D4 ELECTION 2020 Six questions on statewide ballot THE NORTH PLATTE TELEGRAPH SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2020
Telegraph staff reports Nebraska voters face six statewide questions in November. Two are constitution- al amendments proposed by the Legislature. Amendment 1 would pro- hibit enslavement as punishment for crime. Amendment 2 would ex- tend repayment of TIF debt for “extremely blighted” areas. Four are statutory ini- tiatives proposed by the initiative petition process. Initiative 428 proposes to limit payday lending interest limits. The other three — ini- tiatives 429, 430 and 431 — would allow casi- no gambling at licensed horse racetracks and es- tablish regulation and taxation of the casinos. Proposed Amendment 1 Proposed Amendment No. 1 prohibits the use of slavery or involuntary servitude as punishment for conviction of a crime. Nebraska prohibited slavery and involuntary servitude in 1875, except as punishments for those convicted of crimes. A similar situation exists in 11 other states, and nine states permit invol- untary servitude but not slavery as criminal pun- ishment. A “yes” vote supports removing the language from the Nebraska Constitution. A “no” vote would keep the language in the state constitution and allow the use of slavery and in- voluntary servitude as criminal punishments. Proposed Amendment 2 Proposed Amendment No. 2 would amend the Nebraska Constitution to allow the Legislature to extend the maximum amount of time for the re- payment of indebtedness related to tax increment fi- nancing from 15 years to
able any transactionmade in violation of the rate cap. Under current statute, delayed deposit licens- ees are prohibited from charging fees in excess of $15 per $100 loaned. The proposedmeasure would replace that with a 36%annual limit on pay- day lending transactions. Current law limits the loan amount to $500 and loan term to 34 days. Initiative 428 would also prohibit payday lend- ers from collecting fees, interest, or the principal of the transaction if the rate charged is greater than 36%. Payday lenders are also prohibited from marketing, offering or guaranteeing loans with interest rates exceeding 36% in the state regard- less of the lender having a physical office in the state. Currently, 37 states permit payday lending. Colorado, Montana, New Hampshire and South Dakota have enacted 36% annual interest rate caps that also prohibit addi- tional fees or charges. Four states authorize pay- day lending with limits on APR, but permit lenders to charge extra fees on top of interest. The remaining 29 states authorize payday lending without limits on APR. A “yes” vote supports limiting the annual in- terest rate charged for delayed deposit services to 36%. A “no” vote main- tains existing state law on payday lenders, including a prohibition on charging fees in excess of $15 per $100 loan and a $500 loan limit. Casino gambling initiatives Three ballot issues from the initiative pe- tition process cover casino gambling at li- censed Nebraska horse racing tracks, the regula- tion and taxation of that activity and the distribu- tion of the proceeds. They are: Initiative Measure 429, a proposed constitu- tional measure allowing
A ”yes” vote sup- ports enacting a law that authorizes gambling op- erations within licensed racetracks and establish- es the Nebraska Gaming Commission to regulate gambling operations. A “no” vote oppos- es enacting a law that authorizes gambling op- erations within licensed racetracks and establish the Nebraska Gaming Commission to regulate gambling operations. Initiative 431 Nebraska Initiative 431 would authorize the Nebraska Gaming Commission to collect a 20% tax on all gross gaming revenue gen- erated within licensed racetracks. Gross gam- ing revenue is defined as the amount of mon- ey players gamble minus the amount won, federal taxes and any promotion gaming credits received from the operator and re- deemed by the player. The revenue from the tax would be allocated as follows: » 2.5% to the Compulsive Gamblers Assistance Fund. » 2.5% to the General Fund. » 70% to the Property Tax Credit Cash Fund. » 25% to local juris- dictions where licensed racetracks operate. The Nebraska Gaming Commission would be authorized to develop rules for reporting rev- enue from the tax, and gaming operators that do not comply would receive a maximum penalty of a Class IV misdemeanor. A “yes” vote supports imposing the tax and dis- tribution as outlined. A “no” vote opposes the tax on gross gam- bling revenue of licensed gaming operations. This report by J.L. Schmidt is made possi- ble by the Nebraska Press Association. Schmidt has been covering Nebraska government and politics since 1979.
casino gambling at li- censed horse race tracks; Initiative 430, a proposed law setting up a regula- tory framework for the casinos; and Initiative Measure 431, a proposed law to tax the casinos and direct most of the tax rev- enues to property tax credits. It took a ruling from the Nebraska Supreme Court to clear the measures for the ballot. It’ll take a min- ute to grasp the domino effect of the three-part proposal. Initiative 429 would allow for the en- actment of Initiative 430, which would authorize and regulate gambling at licensed racetracks, and Initiative 431, which would impose an annu- al tax of 20% on gross gambling revenue of li- censed gaming operators. Without the approval of Initiative 429, Initiatives 430 and 431 would not take effect. Nebraska Initiative 429 Nebraska Initiative 429 would add a new Section 24 to Article III of the state constitution to exempt laws authoriz- ing gambling at licensed racetracks from the state’s constitutional pro- hibition on gambling. Currently, the Nebraska Constitution prohibits gambling, except for the state lottery, which was authorized in 1992, and authorized raffles in- tended to raise proceeds for charitable causes. Revenue raised from the lottery is allocated to the Compulsive Gamblers Assistance Fund, the Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund, the Nebraska State Fair Board, and the Legislature to fund edu- cation. Gambling in some form is legal in 48 of the 50 states, with Utah and Hawaii completely ban- ning it. Twenty-five states have legalized commercial gaming and 30 states have authorized tribal casinos.
