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Legislature hits midpoint as lawmakers pass road-vacation bill and weigh postcard overhaul
Summary
At the session midpoint, lawmakers passed a bill letting counties vacate or abandon public roads without a traffic study and advanced multiple proposals to change how counties notify property owners about tax requests, including LB 683’s June notice proposal.
The legislature reached the 45th day of its 90-day session this week and moved closer to full-time floor debate after one more week of committee hearings, Presenter (S1) said.
At the same time, lawmakers passed a bill this week that allows counties to vacate or abandon public roads, including section line roads, without requiring a traffic study. Presenter (S1) reported the passage but did not provide vote tallies or the bill number in the transcript.
Lawmakers also considered a bill that would allow counties to use county visitor improvement funds to expand and maintain visitor attractions and facilities; under current rules those funds are used only for improvements, Presenter (S1) said.
The revenue committee took up multiple bills addressing taxpayer notice: one proposal (LB 683) would replace the traditional late-summer "pink postcard" with a June notice showing current and prior-year tax valuations and the time of each taxing entity’s hearing; another bill would move the hearing date from September to July; and a separate measure would remove community colleges from the postcard because they no longer levy property taxes. Presenter (S1) said the committee flagged the existing postcard process as not timely and asked how to provide more useful notice to taxpayers.
The judiciary committee is scheduled to hear a bill that, as presented, would expand county exposure to tort claims related to child abuse or [redacted assault] on a child. Committees will also consider bills on mental health, including a regional mental health expansion pilot program introduced on behalf of the attorney general, and a government, military and veterans affairs committee will take up a bill to allow county-level initiatives and referenda; an amendment has been offered to replace that original measure.
What happens next: committees will continue hearings for one more week, then priority bills and the biennial budget will dominate floor debate beginning in mid-April, Presenter (S1) said.
