Nebraska

Latest NE property tax plan would add sales tax to another 70-plus goods and services • Nebraska Examiner

Published

2 years ago

August 13, 2024

Latest NE property tax plan would add sales tax to another 70-plus goods and services • Nebraska Examiner

LINCOLN — Nebraska lawmakers are officially set to debate a tax relief package Tuesday that will include consideration of ending nearly 70 sales tax exemptions to provide funding for property tax cuts.

One month ago, a draft property tax plan indicated lawmakers might begin taxing sales of 120 more goods or services. That number has been incrementally reduced in successive rewrites, and at this point has been cut nearly in half.

The proposal

Some of the main components of the tax plan include:

Lowering the maximum school district tax rates for operational expenses to 40 cents per $100 of valuation for fiscal year 2025-26; 35 cents in 2026-27; and 30 cents in 2027-28 and beyond. The current maximum rate is $1.05.
Capping the annual increase in property tax collections by municipal and county governments at the rate of inflation or at 0% in times of deflation.
Crediting taxpayers for property taxes paid to their natural resources district (beginning at 50% in the next fiscal year).
Reimbursing county jail expenses (beginning at 25% in the next fiscal year).

Revenue Committee advances NE property tax relief package, with debate to start Tuesday

Most funding will come from retooling existing property tax reduction programs, such as tax credits and the portion of homestead exemptions no longer needed as school tax rates come down.

The other major area of financing will come from the newly taxed goods and services and increases to “sin” taxes, such as on spirits, cigarettes, oral nicotine pouches, vapes, cigarettes, keno and cash devices.

Legislative Bill 34, as originally introduced by State Sen. Tom Brewer of north-central Nebraska, would freeze property valuation increases over four years. He has described it as a “backup plan” or “fail-safe.”

‘They don’t fix the problems’

State Sen. Brad von Gillern of Elkhorn, vice chair of the Revenue Committee, said he is “cautiously optimistic” heading into Tuesday’s floor debate after he and the committee chair, State Sen Lou Ann Linehan, and others “listened to parties on all sides.” Von Gillern said committee members tried their best to build the bill around concerns raised.

State Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln at a listening session on property taxes in Lincoln. July 22, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

State Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln, the lone “no” committee vote on LB 34, said the package remains “inherently regressive” and would hurt low-income residents. He said it would also not provide relief to renters, who live in about 50% of the housing units in Dungan’s district.

“I understand there are certain parts of it that are intended to help low-income individuals, but on the whole, when you balance those against the other portions of the bill, I simply think they don’t fix the problems,” Dungan said.

State Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln, who was “present, not voting” on Monday’s committee vote, said afterward: “It’s just not there yet for me.”

The Legislature is officially nonpartisan, but votes sometimes split along ideological lines. On Monday, the six Republican committee members supported the package. Dungan and Bostar are Democrats.

Municipalities have raised concerns about the proposed sales tax changes on two fronts. One is with the state collecting an additional 12% in local sales tax revenue each year. The other involves how businesses can request future refunds for economic development and workforce incentive programs, such as the Nebraska Advantage and ImagiNE Nebraska Acts.

Those tax incentive programs utilize local sales taxes, but with the municipalities not collecting the full tax base, some have said it could further complicate planning for those future refunds.

Von Gillern pointed to a provision of LB 34 ensuring that cities or villages do not collect less sales tax revenue than they did in 2023-24, plus a 1% annual increase.

“There is a floor built into the bill, so they’re not going to get hurt on any of that,” he said.

‘We’ve got to get to 30’

State Sen. Brad von Gillern of Elkhorn. July 29, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

Von Gillern also pointed to an independent study from Ernie Goss, a regional economist and professor at Creighton University, contending that all taxes are regressive but that high property taxes are the most detrimental to economic growth.

“We’ve done as much as we can to take as much out that would have impacted the lowest income people, and I think we’ve done a good job of that,” von Gillern said. “We listened to the opponents, and we tried to modify as much as we could.”

He also pointed to internal legislative modeling, which was done on a previous tax package, where families with modest income would see a net benefit. He said that “seems to be forgotten in this discussion.”

Linehan said she thinks she has 31 votes but that getting to 33 votes on some bills to break a filibuster, particularly on proposals related to taxation, is “very, very partisan.”

“We’ve got to get to 30,” Linehan said. “I think we’re at about 31 right now.”

Many provisions of LB 34, if passed, would take effect Oct. 1. That would require 33 votes not only to end debate but also to pass the bill to take effect within three calendar months. Sales tax exemptions or repeals can only occur at the start of a calendar quarter.

First-round debate on the package will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday and can last up to eight hours.

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Nebraska

‘Best we’ve played all year.’ Trent Perry scores 20 points as UCLA routs No. 9 Nebraska

Published

10 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

‘Best we’ve played all year.’ Trent Perry scores 20 points as UCLA routs No. 9 Nebraska

The UCLA men’s basketball team made Senior Night one to savor Tuesday, dominating No. 9 Nebraska 72-52 at Pauley Pavilion for its 20th victory of the season and third over a top-10 ranked opponent.

The Bruins improved to 20-10 overall and 12-7 in the Big Ten with one regular season game remaining, Saturday at crosstown rival USC.

