The University of Nebraska has added three public forums for Dr. Jeffrey P. Gold, the priority candidate for president.

The additional forums are on April 24. Times and locations are:

10:30 a.m. (Central time) — Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture, Ag Industry Education Center, Auditorium, 404 E. 7th Street, Curtis;

1:30 p.m. (Central time) — West Central Research, Extension and Education Center, 402 W. State Farm Road, North Platte; and

3 p.m. (Mountain time) — Panhandle Research, Extension and Education Center, 4502 Avenue I, Scottsbluff.

Gold, the current executive vice president and provost of the University of Nebraska System and chancellor of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, was named the priority candidate for the University of Nebraska presidency on March 20, following a national search. As state law requires, he is undergoing a 30-day public vetting period. If, after the vetting period, the Board of Regents deems it appropriate, they will bring Gold’s appointment for consideration at a Board of Regents meeting.

University community members and the public are encouraged to submit feedback on Gold’s candidacy during the vetting period.

Nebraska residents will have more control over the personal information businesses collect on them under a consumer privacy law signed Wednesday by Gov. Jim Pillen (R).

The requirements (L.B. 1074), which take effect Jan. 1, 2025, add to a growing patchwork of state privacy laws. Sixteen other states have enacted laws that generally give consumers the right to know what data a company collects.

A proposal in Congress would replace the state patchwork with federal privacy protections, though previous measures have stalled over preemption concerns among other issues.

The Nebraska law will apply to companies that do business …

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A proposed property tax relief bill in Nebraska died Thursday on the final day of this year’s legislative session.

Lawmakers debated Legislative Bill 388, introduced by State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, for about two hours.

Before a vote to end the debate, Linehan requested to pass over LB 388, killing the proposal.

But Linehan said she’s open to returning for a special session, which would need to be called by Gov. Jim Pillen.

“I hope we have a lot of conversations between now and then about all your perfect answers to this problem,” she said.

The bill aimed to reduce property taxes by 22% by increasing taxes on other items, like cigarettes, and removing tax exemptions from pop, candy and lottery tickets.

The proposal also put a 7.5% tax on digital ads, which would only apply to companies with a combined gross advertising revenue of at least $1 billion.

State Sen. Julie Slama said there’s more work to be done to give Nebraskans property tax relief.

“Come back this summer with the attitude that we can do something transformational with our tax code, believe that we can do more than this for the taxpayers of Nebraska,” she said.

It’s unknown if or when Pillen will call a special session to discuss property tax relief.