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Property tax, broadband expansion and water quality priorities for NEFB

Property tax relief, broadband expansion and water quality are priorities for the Nebraska Farm Bureau in the upcoming legislative session.

Bruce Rieker, senior director of state policy, tells Brownfield additional property tax relief will help improve bottom lines. “We’ve had some great wins in the last 2 or 3 years, but we have a lot more to do to get things in balance.  Our members are happy with tax credits they’ve been getting.”

NEFB is part of a working group selected by Governor-elect Jim Pillen that will discuss how changed the school funding mechanism and Rieker says that is a critical part of lowering taxes.

He says the state continues its efforts to connect producers with affordable, high-speed internet. “With precision agriculture and other needs, we need to have that connectivity to make sure we can compete in the economy as well possible.”

Rieker says rural broadband will also help small communities and businesses, which helps boost local economies.

And, Rieker says, discussions over how to reduce nitrate levels in the state’s water supply are heating up. “We’re going to be working on augmenting on what we got passed in the last session. Senator Wishart championed a bill for us to get some money for reverse osmosis machines to treat drinking water.”

The Nebraska Legislature is scheduled to reconvene on January 4, 2023.