Legislative News

A tough-on-China law championed by Gov. Jim Pillen and approved last year by the Legislature threatens to blow a hole into state incentive programs that for decades have been a bedrock of state business recruitment efforts.

A new state law that passed last year now threatens the state tax incentives of Nebraska’s most global companies, because they do business in China.

Nebraska has more than $1.4 billion in the bank and the highest credit rating in our history.

As of January 1, 2026, 22 states have no meaningful nonresident filing threshold, requiring most nonresidents to file an individual income tax return if they spend even a single day working in the state.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen’s mid-biennium budget proposal drew no supporters at a public hearing Monday, with many testifiers sharing concerns about the governor’s continued reliance on cash fund sweeps to balance a projected deficit.

Commentary from former State Senator and former State Treasurer Tom Briese: Rural Nebraska must stay vigilant to happenings in Lincoln. Without vigilance, there will be efforts to throw some of us under the bus. One such effort in the Nebraska Legislature could be Legislative Bill 1038.

As a former state senator and chair of the Appropriations Committee, John Stinner said he is perplexed by the continuous discussion regarding our state’s “budget crisis.”

A rundown of the past week in the Nebraska Legislature from the chairman of the Banking Committee.

His proposal aims to fill Nebraska’s projected budget deficit and push for new property tax relief in short session.

Read the full text of Gov. Pillen's annual address to the state.

While the potential fix would not change the amount Nebraskans pay to support their local schools, Sen. Jana Hughes of Seward said her bill (LB1038) would better reflect the efforts of lawmakers to reduce property tax burdens.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen unveiled a plan to cut spending and boost efficiency as the state confronts a $471 million deficit.

The Nebraska Legislature will launch into floor debate on Wednesday as senators settle into the 60-day session set to conclude sometime in mid-April.

As Nebraska lawmakers consider possibly expelling a fellow lawmaker for the first time in state history, senators introduced more than 100 bills Wednesday, Jan. 7, the first day of the 2026 legislative session.

Speaker of the Legislature John Arch of La Vista told the Journal Star he expects his final session in the Legislature will go fast with no shortage of issues to fill out the short session.

Nebraska now faces an estimated $451 million budget shortfall will require lawmakers to either raise taxes, cut spending — or both.

Property taxes can be looked at as a story problem. Unlike a story problem, though, with property taxes you don’t always have all the information you need at the start.

The 2025 Nebraska Legislative Changes affecting taxation has been posted to the Nebraska Department of Revenue's website.

The Nebraska Department of Labor released the official Paid Sick Time Notice in preparation for the implementation of the Nebraska Healthy Families & Workplaces Act, which takes effect on October 1, 2025. The new legislation requires employers with 11 or more employees to provide paid sick leave for personal and family health needs.

The Nebraska Examiner is launching a new resource to break down election margins by legislative and congressional districts for state, federal and ballot measure races in recent years.

"We need to come up with that money for those people that we passed over," says State Sen. Brian Hardin of Gering.

Tax credits to offset property taxes owed to local K-12 school districts are now automatically applied, but Nebraskans still need to file for income tax credits for community colleges for additional relief each year.

Utah lawmakers recently passed legislation eliminating 150- and 120-credit-hour requirements for CPA licensure in state statutes. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is expected to sign the bill, which will then become law on July 1, 2026, according to the Utah Association of CPAs.