Governor Jim Pillen delivered his 2024 ‘State of the State’ address before the Nebraska legislature this morning.
In his lengthy speech, Gov. Pillen outlined several priorities for his second year as Governor and legislative efforts to achieve these goals in tandem.
Pillen spoke about a continued and highly publicized effort to lower property taxes across Nebraska by 40%. “This crisis is not new,” said Pillen. “It has been hurting Nebraska farmers, ranchers, homeowners, and businesses for most of our lifetimes. High property taxes hurt every Nebraskan in every part of our state and must be fixed NOW. Property taxes are so out of whack, you don’t even need to own property to be impacted.”
Another repeated theme from Pillen was downsizing government offices/operations.
“Nebraska government remains too big at every level. Since my inauguration, we have been relentless in searching for efficiencies, cutting costs, ending bloated contracts, and working to meet the performance improvement targets this Legislature set out for us last session,” said Pillen. He offered a chopping block example of reducing the number of state boards and commissions, of which there are over 200 in Nebraska. Pillen said he’s working with Senator Tom Brewer on a measure that would eliminate forty-eight—or twenty percent—of state boards and commissions.
Offering an economic priority, Pillen said he want to introduce incentives for Nebraska-grown companies.
“I am working with Senator Linehan to reform our current incentive package to make Nebraska’s incentives competitive in the manufacturing sector for Nebraska-grown companies. While we want to create and incentivize great careers in Nebraska, we must focus more on recruiting people to The Good Life. We must retool our incentives to be people focused,” he continued, “We will incentivize new Nebraskans to join our private workforce, too. Senator Ballard has introduced an innovative bill that will give Nebraska businesses credit for bringing new residents to our state. Passing this bill will be another investment in our future workforce. But we must recognize that investing in the twenty-first century workforce is different from what we’ve done before. No longer can we focus tax breaks on companies that are takers, not givers, and that do not share our values.”
Pillen also laid out priorities focusing on childcare & early childhood education, housing, workforce, and general education.
“I have partnered with Senator Bostar on Legislation to create a Micro-Center network. This will allow local communities and businesses to get creative with existing space and resources to meet their childcare needs,” Pillen outlined, “To build the housing we need for our workforce, we should invest an additional 25 million dollars into the Rural Workforce Housing Fund. All across rural Nebraska, the demand for workforce housing is so great that homes are sold before the doors are even hung. But it’s not just a rural Nebraska issue. Housing affordability and availability is an issue in our cities too. Part of the shared problem is local overregulation of affordable housing. That is why I am partnering with Senator Lowe on lowering the regulatory burden for affordable housing.”
Investments in bioeconomy were also emphasized by the Governor. “This diverse area of economic activity encompasses everything from sustainable aviation fuel to plastics, nylon, acrylics, and amino acids—all sourced from corn and soybeans and able to made here in Nebraska,” he explained, taking advantage of federal resources that will, “Provide more value for our agricultural products, more research and innovation, and more wealth right here.”
in the vein of agriculture, Pillen also saved time to say he would protect Nebraska agriculture from foreign ownership of land, “I am partnering with Senator DeKay to modernize Nebraska’s laws on land ownership to prohibit purchases by adversaries. This bill would tighten up those restrictions and provide a clear directive for enforcement. Additionally, the bill rescinds exemptions for foreign ownership, such as foreign oil, gas and mineral development in the state.”
Piggybacking off the global recognition of Volleyball Day in Nebraska into a more controversial culture war battlefield, “I don’t want my granddaughter to bear the fundamental unfairness of competing against a boy. And I certainly don’t want her to suffer the indignity of showering next to a boy,” the Governor said, queuing legislation carried over from last year introduced by Senator Kauth. LB575, known as the Sports and Spaces Act, would define group bathrooms, locker rooms and sporting teams as either male or female, still allowing coed or mixed teams. Pillen encouraged lawmakers to pass the act.
Pillen concluded his address by sharing something a Nebraska tribal elder told Pillen an adage. According to Pillen, the elder advised him that tribal leaders are guided by a knowledge that their actions have an impact for seven generations. Notably, Pillen commented on the fact it has been roughly seven generations since Nebraska was founded. Pillen said this story has guided his public service.