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Nebraska Education Scholarships Tax Credit Referendum (2024)
| Nebraska Education Scholarships Tax Credit Referendum | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 5, 2024 | |
| Topic Education and Charter schools and vouchers | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Referendum | Origin Citizens |
The Nebraska Education Scholarships Tax Credit Referendum was not on the ballot in Nebraska as a veto referendum on November 5, 2024.[1][2]
On May 16, 2024, the secretary of state announced that the referendum would not appear on the 2024 ballot. The Nebraska State Legislature passed Legislative Bill 1402, which repealed the targeted law of the referendum, during the 2024 legislative session. Secretary Bob Evnen (R) said, "Since the previous law will no longer be in effect by the time of the general election, I do not intend to place the original referendum on the ballot." Support Our Schools has filed a referendum to repeal LB 1402.[3]
Overview
What would this referendum have done?
- See also: Full text
The referendum would have repealed Legislative Bill 753, which was passed during the 2023 legislative session. LB 753 was designed to create a nonrefundable tax credit for qualifying taxpayers who contribute to scholarship-granting organizations for education scholarships for private schools. The law defined a scholarship-granting organization as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is certified to provide "tax-credit-supported education scholarships to eligible students to assist them in attending qualified schools." Qualified schools would have included any nongovernmental, privately operated elementary or secondary school in Nebraska that is not for profit, complies with the antidiscrimination provisions of federal law, complies with all health and life safety laws that govern private schools, and fulfills the accreditation requirements. Scholarships would have been provided based on a five-tier priority system.[1]
The law would have limited total tax credits for 2024, 2025, and 2026 to $25 million. For every calendar year beginning with 2027, the annual total limit would have been the limit from the prior year multiplied by (a) 125% if the tax credit amounts exceeded 90% of the prior year limit or (b) 100% if the tax credit amounts did not exceed 90% of the prior year limit. The law would have prohibited the limit from exceeding $100 million.[4]
Who supported and opposed the referendum?
- See also: Support for retaining LB 753 and Support for repealing LB 753
Support Our Schools Nebraska led the campaign to repeal the law and collected signatures to place the veto referendum on the ballot. It has received endorsements from the Nebraska State Education Association, League of Women Voters of Nebraska, Nebraska Civic Engagement Table, Omaha NAACP, OpenSky Policy Institute, and Parent-Teacher Association of Nebraska. Nebraska State Education Association President Jenni Benson said, "Nebraskans from all walks of life, and all areas—rural, urban, small towns, and everywhere in-between—have been overwhelmingly supportive of the petition effort to put the repeal of LB753 to a vote. Nebraskans want to keep their public schools strong."[5]
Gov. Jim Pillen (R), State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan (R), State Sen. Justin T. Wayne (D), Nebraska Catholic Conference, and Voice Advocacy Center supported retaining the law. Gov. Jim Pillen (R): "Our kids are our future, and we all believe that every Nebraska kid should have the opportunity to have their educational needs met, whether they live in Omaha or Scottsbluff. This law ensures that we are funding students, not systems."[6]
Do other states have education scholarship tax credits?
- See also: States with tax-credit scholarships
As of January 2024, 22 states, including Nebraska, have enacted tax-credit scholarship programs. The first state to adopt such a program was Arizona in 1997. Since 2020, Arkansas, Ohio, and Utah have enacted tax-credit scholarship programs. To see a map of the states that have adopted education scholarship tax credits, click here.[7]
How many laws have been subject to a veto referendum in Nebraska?
- See also: Veto referendums in Nebraska
Between 1950 and 2022, Nebraska voters decided on 10 veto referendums—repealing nine laws and retaining one. Voters decided to retain a law in 1990 that increased state sales and income taxes to fund state spending on education. It was retained with 56.14% of the vote.
Text of measure
Object statement
The object statement on the circulating petition was:[1]
| “ | The object of this Petition is to...
