Nebraska lawmakers have yanked a bill offering tax breaks for nonprofit health clinics to free up money for a wind-power bill.
Sen. Galen Hadley of Kearney took the unusual step yesterday of asking for his bill (LB420) to be delayed until next year. Lawmakers had approved the bill last week,
Hadley says he agreed to pull his bill so there'd be money available for a sales-tax exemption in a wind-power bill (LB561) that lawmakers are scheduled to vote on later.
Some lawmakers expressed reservations about the maneuver, because they doubt the roughly $2 million annual cost estimate for Hadley's bill.
Sen. Brenda Council of Omaha says the state is not routinely collecting taxes on nonprofit clinics now, so she's not sure how ending that tax will hurt the budget.
