LINCOLN — Two new propertytax petitions are hitting Nebraska clipboards: one would cap annual valuation increases at 3%, and another would cut taxable values in half.
Dist. 40 Sen. Barry DeKay said sponsors have filed both measures with the Nebraska Secretary of State for the 2026 general election.
The Cap Annual Property Valuation Assessments Constitutional Amendment would add a new section to Article VIII of the Nebraska state constitution to limit annual property valuation growth to 3%, giving owners more predictability and protection from year-to-year spikes.
If voters approve it, the change would take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
A separate statutory measure, the Reduce Taxable Property Valuation Initiative, would amend state law (section 77-201) to lower how much of a property’s market value is taxed.
Agricultural and horticultural land — now assessed at 75% of market value under a distinct constitutional classification - would be assessed at 37.5%.
All other real property, including residential and commercial, would be assessed at 50%. That change also would take effect Jan. 1, 2027, if approved.
DeKay said people can learn more on the sponsors’ Facebook page, Advocates For All Nebraskans (no
website yet), and on the Secretary of State’s website listing current petitions in circulation.
Getting to the ballot requires tens of thousands of signatures.
The valuation-reduction initiative will need about 90,000 signatures statewide, while the 3% cap — because it is a constitutional amendment — will need roughly 126,000.
Both must also meet a geographic test: signatures from at least 5% of registered voters in 38 of Nebraska’s 93 counties, he said.
