Occupation tax bill passes first round

Nebraska lawmakers passed a bill on first round approval Tuesday that will effectively allow all natural resource districts in the state to levy an occupation tax on irrigators.

LB 862, introduced by State Sen. Mark Christensen and a priority bill of the Natural Resources Committee, passed by 44-3.

It allows NRDs to incorporate bonding into their integrated management plans, paid back by occupation taxes. Eligible projects for bonding include vegetative management practices, buying or leasing water and augmentation projects, when water is piped into the area from another area.

Formerly, only those districts that were designated as fully or over appropriated by the state were required to craft an integrated management plan with the Department of Natural Resources. A bill passed earlier this session and approved by the governor, LB 764, allows all NRDs that have not been designated as fully or over appropriated, to develop an integrated management plan jointly with the Department of Natural Resources.

LB 862 passed fairly easily as more water issues loom in the future, Christensen said.

"Everyone is aware of water issues in the state," he said this morning at the McCook Area Chamber of Commerce teleconference call. "The situation with the Platte is huge compared to the Republican."

The bill would exempt surface or groundwater irrigators who cannot use their water due to regulatory measures or lack of water.

Two amendments were offered to restrict the occupation tax, both which were defeated.

According to Unicameral Update, the legislatures' news source Web site, Scottsbluff Sen. John Harms offered an amendment that would have permitted the taxation only of acres irrigated with ground water.

He said he brought the amendment to prevent NRDs from managing both ground water and surface water. He said NRDs historically have regulated only ground water, which would change with an occupation tax that NRDs potentially could apply to all irrigators. Holdrege Sen. Tom Carlson spoke in opposition to the amendment, saying the bill is essential to addressing the challenges of the Republican River basin and will be useful in the near future for the Platte River basin.

Harms' amendment failed on a 6-22 vote. Ellsworth Sen. LeRoy Louden offered another amendment that would have restored language in which NRDs can issue river-flow enhancement bonds. Without his amendment, he said, the bill would spread a tax that still has court challenges against because of the "closed class" issue.

"I don't think an occupation tax on all the irrigated ground in Nebraska is the answer," he said. His amendment failed by a 5-39 vote.

The Legislature is barreling toward the end of the session, with only 12 working days remaining. As a result, agendas are "loaded," Christensen said, as senators work late nights in debating bills.

Some bills lawmakers will consider today include:

* a study of death penalty costs;

* to include mental injuries in workman compensation claims for first responders, such as fire fighters;

* expanding what doctors must say to women who get an abortion, such as mental/moral issues

* creating the "Teacher Performance Pay" fund

* provide a two-year moratorium on new hospitals

On the Teacher Performance Pay fund, Christensen said he was surprised by the number of calls he received from teachers who were against it. His concern with this bill is if funding would be a problem for the state, given the budget constraints. If the state had no money, the funds would have to come from property taxes. Jim Coady, former McCook School Board member, said according to union rules, teachers could not accept monetary gifts and if an award was given, it would have to be spread out through the school district.

Christensen said he is "guardedly optimistic" on a bill that would provide funds for welding and other training programs at the Nebraska Department of Corrections Work Ethic Camp in McCook.

LB 510 was approved on first reading and would create the Nebraska Crime Victim Fund. This would be funded by 5 percent of wages earned by an inmate participating in the work release program, with the federal government matching 60 percent of these funds. A portion of these funds would be used for tuition, fees and other costs associated with re-entry programs at incarceration work camps.