Repeal LB 753, passed by the 108th Nebraska Legislature in 2023, which (1) authorizes certain nonprofit organizations to provide scholarships to eligible students to attend a qualified private elementary or secondary school, and (2) provides individuals and corporations tax credits for financial contributions to these organizations.[8] |
” |
Full text
The full text of the referendum is below:
Support for retaining LB 753
Supporters
Officials
- Gov. Jim Pillen (R)
- State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan (R)
- State Sen. Justin T. Wayne (D)
Organizations
Arguments
Support for repealing LB 753
Support Our Schools Nebraska is leading the campaign to repeal the law.[5]
Supporters
Unions
- Nebraska Farmers Union
- Nebraska State Education Association
Organizations
- League of Women Voters of Nebraska
- Nebraska Civic Engagement Table
- Omaha NAACP
- OpenSky Policy Institute
- Parent-Teacher Association of Nebraska
Arguments
Campaign finance
Keep Kids First registered as a political action committee (PAC) to advocate for retaining the legislation. The committee reported over $1.5 million in contributions.[9]
Support Our Schools registered to advocate for repealing the legislation and organized the signature drive to place the bill on the ballot as a veto referendum. The committee reported over $7.2 million.[9]
Note: 'Support' is for upholding the bill and 'Oppose' is for repealing the bill in the following charts.
| Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support | $1,234,874.95 | $298,892.46 | $1,533,767.41 | $1,234,874.95 | $1,533,767.41 |
| Oppose | $6,301,261.37 | $967,087.53 | $7,268,348.90 | $6,498,560.77 | $7,465,648.30 |
| Total | $7,536,136.32 | $1,265,979.99 | $8,802,116.31 | $7,733,435.72 | $8,999,415.71 |
Support to uphold
The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committee in support of upholding the bill.[9]
| Committees in support of Education Scholarships Tax Credit Referendum | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Committee | Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures |
| Keep Kids First | $1,234,874.95 | $298,892.46 | $1,533,767.41 | $1,234,874.95 | $1,533,767.41 |
| Total | $1,234,874.95 | $298,892.46 | $1,533,767.41 | $1,234,874.95 | $1,533,767.41 |
Donors
The following table shows the top donors to the committee registered in support of upholding the bill.[9]
| Donor | Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Federation for Children Growth Fund | $375,000.00 | $16,570.81 | $391,570.81 |
| American Federation for Children | $0.00 | $281,572.75 | $281,572.75 |
| C.L. Werner | $100,000.00 | $0.00 | $100,000.00 |
| James Pillen | $100,000.00 | $0.00 | $100,000.00 |
| James Timmerman | $85,000.00 | $0.00 | $85,000.00 |
Support to repeal
The following table includes the total contributions and expenditures of the committee in support of repealing the bill.[9]
| Committees in opposition to Education Scholarships Tax Credit Referendum | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Committee | Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures |
| Support Our Schools | $6,301,261.37 | $967,087.53 | $7,268,348.90 | $6,498,560.77 | $7,465,648.30 |
| Total | $6,301,261.37 | $967,087.53 | $7,268,348.90 | $6,498,560.77 | $7,465,648.30 |
Donors
The following table shows the top donors to the committee registered in support of repealing the bill.[9]
| Donor | Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Education Association | $4,298,076.20 | $30,855.23 | $4,328,931.43 |
| Nebraska State Education Association | $1,221,335.00 | $532,610.10 | $1,753,945.10 |
| Opensky Policy Institute | $75,000.00 | $168,138.15 | $243,138.15 |
| Vote for Schools | $152,500.00 | $63,000.00 | $215,500.00 |
| New Venture Fund | $99,000.00 | $0.00 | $99,000.00 |
Methodology
To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.
Polls
- See also: 2024 ballot measure polls
- Are you aware of a poll on this ballot measure that should be included below? You can share ballot measure polls, along with source links, with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.
| Nebraska Education Scholarships Tax Credit Referendum (2024) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Research Partners and OpenSky Policy Institute | 5/31/23-6/5/23 | 600 LV | ± 4.0% | 42% | 55% | 3% |
| Question: "As you may know, members of the Nebraska Legislature passed a scholarship voucher bill that would allow corporations and individuals to get a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for contributions to private school scholarship-granting organizations. For example, if a taxpayer owed the state $100,000 in taxes, they could give $50,000 of that tax liability to a private school scholarship-granting organization, like a religious group, and the taxpayer dollars that would otherwise have been directed to public schools would instead go to private schools. Do you strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose this bill?" | ||||||
Note: LV is likely voters, RV is registered voters, and EV is eligible voters.
