Former State Senator Curt Friesen introduced and sponsored the morning legislative coffee session with Senator Jana Hughes on Tuesday at the Dutch Kitchen. He welcomed her to Henderson and expressed his support for her upcoming second-term re-election bid in November – HeartlandBeat photo
Senator Jana Hughes led a loaded, informative discussion Tuesday morning about a multitude of issues, bills passed and failed, property tax relief, data center pros & cons, and how to tackle the looming budget deficit.
She discussed the challenges and strategies for managing the projected $208 million budget deficit for the ongoing two-year budget. She highlighted the need for targeted spending cuts and the addition of potential revenue sources, such as online gambling, sales tax, and reducing business exemptions.
Senator Hughes’ bill to tax VAPE products failed by one vote and would have generated $80 million dollars. Lobbying efforts by Big Tobacco, which spent around $1 million dollars on lobbying against this bill, were part of the reason for it not passing, she said.
“Nebraska has the sixth lowest cigarette tax in the nation at 64 cents,” she said. If her bill had passed, the revenue would have been used for Medicaid, according to Hughes. “It didn’t pass, so we move on, but we will give it another go next year.”
Hughes explained the potential benefits and challenges of data centers, including their water usage, closed-loop systems, and the need for “smart regulation.” The legislature passed a bill allowing data centers to sell excess energy back to the public power grid, which could benefit the state’s energy supply, she said. “We need to be smart, thoughtful and careful when dealing with data centers.”
“Even Cornerstone Bank has its own data center in York that supports all their banks, and they contract out to other banks, which is beneficial.” She cited an example from the Springhill Plattview school, which receives $1.9 million in property tax revenue from a data center in its district. “That’s a game changer for a school!”
Another discussion item was ballot initiatives and why it’s important for the Legislature to be able to make small changes after they pass. She gave an example of a past ballot initiative that provided mandatory sick leave and the negative impact it had on small businesses before the Legislature made some changes. She reminded everyone that nothing is ever “black and white” and there are always unintended outcomes that nobody anticipated.
She noted that a bill on the November ballot will make it extremely difficult for the Legislature to make even minor changes to a ballot initiative by raising the legislative vote threshold from 33 to 40. She also voiced concern about paying signature collectors, as it invites fraud. She mentioned a developing story in Lincoln concerning alleged fraudulent signatures.
She urged constituents to vote for increasing state senators’ term limits to three terms in the November election. She cited a great need for experienced lawmakers with “institutional knowledge” who can better serve the state.
Throughout the morning, Hughes gave several reasons for the budget shortfall, one of which was the Big Beautiful Bill, which cut $100 million in federal Medicaid support. Other factors were declining tax receipts, a drop in state income collections, property tax credits, and the poor ag economy.
“When you look at sales tax in Nebraska, we tax the least amount of things compared to every state around us. For whatever reason, we have so many exemptions and exceptions to our tax code. If we matched what Iowa taxes, we would have another $200 million.” She gave examples of Nebraska’s tax-exempt services, such as charter flights, tattoos, pool cleaning, interior design, limousine service, and more.
Another reason she believes in targeted tax cuts was the negative effects of Governor Pillen’s recent across-the-board 5% spending cuts. She explained how it adversely affected the DMV department in that it wasn’t adequately staffed, and both the York and Seward offices were mostly closed, making it difficult for anyone to renew their licenses.
During the morning, Senator Hughes took questions and comments from the 11 constituents who attended the meeting. Henderson Mayor Corbin Tessman asked her if she could assist in getting the state to lower the speed limit over the I-80 interchange.
She invited constituents to sign up for her weekly email and contact her office with any other questions, concerns, or ideas on raising more revenue.
Email: jana.hughes@leg.ne.gov
Phone: 402-471-2756
Facebook: Senator Jana Hughes
