Debate Transcripts
LB 194 (1999)
Final Reading
March 25, 1999
PRESIDENT MAURSTAD: The bill is passed. Mr. Clerk, LB 194.
CLERK: Mr. President, 194. Senator Wickersham, I have a motion from you, Senator, to return 194 for AM0869. (See Legislative Journal page 1103.)
SENATOR WICKERSHAM: Thank you.
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PRESIDENT MAURSTAD: Senator Wickersham, you're recognized.
SENATOR WICKERSHAM: Thank you, Mr. President. There are two motions to return this morning on LB 194 and I hope the body will indulge us. There are two motions because they are really kind of distinctly different issues, but both of them were brought to us by the Property Tax Administrator's Office. one of them relates ... the amendment you have now relates -to provisions in the bill itself and those are penalty provisions that we inserted for delinquent personal property filings. The existing law is fairly sharp in the penalties that are going to be imposed. We are reducing those in penalty ... those penalties in LB 194. When we did that, we intended that that be effective for the current tax year. The Property Tax Administrator's Office has suggested to us that that would be appropriate if it were effective for the next tax year, so that's the...that's the amendment. It delays the effective date of that change in the penalties to January 1st of the year 2000, the rationale being that you have to give time for county assessors to adjust to the change. They may have to change programmings in computers. They certainly have to change some of their forms that notify people about the penalties and the extent of the penalties, so, in order to get all of that into the works, the Property Tax Administrator's Office is now suggesting that the appropriate operative date be January 1st, 2000, for that change in penalties, and that's AM0869 and I would certainly ask that you return 194 for that amendment and then adopt it. Thanks.
PRESIDENT MAURSTAD: Thank you, Senator. Seeing no lights, Senator, you're recognized to close. Senator Wickersham waives closing. Question before us is the motion to return LB 194 to Select File for specific amendment. Those in favor vote aye; those opposed nay. Please record.
CLERK: 37 ayes, 0 nays, Mr. President, on the motion to return the bill.
PRESIDENT MAURSTAD: Question is agreed to. Senator Wickersham on AM0869.
SENATOR WICKERSHAM: Mr. President, as I described briefly in
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the opening on the motion to return, the amendment simply delays the effective date of provisions in the bill that affect penalties for failure to report personal property to January 1st of the year 2000, to allow assessors time to adapt to the change in the law.
PRESIDENT MAURSTAD: Thank you, Senator. Discussion? Senator, you're recognized to close. Senator Wickersham waives closing. The question before us is the adoption of AM0869. Those in favor vote aye; those opposed nay. Please record.
CLERK: 38 ayes, 0 nays, Mr. President, on the adoption of the Select File amendment.
PRESIDENT MAURSTAD: The amendment is agreed to. Members, if I can have your attention, in the north balcony we have 50 eighth graders from the Kirn Junior High School in Council... from Council Bluffs, Iowa, joining us this morning and their teachers. (Introduced teachers.) If you'd rise, we'd like to recognize and welcome you to the Nebraska Legislature. Mr. Clerk, next item.
PRESIDENT MAURSTAD: Senator Smith.
SENATOR SMITH: Mr. President, I move the advancement of LB 194 to E & R for engrossing.
PRESIDENT MAURSTAD: Question before us is the advancement of LB 194 to E & R for engrossment. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed nay. The bill is advanced. Now, Mr. Clerk, next item.
CLERK: Mr. President, Senator Wickersham would move to return 194 to Select File for AM1007. (See Legislative Journal pages 12171220.)
PRESIDENT MAURSTAD: Senator Wickersham.
