LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state’s 12-week abortion ban and transgender care restrictions on Friday.

A lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and its medical director, Dr. Sarah Traxler, in May 2023 claimed LB 574 violated the “no bill shall contain more than one subject, and the subject shall be clearly expressed in the title” rule in the Nebraska State Constitution.

LB 574 allowed Nebraska’s chief medical officer the ability to regulate transgender care for minors, and a last minute amendment tacked a 12-week abortion ban onto it. Governor Jim Pillen signed the bill into law on May 22, 2023.

The Supreme Court Justices peppered lawyers with the ACLU and State of Nebraska with questions about the constitutionality of LB 574 pertaining to the single-subject rule earlier this year.

In an opinion issued Friday morning, the Supreme Court found no merit to Planned Parenthood’s argument that the bill contained more than one subject, affirming a district court decision in 2023.

The state’s high court acknowledged in its ruling that abortion and gender-affirming care “are distinct types of medical care,” but found the law does not violate Nebraska’s single-subject rule because both abortion and transgender health fall under the subject of medical care, the AP reported.

The ACLU of Nebraska highlighted Justice Lindsey Miller-Lerman’s dissent from the majority’s interpretation of the single-subject requirement.

Justice Miller-Lerman accused the majority of applying different standards to bills passed by the Legislature and those sought by voter referendum.

The ACLU of Nebraska released the following statement:

“We respectfully disagree with the court majority’s determination, and we had of course hoped for a very different outcome,” Mindy Rush Chipman, executive director of ACLU of Nebraska, said. “But looking beyond the legal arguments of this specific case, it is so important that Nebraskans do not lose sight of the impact of these restrictions. Nebraskans have been harmed every week since the governor signed LB 574 into law. That will continue under today’s ruling. However, this case will not be the final word on abortion access and the rights of trans youth and their families in Nebraska. Despite this loss, we will continue to do all that we can to ensure that Nebraskans can make their own private decisions about their lives, families and futures.”

Pillen, who pushed for the bill to be passed, released a statement following the Court’s decision:

“I am grateful for the court’s thorough and well-reasoned opinion upholding these important protections for life and children in Nebraska. There was a dark moment last year when many feared that a victory for unborn babies was impossible and that the pro-life coalition might break apart. I was honored to partner with faithful allies and leaders across the state to combine the abortion ban with protections for kids against irreversible sex change surgeries. We worked overtime to bring that bill to my desk, and I give thanks to God that I had the privilege to sign it into law. I immediately directed our state government agencies to swiftly bring these protections into effect. I am grateful for their work and for the work of the Attorney General to defend it,” Pillen said.

Attorney General Mike Hilgers also commended the Court on its ruling.

“The Legislature passed Nebraska’s 12-week abortion ban and its ban on gender-altering procedures for minors, and we are pleased that the Court upheld the constitutionality of the Legislature’s work,” Attorney General Mike Hilgers said.

Read the full Nebraska Supreme Court opinion below:

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LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — The Nebraska Republican Party filed a complaint Thursday against Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.

The complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleges that it was illegal to transfer $96 million raised by President Joe Biden’s campaign to Harris’ campaign.

“There is no provision for any transfer of funds prior to a nomination of president, which Harris clearly does not have,” the party said in a press release.

The Nebraska GOP was joined in the action by 16 other state and territory parties and the conservative group Citizens United.

On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump’s campaign filed a similar complaint.

A spokesman for the Harris campaign told CNN that complaint was “baseless.”

The FEC said it does not comment on enforcement matters.

LINCOLN — A new K-12 school funding proposal from a bipartisan segment of five urban and rural Nebraska lawmakers is being pitched as an alternative approach to provide tax relief.

State Sen. Jana Hughes of Seward, a former school board member, introduced Legislative Bill 9 on Thursday. She has nicknamed the proposal “Lower the Levy Cap” because, over the course of 10 years, maximum general fund property tax rates for local K-12 school districts would fall to 25 cents per $100 of taxable valuation.

