Nebraska Cattlemen has selected four bills as its priorities during this session of the Nebraska Legislature.

The NC Board selected the priorities after its leadership and staff evaluated 189 of 485 bills and legislative resolutions during the past three weeks. The Board received recommendations from its Legislative Committee and then took positions on 118 of the bills and decided to designate four of them as priorities.

“I think it is important to point out,” Nebraska Cattlemen President Larry Smith said, “that our bill-sifting process is a primary example of what Nebraska Cattlemen does for cattle producers. I believe the straight-forward approach of our Board is validated by the fact that more than 30 Senators and the governor chose to attend a reception and dinner we hosted on Jan. 29. They respect our up-front, bring-solutions-rather-than-complaints approach,” Smith said.

The four priorities targeted by the NC are LB 961, LB 1022, LB 1039 and LB 1071.

LB 961 would provide for transfers of funds from state reserves to provide property tax relief. The bill, introduced by Senator Mike Flood, Speaker of the Legislature at the request of Governor Dave Heineman, would increase property tax relief from $115 to $190 million, transfer $75 million from the Cash Reserve Fund to the Property Tax Credit Cash Fund, transfer $6 million from the Tobacco Products Administration Cash Fund to the General Fund, transfer $4 million from the Securities Act Cash Fund to the General Fund, transfer $15 million from the General Fund to the Roads Operations Cash Fund and increase the Carrier Enforcement Cash Fund by nearly $380,000.

The NC Board believes property tax relief will occur this session. While LB 961 may not be the ultimate vehicle for property tax relief, the NC Board decided it was the best bill to support for significant property tax relief.

LB 1022 would allow veterinary drug distributors to obtain a state license to sell animal prescription drugs to producers and veterinarians. In 2005, LB 256 revised the Nebraska Pharmacy Act and in 2006, LB 994 revised the Wholesale Drug Distributor Licensing Act. The revision of these two acts focused on human drugs in an effort to curtail counterfeiting and illegal distribution. The unintended consequence left those who handle veterinary drugs without statutory authority to purchase, posses and sell items in the state as they have, in some cases, for four decades. Prior to the statutory revisions, these entities were subject to licensure, inspection and oversight by the Department of Health and Human Services. This act would create a new class of license exclusive to those who handle only veterinary drugs.

It is important that legitimate distributors have authority to sell and deliver veterinary drugs directly to livestock producers, Smith said. Food safety is a paramount concern to the livestock industry in Nebraska and livestock producers have a regular need of professional veterinary care and the judicious use of pharmaceuticals for the prevention and treatment of animal diseases. Without LB 1022, livestock producers would be unable to legally buy prescription drugs from distributors.

LB 1039 would create an agricultural land valuation task force to develop a report about how income capitalization for the valuation of agricultural land could work. NC has long-standing policy supporting valuing agricultural land on its earning capacity rather than on market value. The task force will consist of two crop producers, two livestock producers, one land economics expert, one county assessor, one soil scientist, one natural resources conservation individual and the Property Tax Administrator serving as the chairperson. The task force would present its report to the Revenue Committee by March 1, 2009.

LB 1071 would impose a 1 percent tax on all wire transfers of money originating in Nebraska. NC opposes the bill because a tremendous amount business in the beef industry and complementary businesses such as commodity brokers is executed via wire transfers and the proposed legislation would be significant financial hardship on Nebraska’s beef business.

The Nebraska Cattlemen association serves as the representative for the state’s beef cattle industry and represents professional cattle breeders, ranchers and feeders, as well as 48 county and local cattlemen’s associations. Its headquarters are in Lincoln and a second office in Alliance serves cattlemen in western Nebraska. This and other Nebraska Cattlemen information is available at www.nebraskacattlemen.org.