SENATOR WICKERSHAM: Thank you, Mr. President, and you thought Senator Bromm could confuse you. I'm really... I hope I'm not confusing you this morning. The reason that the amendments are separated is that they deal with quite distinctly different subject matters and processes, but, again.. they were both
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brought to us by the Property Tax Administrator's Office. This amendment, 1007, deals with issues that are of more substance that what you saw in an effective date for a penalty section. The matters of substance in AM1007 are a change of date that affects the Property Tax Administrator's Office work. The change of date is allowing them to certify the values for adjusted valuations that are used in the school aid formula. They're allowed... she would be allowed to certify that valuation as of October 10th rather than July 1st, as in the current law. Now that wouldn't be effective until next year. But the effect is that we will have more current information in the adjusted valuation numbers that are given by the Property Tax Administrator's Office to the Department of Education to be used in the state aid formula. The more current information is going to be the valuation of centrally assessed property. The old July 1st date didn't allow the Property Tax Administrator's Office to use current information for that component of the valuation of a school district. They had to use the prior year's information. By moving the date to October 10th, the Property Tax Administrator's Office will be able to use the current year's centrally assessed valuation in the information they give to the Department of Education. We have consistently worked to provide the most current information possible for use in the school aid formula, and I would suggest to you that this change is consistent with that. This change is only possible because in LB 149 we moved the certification date from December 1st to February 1st, so this is a reaction, if you will, in part, to the changes that we made in LB 149. We didn't ... this wouldn't have been appropriate if we had not passed LB 149 and if it wasn't going to become effective. We could not do this. So, we're following up on the changes that we made there and we're allowing the Property Tax Administrator's Office to provide more current information to the Department of Education. The other change is that we are going to give the Property Tax Administrator's Office greater flexibility so that they can extend that flexibility to county assessors. Now, it's an area in which they've exercised some flexibility in the past but without specific statutory authority, which concerns the Property Tax Administrator's Office, and I'm glad that it does because we prefer that the laws be administered within the letter of the laws. But, on the other hand, the kind of flexibility that the Property Tax
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Administrator's Office is asking for, and, in fact, that they have employed in the past, I think is entirely appropriate. What is that flexibility? That flexibility is the authority to allow county assessors a little bit more time to prepare their abstract of property if they need it, and there are a variety of reasons why that might happen. It might be actions by the TERC, it might be actions by the Property Tax Administrator's Office, it might be actions by the ag land boards so that the assessor might find it impossible to meet the deadlines that we're imposing in statutes. Remember, we've moved that date back from April 1st to March 20th. If moving that date back causes an assessor to legitimately say, I can't meet that deadline, what the change that we're proposing now allows that assessor to do is write a letter to the Property Tax Administrator's Office, says I can't meet the March 20th deadline, here's why. And the Property Tax Administrator's Office, at that point, would be given authority to write back to the county assessor and say, fine, those are good reasons, we will extend the deadline for filing that tax roll or that report of assessment. So that is the flexibility that we would give to the Property Tax Administrator's Office, a flexibility that they could then extend to local county assessors in those situations where it becomes impossible to meet the March 20th deadline. I think that's an appropriate level of flexibility to give to the Property Tax Administrator and to assessors. And I hope that you agree that the other change that's proposed in the amendment is also appropriate. With that, I'd ask your support for the motion to return.
PRESIDENT MAURSTAD: Thank you, Senator Wickersham. Discussion? Senator Wickersham waives closing. Question before us is the motion to return LB 194 to Select File. Those in favor vote aye; those opposed nay. Please record.
CLERK: 39 ayes, 0 nays, Mr. President, on the motion to return the bill.
PRESIDENT MAURSTAD: Question is agreed to. Senator Wickersham, to open on AM1007.
SENATOR WICKERSHAM: Thank you, Mr. President. I ... there is nothing I wish to add to the description of the amendment. It
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is as I've stated in my comments with regard to the motion. if there are any questions, however, I'd be happy to try to respond to them.
PRESIDENT MAURSTAD: Thank you, Senator. Discussion on AM1007? Senator Wickersham waives closing. Question before us is the adoption of AM1007 to LB 194. Those in favor vote aye; those opposed nay. Please record.
CLERK: 39 ayes, 0 nays, Mr. President, on the adoption of the Select File amendment.
PRESIDENT MAURSTAD: The amendment is adopted. Senator Smith.
SENATOR SMITH: Mr. President, I move the advancement of LB 194 to E & R for engrossing.
PRESIDENT MAURSTAD: For discussion on the advancement of LB 194, Senator Wehrbein.
SENATOR WEHRBEIN: Yes, Mr. President and members of the body, I'm a little nervous because I've tried to get it printed out and I haven't got it printed out. I understand it's several words. Tell me why I shouldn't be nervous at all, Bob, would you please, again, on this amendment?