Three other states will be voting on measures concerning gambling. Colorado would allow lo- cal jurisdictions where gambling is legal to ap- prove a maximum single bet limit of any amount and expand allowable game types in addition to slot machines, black- jack, poker, roulette and craps. A second Colorado amendment would lower the number of years an organization must have existed before obtaining a charitable gaming li- cense from five years to three years. Maryland would au- thorize sports and events wagering at certain li- censed facilities with state revenue intended to fund public education. A South Dakota constitu- tional amendment would authorize the South Dakota Legislature to legalize sports betting within the city limits of Deadwood. A “yes” vote supports amending the Nebraska Constitution to allow laws to authorize, regu- late, and tax gambling at licensed racetrack facili- ties in the state. A “no” vote opposes amending the Nebraska Constitution to do those things and would maintain the state’s prohibition against gam- bling at racetracks. Initiative 430 Nebraska Initiative 430 would authorize gambling at licensed racetracks with licensed gaming operators. It would establish the Nebraska Gaming Commission to enact rules to license gaming operators and regulate the gambling industry. The measure would pro- hibit anyone under the age of 21 from playing on gambling devices or par- ticipating in gambling at the racetrack. Currently, Nebraska outlaws gam- bling, except with respect to the state lottery, li- censed raffles, and bingo.
20 years if more than one half of the property in the project area is designated as extremely blighted. Tax increment financ- ing is intended to finance economic development in an area. In Nebraska, the governing bodies of cities and villages can enact res- olutions to declare an area as substandard, blighted and in need of redevelop- ment, and create a TIF district. The local govern- ment can then issue bonds to finance improvements associated with redevel- opment projects in the district. Local governments can use increased tax revenue, resulting from increased property values due to de- velopment, to pay off the bonds over a 15-year pe- riod. The ballot measure would increase the pe- riod to pay off the bonds and indebtedness from 15 years to 20 years for TIF districts designated as extremely blighted. In Nebraska, an extremely blighted area is defined as a census tract with an av- erage unemployment rate that is 200%or more of the average state unemploy- ment rate and the poverty rate is more than 20%. A ”yes” vote supports the extension of the re- payment period for tax increment financing from 15 to 20 years for areas where more than one- half of the properties are designated as extreme- ly blighted. A “no” vote would keep the repayment period at 15 years. Initiative 428 Nebraska Initiative 428 is the first of four is- sues placed on the ballot through the initiative peti- tion process. It is intended to amend Nebraska stat- utes covering the amount that delayed deposit ser- vices licensees can charge to a maximum annual percentage rate of 36%. It would also prevent these entities, commonly known as payday lenders, from evading the rate cap and deemvoid and uncollect-
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Polling locations in Lincoln County
lems. We need to sell this (NCORPE proj- ect) land and figure out what we are go- ing to do for the Twin Platte. Our taxes left and our water is leav- ing. Q: What is your view on the develop- ment and use of wind turbines? A: We need to stop the wind turbines before they get any further down the road. I don’t want them in my backyard and I don’t want them anywhere. They are terribly inefficient and not good for any- thing.
providing water to both the Republican and Platte riv- er basins and its partnerships with affected natural re- source districts? A: Well, you can’t unring the bell. When that whole deal got started, there were 40,000 acres in Kansas that could have been set aside for the Republican (River). The Twin Platte never should have got involved with (the project). We did and we bailed out the Republican wa- tershed while we still have our own prob-
North Platte Precinct 1: Calvary Baptist Church, 900 E. Second St. Precincts 2, 5 and 6: D&N Event Center, 501 E. Walker Road. Precinct 3: McKinley Education Center (south door), 301 West F St. Precinct 4: Holiday Inn Express Conference Center (east door), 300 Holiday Frontage Road. Precinct 7: Grace Community Church (west door), 1021 S. Buffalo Road. Precinct 8: Messiah Lutheran Church (north door), 2700 West A St.
Precinct 9: Messiah Lutheran Church (west door), 2700 West A St. Precinct 10: First Baptist Church (north door), 100 McDonald Road. Precinct 12: Lincoln County Courthouse (west hall), 300 N. Jeffers St. Precinct 13: Salvation Army, 1020 N. Adams Ave. Precincts 15 and 16: Berean Church, 202 W. Eighth St. County sites: Brady: Brady Community Center, 121 N. Main St. Hall: Berean Church, 202 W. Eighth St.
Hershey: American Legion Post 279, 108 E. Second St. Hinman: Lincoln County Fairgrounds (agricultur- al building), 5015 W. Rodeo Road Ave. Maxwell: Village Hall, 108 S. Pine St. Medicine: Wellfleet Village Hall. Osgood: Valley Christian Church, 2001 W. State Farm Road. Sellers: Harbor Lights, 711 N. Lake Road. Sutherland: Methodist Church, 631 Pine St., Sutherland.
and that’s fine. I’ve heard some people say we’ve got to take the end gun off the pivots. We’ve got to do something. I don’t know what it is, but we’ve got to figure it out. Maybe it’s retir- ing some of the new acres, I don’t know. Right now we are pumping more wa- ter out of Lincoln County than we ever have. Q: What are your views on the NCORPE project in
Wallace: American Legion Post, 217 S. Commercial Ave.
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