LINCOLN — The Nebraska Legislature’s Judiciary Committee rolled out the green carpet Friday for two bills with similar visions for legalizing and taxing marijuana to offset property taxes.
State lawmakers heard a handful of testifiers supporting Legislative Bill 52 by State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha and Legislative Bill 71 by State Sen. Terrell McKinney of Omaha.
McKinney, speaking during a combined public hearing for the bills, said the governor asked lawmakers for ideas to address property taxes. McKinney said legal sales of cannabis should be among them.
He reiterated his belief, backed by years of criminal justice and economic research, that criminalizing cannabis has had a greater negative impact on poorer people and communities of color.
“The war on drugs has inflicted harm on marginalized communities,” McKinney told the committee. “It has had lifelong consequences far beyond the sentences served.”
Wayne, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, said lawmakers should embrace the need for more revenue from creative spaces, noting Nebraska likes “sin taxes” on alcohol and tobacco.
“Every argument you heard here opposed is the same argument you can make about alcohol, the same argument you can make about tobacco,” he said. “Regulation is the model.”
What the bills would do
The two bills 1 would legalize cannabis for anyone age 21 and older. Both would create a regulatory framework for growing, producing and selling the drug.
Both set procedures for letting people previously convicted of cannabis-related crimes have their records expunged and set fees for growing or selling the substance and reserve licenses for populations disproportionately impacted by cannabis convictions.
Wayne’s bill would tax growers and retailers 25% for selling cannabis products to distributors or end-users. McKinney’s legislation would set the tax at 16%.
The fiscal notes on both bills suggest at least $95 million in net receipts from marijuana sales that could be applied toward property tax relief.
Law enforcement opposition
Nebraska’s police and prosecutorial establishment opposed both bills. Several testified, sent representatives or wrote letters.
Nebraska State Patrol Col. John Bolduc and Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson testified. Both argued that communities would see negative impacts from legalization.
Bolduc said enforcement costs from other crimes related to marijuana use and abuse would climb. Hanson said states that have legalized marijuana have seen increased homelessness.
Bolduc said cannabis is among the most frequent substances found in the bloodstreams of people involved in fatal crashes in Nebraska. He said it impairs drivers more than most know.
Hanson pointed to Missouri, which he said has seen an increase in violent crime and traffic fatalities since voters legalized marijuana recreationally and for medicinal purposes.
“Revenue, crime and negative consequences,” Hanson said.
Pillen sends the house
Gov. Jim Pillen also made clear that he opposes legalization or taxation of marijuana, sending representatives of the state agencies he controls to testify against the bills.
Dr. Roger Donovick, Pillen’s chief medical officer for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, said, “There is no such thing as a harmless controlled substance.”
Prosecutors opposed the measure as well, including Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, who sent a representative to testify.
One testifier called out the opponents’ concerns as “reefer madness.”
Seven people sent letters in opposition to LB 52, and two sent supportive notes, the committee announced. Six sent letters opposed to LB 71, and one sent a letter of support.
Maggie Ballard of Heartland Family Service said she is worried about the potential harm to children of increased marijuana use.
A way forward
Jason Witmer, a policy fellow at ACLU Nebraska, said the harm to families is already being done. He said the “criminalization of cannabis has drained Nebraska’s resources without making us safer.”
Half the arrests in the state deal with cannabis, he said. He pointed to University of Nebraska at Omaha research that shows an annual cost of that enforcement at about $10 million a year.
Jennifer Denning said she would support any legalization effort that also includes medicinal marijuana. Her 7-year-old has a disability that she believes cannabis could make less painful.
“He needs access to marijuana to manage his symptoms and improve his quality of life,” she said.
McKinney said he was frustrated enough by the tone of some opponents that he was going to propose a bill next session to prohibit alcohol sales, in order to prove a point.
He said many official opponents of marijuana legalization would not support banning alcohol.
“We’re back here for a special session on property tax relief that people are going to have to take a vote on,” he said. “We were told that everything was going to be placed on the table.”
Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Cate Folsom for questions: . Follow Nebraska Examiner on Facebook and X.