Trent Perry scored 20 points, Eric Dailey Jr. had 14 and three players — Tyler Bilodeau, Skyy Clark and Xavier Booker — each added eight points.

“Nebraska’s got a great team,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “This is the best we’ve played all year — they brought out the best in us. We went from our worst defensive effort to our best. They outhustle everyone they play, but not us. Tonight we were great, but I love the way they play. If we had their attitude we’d have their record.”

Eric Freeny had four points, five rebounds and three steals in 18 minutes for UCLA, which got 26 points in the paint and 17 second-chance points.

“Effort is what it takes to win in March,” Freeny said. “It was our last home game. Coach keeps on pushing me to be better everyday.”

Sam Hoiberg had 12 points to lead Nebraska, but Pryce Sandfort, who began the game leading the conference in three-pointers made per game, was held to nine points.

“Sandford has been unbelievable so to hold him to nine points is amazing,” Cronin said. “Brandon Williams was the unsung hero.”

Williams had six points and three rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.

The Bruins were in control from the opening tip-off and never trailed the Cornhuskers (25-5, 14-5). UCLA improved to 10-3 in all-time against Nebraska and the win greatly strengthened its resume for the NCAA tournament as the Bruins also beat then-No. 4 Purdue 69-67 on Jan. 20 and then-No. 10 Illinois 95-94 in overtime on Feb. 21 on Donovan Dent’s layup with one second left.

“We have to take attitude we came with tonight, bottle it up and take it on the road,” Dailey Jr. said. “We’ve got so much left. The season’s not over… we’re only as good as our last game. It’s all about how you respond. I love the fight that we played with tonight.”

This is the fifth time in Cronin’s seven seasons that the Bruins have won 20 or more games. They are 17-1 at home (their only loss in overtime to Indiana on Jan. 31).

“Since I’ve been here we don’t lose much at home.” Cronin said.

UCLA went ahead by 15 points, 37-22, on Perry’s three-pointer with 2:41 left and led 37-24 at intermission. The Bruins shot 50% from the field in the first half (15 for 30) while Nebraska was only 31% (nine for 29).

The Bruins increased their advantage to 18 points on Dailey’s dunk less than five minutes into the second half and the visitors got no closer than nine the rest of the way.

Prior to pregame introductions the Bruins honored seniors Bilodeau, Dent and Clark; fifth-year player Jamar Brown; redshirt seniors Steven Jamerson II, Jack Seidler and Anthony Peoples Jr; and redshirt junior Evan Manjikian. In a media timeout, midway through the first half, former coach Jim Harrick (who led UCLA to its 11th national championship in 1995) was honored and got a loud ovation.

“I’m happy for our seniors, I didn’t want them to lose their last game at Pauley,” said Perry, who reversed a subpar performance at Minnesota, where he was 0-for-7 from the field with one rebound and one assist in 26 minutes. “I had to come out here tonight and bounce back for my team. I play for something bigger than myself and I’m fortunate to have the type of guys I do around me.”

UCLA guard Skyy Clark looks to pass while under pressure from Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg and forward Berke Buyuktuncel in the second half.

(William Liang / Associated Press)

Over the last four games, Dent has 46 assists and just two turnovers.

Bilodeau has scored in double figures in 26 of 28 games played, totaling 20 points or more nine times.

Dailey moved to within five points of reaching the 1,000-career point milestone.

UCLA has now made at least one three-pointer in 887 of 888 games dating to February 2000.

“We had one practice this week, that’s it,” Cronin said. “We watched film, had a heart-to-heart talk and a shoot around today but that’s it.”

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Nebraska

4.1-magnitude earthquake hits south-central Nebraska

Published

22 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

4.1-magnitude earthquake hits south-central Nebraska

People across Nebraska and Kansas reported feeling an earthquake Sunday afternoon.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a quake measuring 4.1 on the Richter Scale struck around 1 p.m. about 3 miles east of the Webster County village of Cowles, which is in south-central Nebraska near the Kansas border.

A quake of that magnitude is considered “light” and not likely to cause damage.

But the USGS received dozens of reports from people who said they felt the quake, some as far away as Omaha and Manhattan, Kansas. Numerous people took to social media to report feeling the quake.

Two aftershocks of 2.6 magnitude later occurred near the original quake site, one about 90 minutes after the initial quake and one later Sunday night.

Earthquakes are relatively rare in Nebraska, but the state does usually record one or two minor ones per year. The last time Nebraska recorded a quake of a magnitude 4 or above was in December 2023, also in Webster County.

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Nebraska

Nebraska Lottery results: See winning numbers for Powerball, Pick 3 on March 2, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

The results are in for the Nebraska Lottery’s draw games on Monday, March 2, 2026.

Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on March 2.

Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing

02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from March 2 drawing

21-28-58-65-67, Powerball: 25

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 2 drawing

7-5-8

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from March 2 drawing

03-08-09-17-25

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning 2 By 2 numbers from March 2 drawing

Red Balls: 14-26, White Balls: 17-18

Check 2 By 2 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning MyDay numbers from March 2 drawing

Month: 05, Day: 03, Year: 23

Check MyDay payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 2 drawing

28-41-42-50-55, Bonus: 02

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Nebraska Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3, 5: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
Lucky For Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
2 By 2: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
MyDaY: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
Lotto America: 9:15 p.m CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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