Nebraska
Nebraska Governor wants to reduce property taxes by $2 billion
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen says it’s a problem that is handcuffing Nebraskans: enormously high property taxes. He vows to cut those taxes by more than $2 billion, by taxing other things.
Nebraska taxes are divided into three main groups, and in 2024, the state expects $5.3 billion from local property taxes, $3.6 billion in state income taxes, and $2.5 billion in state sales taxes.
Gov. Pillen wants to get that $5.3 billion in property taxes down near the $3 billion mark — a 40 percent reduction.
But in order to do that, one of those other numbers would have to go up, and the most likely candidate according to policy experts, is sales tax.
Gov. Pillen spent half an hour explaining why he believes property taxes are too high in Nebraska, how local taxing bodies need more oversight, and that lawmakers and citizens need to come together to find solutions.
But the Governor also none of his own solutions — only that taxing groceries is off the table since they’re a necessity. Gov. Pillen says all the wants are in the sales tax crosshairs, plus, the thousands of items that are currently exempt from sales tax are getting a second look.
“From my seat, everything is on the table,” Gov. Pillen said. “Items that aren’t going to put business or agriculture or manufacturers at a disadvantage and items that are non-essential — there are a number of items that are. We’re looking at every sales tax exemption and trying to make sure no stone is unturned.
Open Sky Policy, a non-profit think tank in Nebraska, responded to the Governor’s remarks that needs won’t be taxed, but should be.
“It’s difficult for a Nebraskan who goes to work to get by without a car,” Open Sky Policy representatives said in a statement to 6 News. “And our young families, those so important to our state’s future, must account for the expenses of car seats, diapers, and clothes. All of those items are subject to sales taxes in Nebraska, for which low and middle-income residents pay a higher share of their income.”
Gov. Pillen said he’s been talking with stakeholders, along with the chamber, for months about reducing the property tax burden. He says he wants Nebraskans to open new ideas as this debate moves forward.
Those ideas will come in the form of priority bills from state lawmakers, the details of which are not yet revealed.
Copyright 2024 WOWT. All rights reserved.
Nebraska
Detective speaks out about Nebraska teen’s 1969 murder case
(WOWT) – Stabbed at least a dozen times, the body of 17-year-old Mary Kay Heese was discovered along a country road in 1969.
In an update to an exclusive First Alert 6 investigation, the detective who helped solve the decades-long cold case is speaking out.
“It’s been a dark cloud over Wahoo for a long time. There’s a lot of people who remember that,” Saunders County Attorney Investigator Ted Green said.
For nine years, Detective Green has learned much about the victim’s life and how it came to an end.
“She fought some, there was a struggle,” Green said.
The suspect, Joseph Ambroz, was 22 years old in 1969 and paroled from prison for about six months when he came to live with his mom in Wahoo.
“I still don’t understand how she got in the car because that wasn’t Mary Kay’s personality,” Kathy Tull, the victim’s cousin, said in an interview.
Detective Green believes a party grove was the destination.
“And she’s just thinking its ok a couple of guys I know from the restaurant and we’re going out for a ride,” Green said.
Green reveals that Mary Kay likely got in the car with the suspect and another young man who was with them.
“He committed suicide in 77 so if he wasn’t an active participant or just didn’t realize what was going to happened all of a sudden it just happened,” Green said.
A tip line set up by the victim’s cousin led to a lake west of Wahoo where the suspect’s car may have been dumped in 1969 where dive teams found a large metal object.
“It’s everybody’s hope the golden nugget you hope had been there. But there’s evidence I can’t discuss that there’s something there,” Green said.
Evidence that remains in the lake because Green got estimates of up to $400 to pull it from the muddy, murky water.
But Green said he has plenty more evidence, including an autopsy after exhuming the body of the victim with a forensic pathologist from the Offutt Military Identification Lab adding expertise.
“There’s DNA available, its just I’ve got to go off of we have available to us,” Green said.
Though forensics will play a part in this case, it appears solved the old-fashioned way.
“This is a case that didn’t have anything glaring but had small pieces along the way. This is all gum shoe, all gum shoe work,” Green said.
Green would not respond when asked if he has found a murder weapon.
The 1969 murder of a small town high school Junior led to hundreds of interviews and tips over 55 years, and the investigation narrowed from ten suspects to one.