PRESIDENT MAURSTAD: Senator Wickersham, would you respond?
SENATOR WEHRBEIN: Just tell me why I shouldn't be nervous about this. This is truly an innocuous amendment of cleanup? Is that what... I tried to listen to at least most of what you were saying, but ... this amendment that we just adopted.
SENATOR WICKERSHA14: Well, Senator, I certainly hope there's nothing to be nervous about. The two things in this amendment, one is that we're extending flexibility to the Property Tax Administration's Office so that they ... so that he or she can, in turn, extend that flexibility to county assessors. There's a report that's due on March 20th. If it becomes impossible to meet that deadline due to actions by TERC or by the Property Tax Administrator's Office or by the ag land valuation boards or other causes, it has been past practice to allow some leeway.
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The old date was April 1st but we've moved that back to March 20th. The old practice was to allow leeway without specific statutory authority. That bothered the Property Tax Administrator's Office.
SENATOR WEHRBEIN: Okay. That's enough...
SENATOR WICKERSHAM: Okay.
SENATOR WEHRBEIN: ... on that.
SENATOR WICKERSHAM: Okay. The other one...
SENATOR WEHRBEIN: Secondly?
SENATOR WICKERSHAM: Excuse me?
SENATOR WEHRBEIN: And, yeah, the other one then.
SENATOR WICKERSHAM: Okay. The other change is to move the date that the Property Tax Administrator's Office certifies values, this is adjusted values, not assessed values...
SENATOR WEHRBEIN: Okay.
SENATOR WICKERSHAM: ... this is adjusted values to the Department of Education to use in the state aid formula.
SENATOR WEHRBEIN: Okay.
SENATOR WICKERSHAM: The current date is July 1st. The date of July 1st is prior to the date that the values for centrally assessed property are determined. So you have to use the prior year's centrally assessed value.
SENATOR WEHRBEIN: Okay.
SENATOR WICKERSHAM: This moves the date to October 10th.
SENATOR WEHRBEIN: Okay.
SENATOR WICKERSHAM: That date is after the date that centrally
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assessed values have been determined and then the Property Tax Administrator's Office can use the current year's valuation for centrally assessed as opposed to the prior year's. Whether that will result in any significant changes I ... I don't think so because it's not a ...
SENATOR WEHRBEIN: I don't ... don't misunderstand me, I wasn't only concerned...
SENATOR WICKERSHAM: No, no, I ...
SENATOR WEHRBEIN: ...except I didn't get it printed out fast enough and I ...
SENATOR WICKERSHAM: No, and I ... and, Senator, I apologize this wasn't filed last night. We had some...
SENATOR WEHRBEIN: So ... and my machine isn't as fast as I was trying to get at it.
SENATOR WICKERSHAM: Okay.
SENATOR WEHRBEIN: And I just wanted to have it reiterated.
SENATOR WICKERSHAM: Sure.
SENATOR WEHRBEIN: I wasn't challenging it at all.
SENATOR WICKERSHAM: No, I ...
SENATOR WEHRBEIN: I voted for it and I ...
SENATOR WICKERSHAM: No, I ... if...
SENATOR WEHRBEIN: ... I'm more comfortable now.
SENATOR WICKERSHAM: ... I'm...
SENATOR WEHRBEIN: Thank you.
SENATOR WICKERSHAM: If there's any level of uncertainty, I'm pleased to try to respond, but I don't know of any reason for
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hesitancy. It will change...it will change a number, but it makes it more current and that has been our past practice, to attempt. to bring the most current information into the formula that we could.
SENATOR WEHRBEIN: Thank you.
PRESIDENT MAURSTAD: Senator Chambers, you're recognized for discussion on the advancement of LB 194.
SENATOR CHAMBERS: Mr. President, members of the Legislature, I want to do something better than that. Dr. Wickersham failed to answer "Squire" Wehrbein's question, which was why he should not be nervous. "Squire", you should not be nervous because nervousness is harmful to your health. (Laugh)
PRESIDENT MAURSTAD: Question before us is the advancement of LB, 194e. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed nay. The ayes have it. The bill is advanced. Members, if I can have your attention, while the Legislature is in session and capable of transacting business, I propose to sign and do sign LB 72. Mr. Clerk, LB 475.
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