Legislative Affairs

Changin’ Horses

By Pete McClymont

This author might be familiar to you, but the capacity in which it originates is different from the last article I wrote for the Nebraska Cattleman.

I have had the honor of serving the NC membership as a Board member and, for the past three years, as an officer. My term ended with NC’s annual convention in Lincoln. Now, I have a unique opportunity to serve NC in a different capacity.

As NC Executive Vice President Michael Kelsey was surveying staff openings, he asked in passing if I might be interested. I was flattered that Michael would consider me. Since I have thoroughly enjoyed representing you and the policy you enact, the opportunity made me think hard about the offer. It was easy for me to envision building on the relations and experiences I have been afforded over the last three years while serving as an officer. Essentially, I’ve had on-the-job training. So, I made the move to change horses and here I am working for you again, this time as NC staff.

My new title at Nebraska Cattlemen is vice president of Legislative Affairs. My responsibilities will be three-fold. My primary role will be lobbying on your behalf, beginning with the 100^th Legislative Session. As you are aware, term limits have contributed to an unusually large class of freshman senators. NC will be attentive to all the senators, including the freshman class. The rest of my responsibilities will be assisting Marketing Vice President Jeff Stolle in the Market Reporting Service office. Last, I will provide support to Communications Vice President Mike Fitzgerald.

I truly believe in what Nebraska Cattlemen stands for and I look forward to working with you now and in the future.

2007 Legislative
Outlook

As I mentioned, 22 freshmen senators have been elected or appointed to the 100^th Legislative session. These senators bring varied backgrounds and strengths to their respective districts. It has been impressive getting know these newly elected officials. Their excitement is evident.

The importance of the beef industry and Nebraska Cattlemen is not lost on these senators. Michael Kelsey and Duane Gangwish went to great lengths to introduce NC to the then would-be senators prior to the general election in November 2006. I have repeatedly heard these senators say, “Didn’t I meet you this summer?” Again, hats off to Michael and Duane for being in front of the curve and introducing NC to the prospective new senators.

Front and center issues with the Nebraska Legislature are a mirror of the 2006 NC Annual Convention. Water, ethanol, embryo transfer procedures, elimination of the state estate tax, elimination of the state inheritance tax and environment-related bills are just a few of the topics with introduced legislation.

The Governor has made it known that if Legislature repeals both the state estate tax and the state inheritance tax, he will sign both into law. The state estate tax is extremely unfair to the beef industry, especially when families try pass on their businesses to the next generation. This tax must be done away with and NC is working diligently to this end. The challenge with the state inheritance tax is that the proceeds from this tax go to back to the counties. Repealing this tax would be very detrimental to Nebraska’s rural, sparsely populated counties and, more than likely, would increase property taxes. These efforts are directly related to policy enacted by the NC Taxation Committee at the annual convention.