LINCOLN, Nebraska (Nebraska Examiner) – The Nebraska Legislature will not have a revised, formal property tax relief plan before the House until Monday at the earliest, as the Finance Committee needs more time to hammer out the new package.

At the request of State Senator Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, chair of the Finance Committee, the House voted 33-11 to officially adjourn the session until Monday, pushing back the original schedule for debate on a new property tax relief package that would be a revision of House Bill 9 to Thursday. Several delays in drafting that amendment have pushed back the debate.

Linehan outlined concerns about the current draft amendment and asked for feedback at a morning meeting she led with her colleagues. She and her committee vice chair, Senator Brad von Gillern of Elkhorn, asked senators to contribute their ideas.

Since that briefing, she said, senators have done so and called for changes that could find her support.

“It’s not ‘change this because it will make me feel better,’ it’s ‘change this because I’m going to vote for it,'” Linehan told reporters after the adjournment vote. “We need to figure out what those things are.”

Linehan said she will negotiate with key senators in person on Friday to ensure she doesn’t lose more votes than she wins. There may be a closed session of committee members on Saturday, who could hammer out a tax package by Monday afternoon.

It may seem like the senators are going home for the weekend, Linehan acknowledged, but she said each of them will be working. She remains confident there is a path forward.

“We’re at a point where we can’t just come here and complain about the law,” Linehan said. “If you want to help us by giving us the opportunity to get to 33, then we can have a conversation. If you just come here to complain and want to kill the law, then I’m not talking to you.”

Parliament will meet again at 1pm on Monday to inform itself so that the amended tax package, if rejected by the committee, can be entered in the minutes. The debate could start on Tuesday morning.

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