Committee hears support to remove community colleges from ‘truth‑in‑taxation’ postcard requirement (LB495)

Senator Ben Hansen opened his brief presentation to say LB 495 would remove community colleges from the Property Tax Request Act’s postcard requirement, often called “truth‑in‑taxation” postcards, because community college levy authority has been largely curtailed by statewide funding changes.

Why it matters: The statute requires certain taxing entities to send postcards to property owners when requested property tax increases exceed allowable growth. Community colleges previously appeared on the postcard roll but now collect a much smaller share of property taxes because of state funding changes. LB 495 would remove community colleges from the postcard requirement to save administrative cost and reduce taxpayer confusion.

Courtney Whitstruck, executive director of the Nebraska Community College Association, told the committee the colleges’ funding model “has been drastically changed, almost completely eliminating our levy authority,” and she thanked the sponsor for removing an unnecessary postcard obligation and associated costs. Justin Brady, lobbyist for Metro Community College, and John Cannon of the Nebraska Association of County Officials also testified in support, noting that community colleges now receive a much smaller portion of total local property taxes and that the adjustment matches current funding reality.

Senator Hansen urged members to visit a local pink‑postcard hearing, saying those meetings educate taxpayers about levies and local budgets; he offered to stay for questions and waived closing remarks. The committee took no action on the bill during the hearing.