Background
Legislative Bill 753 (2023)
The referendum targets Legislative Bill 753 (LB 753), which passed by a vote of 33-11 with five not voting during the 2023 legislative session. The vote was largely along party lines.[10]
| Vote in the Nebraska State Senate | |||
| Requirement: Simple majority of all members in each chamber | |||
| Yes | No | Not voting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 33 | 11 | 5 |
| Total percent | 67.35% | 22.45% | 10.20% |
| Democrat | 3 | 10 | 3 |
| Republican | 30 | 0 | 2 |
| Nonpartisan | 0 | 1 | 0 |
LB 753 would have created a nonrefundable tax credit for qualifying taxpayers who contribute to scholarship-granting organizations for education scholarships. The law would have defined a scholarship-granting organization as "a charitable organization in this state that is (a) exempt from federal income taxation pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and (b) certified pursuant to section 4 of this act to provide tax-credit-supported education scholarships to eligible students to assist them in attending qualified schools." Qualified schools would have included any nongovernmental, privately operated elementary or secondary school in Nebraska that is not for profit, complies with the antidiscrimination provisions of federal law, complies with all health and life safety laws that govern private schools, and fulfills the accreditation requirements. Scholarships would have been provided based on a five-tier priority system.[1]
The law would have limited total tax credits for 2024, 2025, and 2026 to $25 million. For every calendar year beginning with 2027, the annual total limit would have been the limit from the prior year multiplied by (a) 125% if the tax credit amounts exceeded 90% of the prior year limit or (b) 100% if the tax credit amounts did not exceed 90% of the prior year limit. The law would have prohibited the limit from exceeding $100 million.[1]
The Legislative Fiscal Analyst estimated that 5,000 students could utilize the scholarship system to transfer from public to private schools.[4]
Legislative Bill 1402 (2024)
During the 2024 state legislature, Senator Lou Ann Linehan (R), the sponsor of LB 753, introduced Legislative Bill 1402 (LB 1402), which was designed to appropriate $10 million in state funds for private school scholarships. LB 1402 passed by a vote of 32-14 on April 18, 2024. The bill also includes a provision designed to repeal the education scholarship tax credits enacted by LB 753. LB 1402 took effect three months after the state legislature adjourns.[11]
| Vote in the Nebraska State Senate | |||
| Requirement: Simple majority of all members in each chamber | |||
| Yes | No | Not voting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 32 | 14 | 3 |
| Total percent | 65.31% | 28.57% | 6.12% |
| Democrat | 1 | 12 | 2 |
| Republican | 31 | 1 | 1 |
| Nonpartisan | 0 | 1 | 0 |
States with tax-credit scholarships
As of January 2024, 22 states, including Nebraska, have enacted tax-credit scholarship programs. The first state to adopt such a program was Arizona in 1997. Arizona now has four separate tax-credit scholarship programs for disabled and displaced students, low-income households, individual recipients, and students switching from public to private schools.[7]
Veto referendums in Nebraska
Between 1950 and 2022, Nebraska voters decided on 10 veto referendums—repealing nine laws and retaining one.
| Year | Measure | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Referendum 426: Death Penalty Repeal |  |
| 2006 | Measure 422: Dissolution of Class I School Districts | |
| 1990 | Referendum 1: Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support |  |
| 1986 | Referendum 1: School Consolidation | |
| 1986 | Referendum 2: Mandatory Seat Belts | |
| 1978 | Referendum 1: Financial Support for Public Schools | |
| 1974 | Referendum 1: Public School Support | |
| 1966 | Referendum 1: Income Tax Law | |
| 1950 | Referendum 1: Gas Tax | |
| 1950 | Referendum 2: Vehicle Registration Fee | |
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Nebraska, the number of signatures required to qualify a veto referendum for the ballot—without suspending the enactment of the targeted legislation—is equal to 5 percent of registered voters as of the deadline for filing signatures. For a veto referendum that does suspend the targeted legislation until the election, signatures equal to 10 percent of registered voters are required. Because of the unique signature requirement based on registered voters, Nebraska is also the only state where petition sponsors cannot know the exact number of signatures required until they are submitted. Nebraska law also features a distribution requirement mandating that petitions contain signatures from 5 percent of the registered voters in each of two-fifths (38) of Nebraska's 93 counties. Signatures must be submitted 90 days after the legislature that passed the targeted bill adjourns.
