Nebraska lawmakers engaged in a heated debate on Thursday as they searched for viable options to provide more than the "absolute minimum" in property tax relief. However, even the stripped-down version of Governor Jim Pillen's property tax plan failed to gain enough support, prompting lawmakers to consider alternative solutions.

The current version of Legislative Bill 34, which emerged from the first-round debate, was criticized for not doing enough. Senators estimated that the plan, as it stands, would only offset 3% of property taxes statewide, benefiting only a select group of property owners. Frustrated with this minimal impact, lawmakers pushed for more comprehensive relief efforts.

State Senator Justin Wayne of Omaha voiced his dissatisfaction, stating, "We are deciding to be OK, and not be great. If we're really happy with 3%, I don't know why we came down here." Wayne led a filibuster throughout the day, proposing alternative options that were finalized at 3 a.m. on Thursday. He suggested taking a multi-day recess to negotiate these alternatives and others before reconvening.

During the second-round debate in the evening, Senator Lou Ann Linehan, Chairwoman of the Revenue Committee, introduced a series of amendments aimed at imposing sales taxes on various goods and services. The resulting revenue would then be directed towards increasing property tax relief. Linehan's amendments aimed to force lawmakers to vote on whether to continue sales tax exemptions for services such as pool cleaning, nail care, tattoos, travel agencies, and lawn care. However, due to time constraints, the amendments were not discussed.

The initial version of Governor Pillen's proposal, which sought to reduce property tax bills by an average of 50% through a change in school funding, did not gain enough support to advance. Instead, the Revenue Committee presented a scaled-back version in LB 34, which would aim for a 30% reduction in property tax bills by cutting the maximum school property tax levy and filling the gap with increased state funding.

However, this amended bill only saw limited support and faced filibusters during both the first and second round of debates. The bill requires 33 votes to end a filibuster, and while it achieved 34 votes during the first round, its future support remains uncertain.

Lawmakers explored various alternatives throughout the day. Senator Steve Erdman of Bayard, who previously supported LB 34, withdrew his support and proposed his long-standing measure to eliminate all state and local taxes and replace them with a broad-based consumption tax. Other options suggested by Senator Wayne included different treatment for different classes of property, caps on local governments, new property tax credits, and assistance for renters.

In addition, the Revenue Committee unanimously advanced Legislative Resolution 2CA, a proposed constitutional amendment that could alleviate property taxes for Nebraska residents who own the homes they reside in. The amendment would allow owner-occupied homes to be assessed at less than 100% of market value, similar to the existing assessment for farm and ranch land.

However, the Executive Board of the Legislature later killed bills that would have waived the requirement for proposed ballot measures to be submitted 120 days before an election. Without these bills, any constitutional amendments passed during this special session will not appear on the ballot until the 2026 general election.

As frustrations grew with the lack of progress, some senators expressed their desire to bring the special session to an end. Senator Julie Slama of Dunbar, who voted against ending the filibuster on LB 34 but later voted in favor of the bill, stated that she plans to vote only for a motion to end the session, as she believes the special session has "passed its useful life at this point."

The search for a satisfactory property tax relief solution continues, with Nebraska lawmakers exploring various options and amendments to provide meaningful relief to property owners.