STATEWIDE - The 109th Nebraska Legislature passed hundreds of bills, but it's the one that didn't pass that's been on the minds of many.

For the second straight year, major property tax reform failed to get the 33 votes necessary to make it to the governor's desk.

A group of lawmakers led by Gov. Jim Pillen joined with State Treasurer Tom Briese to try and stem the tide of rising property taxes.

Their idea? State government would pick up the tab for annual funding of Nebraska's 245 public school districts, while keeping governance with local school boards.

"The Nebraska Constitution provides that the state should provide for the free education of our public school children," said Treasurer Briese in an interview with News Channel Nebraska. "But the state ignores that responsibility."

The sticking point has been how to pay the tab. 

This past session was the third time that a push to end exemptions on many sales taxes failed.

A bill (LB170) by Plymouth Sen. Tom Brandt would have added sales tax to multiple services, like soda, dating services, tattoos, and pet grooming, among others. The proposal estimated about $100 million in property tax relief if passed initially, and an even slimmer version of the package failed to garner enough support.

But it fell three votes shy of ending a filibuster. Push-back came from both sides of the aisle, with some senators saying expanded sales tax for the purpose of property tax relief is unsustainable, and others saying it would disproportionately affect low-income Nebraskans.

But Briese said the potential property tax savings would outweigh the higher costs of some services.

"We're not talking about a tax increase," Briese said. "We're talking about much-needed revenue-neutral tax reform. It would eliminate those exemptions and use those dollars to provide property tax relief by funding public schools."

As a state senator, Briese tried multiple times to alter Nebraska's sales tax structure but was never able to get it across the finish line.

The State of Nebraska did take over funding the state's community colleges in 2023, a move that saved the state an estimated $6 million in property taxes in 2024.