State Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard is hailing a Nebraska Supreme Court decision that bolsters and clarifies an existing state law on how damaged property should be valued when it comes to taxation.
In a case against the Lancaster County Board of Equalization, the state’s high court held that the term “calamity”, as used in state law, encompasses any disastrous event, not just natural disasters, and entitles impacted property owners to relief when it comes to property valuations.
The court reversed the Tax Equalization and Review Commission’s ruling on the issue, and remanded the case for further proceedings.
Erdman called it a big win for taxpayers, as he had legislation pending in the Unicameral that would have made the same clarification to LB 482, which passed in 2019 in part due to the devastating flooding that year in eastern Nebraska.
With the Nebraska Supreme Court ruling, Erdman says he’s not so sure his corrective legislation, LB 29, is still needed.