The requirements to get a veto referendum certified for the 2024 ballot:
- Signatures required (without suspending the law): Signatures equal to 5 percent of registered voters (61,733)
- Signatures required (with suspending the law): Signatures equal to 10 percent of registered voters (123,465)
Signatures are submitted to the secretary of state. The secretary of state sends the appropriate signature petitions to each county, where county election officials verify the signatures. Upon receiving the signatures back from county officials, the secretary of state determines whether or not the requirements were met.
Details about this initiative
- Support Our Schools Nebraska filed the veto referendum.[12]
- On August 30, 2023, Support Our Schools Nebraska announced that they had submitted over 117,000 signatures.[13]
- On October 10, 2023, the secretary of state reported that the proponents of the referendum had met the signature requirement. County officials verified 91,861 valid signatures, and the petition also met the distribution requirement.[14]
- On January 8, 2023, Sen. Lou Ann Linehan (R) sent a letter to the secretary of state requesting that the referendum be removed from the ballot because it violated the state legislature's authority to set the state's budget. Sen. Linehan wrote, "While I respect the petition process including the power of referendum, if this existing revenue measure adopted by the Legislature can be repealed by referendum, the ability to set revenue policy would be undermined."[15]
- Support Our Schools wrote a letter to the secretary of state responding to Sen. Linehan's letter arguing that the referendum should stay on the ballot.[16]
- On February 29, 2024, the secretary of state announced the referendum would appear on the ballot denying Sen. Linehan's request to remove it.[17]
- On May 16, 2024, the secretary of state announced that the referendum would not appear on the 2024 ballot. Secretary Bob Evnen (R) said, "Since the previous law will no longer be in effect by the time of the general election, I do not intend to place the original referendum on the ballot."[3]
How to cast a vote
- See also: Voting in Nebraska
See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Nebraska.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Nebraska State Legislature, "Legislative Bill 753," accessed June 5, 2023 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "Text" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Nebraska Secretary of State's Office, "Current Petitions in Circulation," accessed January 6, 2023 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "SoS" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 3.0 3.1 Nebraska Secretary of State, "Private Education Tax Credits Referendum will not be on November ballot," May 16, 2024
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Nebraska State Legislature, "Fiscal Note," accessed November 3, 2023
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lincoln Journal Star, "Nebraska coalition turns in 117,000 signatures," accessed August 31, 2023
- ↑ Governor of Nebraska, "Governor Pillen signs historic school choice bill," accessed January 4, 2024
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 EdChoice, "Tax-Credit Scholarships," accessed January 3, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, "Campaign finance," accessed October 11, 2023
- ↑ Nebraska State Legislature, "LB 753 vote," accessed November 3, 2023
- ↑ Nebraska State Legislature, "LB 1402," accessed April 14, 2024
- ↑ WOWT, "Group files petition to put Nebraska’s private school scholarship bill on 2024 ballot, aims to repeal," May 31, 2023
- ↑ Wahoo Newspaper, "Nebraska petition to repeal new tax credit law surpasses signature goal," August 30, 2023
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "Signature verifications and certification completed for Private Education Tax Credit referendum," October 10, 2023
- ↑ WOWT, "Nebraska Secretary of State examining request to remove ‘school choice’ from ballot," January 9, 2024
- ↑ 1011 Now, "Support Our Schools letter says its ballot measure is legal, should be placed before voters," January 25, 2024
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "Private Education Tax Credits Referendum Determination Letter," February 29, 2024
- ↑ Nebraska Statutes, "Section 32-908," accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, “Nebraska Voter Registration Background,” accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, “Felon Voting Rights FAQ,” accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Nebraska Secretary of State, “Voter Information Frequently Asked Questions,” accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, “Online Voter Registration Frequently Asked Questions,” accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 NCSL, "State Profiles: Elections," accessed August 28, 2024
- ↑ Omaha World-Herald, “Online voter registration is coming to Nebraska,” September 5, 2015
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State’s Official Voter Registration Application," accessed November 1, 2024
- ↑ Under federal law, the national mail voter registration application (a version of which is in use in all states with voter registration systems) requires applicants to indicate that they are U.S. citizens in order to complete an application to vote in state or federal elections, but does not require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the application "may require only the minimum amount of information necessary to prevent duplicate voter registrations and permit State officials both to determine the eligibility of the applicant to vote and to administer the voting process."
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