“Well been able to exclude everybody mentioned as a suspect way back when except for this guy,” Green said.
Even though the suspect is in custody, the case is not closed.
If you have information on the murder of Mary Kay Hesse, call the Saunders County Attorney’s Office at 402-443-5613.
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Copyright 2024 WOWT. All rights reserved.
Nebraska
Seven behavioral health care providers tapped for new program that helps Nebraskans in crisis • Nebraska Examiner
LINCOLN — Seven behavioral health care providers have been selected to launch a new certification program designed to improve mental health and substance use care across the state — and provide around-the-clock crisis help for Nebraskans.
Called the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics initiative, the effort has been described as “transformational.” To start, it will involve: CenterPointe, Community Alliance, Heartland Counseling Services, Heartland Family Services, Lutheran Family Services, South Central Behavioral Health Services and The Well.
“This is a significant step for Nebraska,” said Matt Ahern, interim director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Medicaid and Long-Term Care division. “We’re really excited about this model because it incentivizes a more integrated care — a whole person approach rather than segmenting behavioral health from physical health and everything else happening in a person’s life.”
Serves all
Selection of providers, announced Wednesday, follows passage last year of Legislative Bill 276, the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Act, sponsored by State Sen. Anna Wishart of Lincoln and signed into law by Gov. Jim Pillen.
This is a monumental step toward building healthier and stronger communities.
– State Sen. Anna Wishart of Lincoln
CCBHCs emerged from the Excellence in Mental Health Act, a federal law signed in 2014 to improve the nation’s mental health system. The model ensures that clinics provide a wide array of services, such as crisis response, medication management, psychotherapy and community and peer support.
In return, providers are allowed to participate in a restructured payment model that better accounts for costs associated with services, according to a DHHS news release. Certified clinics are required to serve anyone who requests care for mental health or substance use, regardless of their ability to pay, place of residence or age.
Over the next year, the Nebraska DHHS divisions of Behavioral Health and Medicaid and Long-Term Care will work with the seven provider organizations to develop services needed to meet the state requirements and federal criteria determined by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Programs are to be up and running by January 2026.
“The CCBHC model allows a clinic to truly focus on delivering the quality of care and breadth of services a person needs,” said Thomas Janousek, director of DHHS Behavioral Health. “It focuses on reducing administrative barriers for providers which ultimately results in better care for the individuals it serves.”
‘No-brainer’
By launching the initiative, Wishart said, the state is “transforming” the way Nebraskans access mental health and substance abuse care, in a coordinated and comprehensive way that fills service gaps.
“This is a monumental step toward building healthier and stronger communities,” she said Wednesday.
Wishart has said she expects the CCBHCs to reduce emergency room visits and incarcerations. Data from other states that have implemented such clinics have shown reductions in law enforcement involvement and hospital usage, state officials have said.
Pillen has called the legislation a “no-brainer” for Nebraska. His testimony at a legislative hearing in early 2023 surprised some, as the Republican governor stepped across the political aisle to speak on behalf of a bill introduced by a Democrat, Wishart.
At the time, Pillen said that Nebraskans “must come together to solve tough problems.”
After completing the certification program, a provider is to be recognized as a CCBHC, offering integrated physical and behavioral health services to Nebraska families. Services are to include: around-the-clock crisis support; easy access to mental health and substance use care; tailored treatment plans; specialized care for veterans and military personnel; peer support; comprehensive psychiatric rehabilitation.
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Nebraska
Nebraska votes against second ballot measure that would have introduced new abortion protections
Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ project voters in Nebraska will not pass a measure that would have enshrined stronger abortion protections in the state constitution.
Nebraska’s Initiative 439 would have amended the state’s constitution to provide access to abortion until fetal viability, which is at the end of the second trimester around 24 weeks. It would have also included life of the mother exceptions and very clearly stated that it’s up to the practitioner to determine viability.
The measure narrowly failed. Counting of ballots continued for weeks after election night.
The measure, along with Nebraska Initiative 434, were both on Nebraska’s ballot in the November election.
RELATED STORY | Nebraska votes to ban abortion after first trimester
Voters passed Initiative 434, which bans abortion after the first trimester. It includes exceptions for medical emergencies, rape and incest.
Nebraska law will continue to ban abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy. That law went into effect in June of 2023. It includes exceptions for saving the life or health of the mother and for rape or incest.
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