In the first year, maximum tax rates would fall from $1.05 per $100 of taxable valuation to 65 cents. The state would fill in the gap to cover the local portion of the school funding. Every two years after, lawmakers would have to find more state funding to lower the tax rate cap by an additional 10 cents, until the 2033-34 fiscal year when the cap would be reduced to 25 cents.

‘Lower the Levy Cap’ concept

“Lower the Levy Cap” would require about $444 million additional funds in its first year, according to estimates from Hughes and her office. She said her proposal is not “anti” the governor’s plan but is simply another approach to property tax relief.

“It’s just another way to do it, and I think it’s reasonable and can actually get accomplished because it’s just not quite so much money and we time it out over 10 years,” Hughes said.

Hughes began working on the concept this spring shortly after a prior proposal that she had backed didn’t pass.

Pillen, similarly, has suggested lowering the levy cap to 0 cents by the middle of 2027. That shift would require upwards of $2.6 billion, including nearly $1 million in current tax relief programs.

“We cannot go away with nothing,” Hughes told the Nebraska Examiner last week. “I’m worried we might be running into a buzz saw of nothing, and that’s not acceptable to me.”

State Sens. Tom Brandt of Plymouth, Myron Dorn of Adams, Danielle Conrad of Lincoln and Lynne Walz of Fremont were part of the bipartisan group working with Hughes.

An alternative option

Brandt said the group set out to find a practical solution and offer an alternative for the state’s 49 lawmakers to consider. In anticipation of the session, the group decided to divide and conquer, Brandt said, with each of them reaching out to about 10 other senators to explain the impact. 

“Today, I could easily say 40 of them are absolutely aware of this, and like it,” Brandt said.

Hughes and the team shared the plan with local stakeholders and public school leaders, as well as Pillen and his staff, and asked for feedback.

According to estimates from Hughes’ staff, the proposal would lower property taxes for a home valued at $250,000 by an average of nearly $800. For a business property valued at $500,000, the savings would be more than $1,500. And for 80 acres of irrigated farmland, it would be more than $3,700 in savings, on average.

Conrad said that stood “in sharp contrast” to Pillen’s plan, which State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn introduced on his behalf Thursday. Contrary to past statements that the governor’s plan would reduce property tax rates to 0 in three years, Linehan’s LB 1 included no direct reductions.

At a news conference announcing his ideas last week, Pillen said the state needed to act now and “couldn’t have a 10-year incremental plan.”

“My job as governor is to make sure we have a plan so we can grow the State of Nebraska, and we have to do it now,” Pillen said. “If we don’t do it now, the party’s over and this place shrinks. I don’t want to be any part of that.”

Hughes said she is in favor of removing some sales tax exemptions and has herself in the past proposed increasing the tax on e-cigarettes, or vapes, to 20% wholesale. The Pillen-led plan suggests a 30% tax on vaping products.

A second Hughes bill, LB 19, calls for a 2% excise tax on taxable personal property that is sold, given or furnished via mail, delivery service, online sales, telephone or other electronic method. If enacted, the change would take effect July 1, 2025.

That tax rate would add 2 cents to a statewide sales tax rate of 5.5 cents per dollar purchase, as well as any other local sales tax rates (those range from 0.5 to 2 cents).

‘Grandest challenge’ for lawmakers

Conrad, who along with Walz is a member of the Legislature’s Education Committee, said “Lower the Levy Cap” provides more resources and tax relief statewide. 

In the face of Pillen’s “misguided and radical plan,” Conrad said, their alternative is “gaining support at every moment.” She said it’s more fiscally sustainable and doesn’t rely upon huge tax increases.

“We are well positioned to use this measure as a centerpiece to move forward this session, which is thrilling,” Conrad said.

Brandt said he believes that the Legislature faces the “grandest challenge” that he’s seen in his six years in the Legislature, but he sees a chance to rise to the occasion.

“I’m not being facetious when I say that,” Brandt said. “We’ve talked about property tax, we’ve picked at the edges. We have an opportunity to focus on meaningful property tax relief for all the people in the state.”