The Nebraska Legislature kicks off its 2026 session on Wednesday, launching a 60-day sprint in which senators will introduce bills, navigate filibusters, and attempt to move legislation across the finish line before sine die in April.
For voters, the top concern remains clear: property taxes. Despite reductions in tax levies over the past several years, soaring property valuations have continued to squeeze homeowners and landowners across the state. For lawmakers, however, another issue looms just as large — an estimated $465 million budget shortfall that must be resolved in a a constitutionally required balanced budget.
Those themes dominated a recent Pachyderm Luncheon, where Senators Rick Holdcroft (LD-36), Ben Hansen (LD-16), and Jared Storm (LD-23) offered a candid preview of what they expect in the coming session.
Taxing, Spending, and the ‘800-Pound Gorilla’
Sen. Jared Storm, a freshman legislator, described the deficit as “the big 800-pound gorilla” facing the Unicameral. After his first year in Lincoln, Storm said he is convinced the deficit is not due to Nebraskans being undertaxed.
“This state does not have a revenue issue. What this state has is a spending issue,” Storm told attendees. He emphasized that he is one of four senators who have pledged not to vote for any tax increases at any level.
Holdcroft echoed the problem, noting that recent income-tax reductions, while “a good thing,” have reduced state revenue even as lawmakers attempt to backfill property tax relief with roughly $3 billion per year in state aid to local governments.
All three senators stressed a point often lost in statewide debates: property taxes are assessed and collected at the local level. Storm and Hansen both argued that meaningful relief ultimately depends on who sits on school boards, city councils, county commissions, and other local governing bodies.
“We need people elected to these boards and commissions to not be yes men or women,” Hansen said. “They need to say ‘no.’” Hansen also emphasized that simply holding levies flat is not enough when valuations spike. Without corresponding levy reductions, taxpayers still see higher bills—a distinction he said too few officials are willing to acknowledge publicly.
Squaring the Tax Circle
While Storm and Holdcroft did not issue specific plans on eliminating the budget deficit, Hansen proposed sweeping reform on sales tax exemptions, advocating for a “clean slate” review.
“Over the course of decades, we have whittled away at tax exemptions. People come in and want a tax exemption for this and a tax exemption for that. And it’s grown just like a bureaucracy,” Hansen said. “Make them come to us legislators to validate why they deserve a sales tax exemption — except for inputs, real inputs, health care and food. I would exclude those.”
During the Q&A, attendees raised ideas ranging from voter-approved caps on residential tax increases to automatic levy adjustments tied to valuation growth. Douglas County Commissioner PJ Morgan advocated for a 5% cap on annual residential property tax increases, modeled on systems used in other states.
Former Omaha Mayor Hal Daub suggested amending statutes governing the Tax Equalization and Review Commission (TERC) to force automatic levy reductions when valuations rise. Hansen indicated openness to working on such reforms.
Filibusters, “Christmas Tree Bills,” and Legislative Gamesmanship
The discussion also revisited the procedural chaos of recent sessions. The 2023 session was noted both for theatrics on the floor, a near universal filibuster of every bill presented, and wild protests that included tampons being dumped from the chamber balcony and a severed deer head being smuggled in with a backpack.
Ironically, Hansen noted that tumultuous session turned out to be one of the most productive for Republicans in recent memory. “Even the Omaha World-Herald had to put on the front page that this is the best year for Republicans in 2023,” Hansen said. “The Democrats were a little ‘over emotional’ about some of the bills that we were passing, and that only drew more votes towards the Republican standpoint, because nobody wanted to be affiliated with that.”
The filibusters in 2023 forced leadership to rely heavily on so-called “Christmas tree bills” — large last-minute packages combining dozens of measures to overcome procedural obstruction. This enabled several Republican priorities to make their way through to the Governor’s desk.
“What happened in 2023 is they filibustered every single bill,” Holdcroft said. “When we got our 33 votes, we passed a lot of legislation.”
Preparing for the 60-Day Sprint
Despite previous successes, the fundamental math remains unchanged: 33 votes are required to overcome filibusters, and razor-thin margins leave a handful of senators with outsized leverage. As such, some previously hoped-for measures like Winner-Take-All are unlikely even to be proposed in this session, as the votes that defeated them last term have not changed.
As Nebraska enters a compressed session with a major budget hole, rising property tax pressure, and looming midterm elections, the next 60 days will test whether lawmakers can make fiscal ends meet before the clock runs out.
