas, Bishop Gorman. A four-star prospect out of high school, Rhett was selected to play in Under Armour All-America Game and picked Georgia over Alabama, Michigan, Florida State, LSU, Tennessee, Oregon, Notre Dame, Oregon, and more.
MORE: Nebraska Women’s Basketball Falls at No. 17 Georgia Tech
MORE: Dave Feit’s Historical College Football Playoffs: The Post-Osborne Nebraska Teams
MORE: Purdue Transfer Quarterback Marcos Davila Commits to Nebraska
MORE: Carriker Chronicles: Nebraska Big Day; Coaching Staff Is Better
MORE: Despite Final Four Loss, Nebraska Volleyball Has Plenty to Be Proud Of This Season
Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — One match left: Louisville, which knocked out Pittsburgh, plays Penn State, which ousted Nebraska with a five-set reverse sweep.
ESPN and Big Ten Network analyst Emily Ehman and VolleyballMag editor Lee Feinswog look back on an incredible Thursday night at the NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship:
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