Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen backs anti-LGBTQ bill and tax cuts in state of the state address

abcnews.go.com:

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen covered everything from the state’s response to recent winter storms to his support for a bill to limit transgender students' access to bathrooms in his state of the state address

LINCOLN, Neb. — In his second state of the state address to Nebraska lawmakers, Gov. Jim Pillen on Thursday covered everything from praising the state's response to recent winter storms to supporting a divisive bill that would restrict transgender student participation in high school sports and limit trans students’ access to bathrooms and locker rooms.

But it was the Republican's plan to slash local government property taxes and possibly raise the state's 5.5% sales tax that drew the most criticism across the political spectrum.

Pillen is proposing a 40% reduction in property taxes that would slash $2 billion from the high of $5 billion collected across the state in 2022.

“First and foremost, the most important economic issue we face is out-of-control property taxes,” Pillen said.

Complaints about property taxes are nothing new for home and business owners in Nebraska, which ranked seventh in the nation in 2021 for the highest property tax rate, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Historically, state officials have argued that the matter was not theirs to fix, pointing instead to county and city governments, which assess and allocate property taxes to fund everything from schools and libraries to police and fire departments.

But soaring housing prices in recent years have led to ballooning property tax bills for homeowners, as residential real estate in Nebraska is assessed at nearly 100% of market value. That has proven particularly challenging for residents on fixed incomes, such as the elderly, who may have