Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
But right now, let's welcome on to the program a
state senator who is term limited out. She is old news,
she is a has been, and she's someone who has
been called a number of things, including on this radio station.
The characterization this morning I heard was she's lost her
mind in this special session. And we now have some
(00:21):
property tax relief. A lot of property tax owners are
property tax payers across Nebraska. Look at this as a
whole lot of state. Senator Julie Slama joins us here
on news radio eleven ten kfab Good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Senator, Good morning Scott. Oh my gosh, I'm twenty eight
years old, but I'm already old.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Yeah, you're you peaked at Yale. It's not a bad
place to do it, not a bad place to do it.
Let's review a few things. Are you still a conservative Republican?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Absolutely. I'm a conservative Republican who believes Republicans don't raise taxes,
which is why I oppose the largest tax increase in
Nebraska history this special session.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
When you brought that up to people like Governor Pillin
and some of his supporters among your peers in the legislature,
how did that go over?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
It depends on the person. I think there were a
lot of people who felt pressure from Governor Pillin and
his supporters to get on board with any plan just
for fear of exactly what I'm dealing with now, in
that you have people who get on the radio who
don't know any better and you say negative things. I
(01:35):
don't care when it comes to taxes. When it comes
to taxes and protecting innocent lives from abortion, like taxes
pro life, I will always support tax cuts. I will
always support pro life bills, period. And those two things
are my north stars in politics. And I don't care
if my own mother proposes a tax increase, I'm not
(01:57):
going to support it because it's the root of every
government tax crisis, is a government spending crisis. And until
you start getting serious about cutting spending or just increasing
taxes on people to know positive outcome, we.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Have a bill here, and so I don't want to
bring us back to square one even before the special session.
But just for context here, some of that is exactly
what I heard from Governor Jim Pillen. He wanted to
provide meaningful tax relief, like fifty percent of that which
the state collects on your property taxes. He wanted to
(02:30):
give back to those business owners, to those homeowners across
the area, to those landlords across the area. And he said, look, yes,
we're going to raise sales taxes a little bit here
or there. But in order to spend the same on
these sales taxes to bring you back to what you
would save on property taxes, you would have to get
(02:51):
your dog groomed like five times a day, and it
just or drank nothing but cherry coke for an entire year.
Like it really doesn't add up. So how do the
two of you, who seem to be saying the same
thing here with a little bit different ways of getting there,
how do you end up so far apart?
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Here's the thing is, as a conservative, we see this
a lot in the Republican Party. Now it's easy to
talk the talk, but it's far more difficult to walk
the walk. The Pillain scheme never actually cut anybody's property
tax property taxes. In fact, what he proposed to the
legislature wouldn't have cut property taxes by a dime. His plan,
(03:36):
by the time it got to the legislature, would have
raised taxes in one area to increase the amount of
credit you get on your income taxes for your property
taxes paid. So that's your paying more government to the
money to the government out of your left pocket, for
the government to give some of that money back to
you in your right pocket, to give you a pat
(03:57):
on the head and say we did something. I mean,
anybody can say that government spending is the problem, but
until you actually do the hard work of putting forth
proposals to cut that spending, to control that spending, to
cut those taxing entities, you're just paying lip service to
an idea that, of course everybody can get on board with.
(04:20):
His words just didn't match his actions.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Talking here with Nebraska State Senator Julie Slama, this is
the area of God's Country around Peru, Nebraska and southeast Nebraska.
We have LB thirty four, which passed forty to three
yesterday and what ends up being the final day of
the special session. You are among the forty who passed this.
What do you like about this bill? Where do you
(04:44):
feel like it didn't go nearly far enough?
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Sure? ILB thirty four. I voted for it. It doesn't
go nearly far enough, but it did include some new
I admittedly weak caps on like five of local government
spending so you do have a new cap, you do
have a few hundred million dollars worth of cuts to
(05:08):
state government spending. I came into this special session wanting
to cap and cut LB thirty four in LB two
worked towards that goal. Admittedly it was a one step
on a walk from here to New York City type bill,
but it was enough to earn my support. I, like
every other taxpayer, is sitting back going this absolutely this
(05:31):
special session absolutely should have achieved more.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
So, what should people who are property owners here across Nebraska?
What should they be excited about with this bill? Basically
a lot of people are asking right now, do I
save any money here? And if so, how much?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Yeah, you really shouldn't. There's nothing to write home about.
There's one new cap in that CAP's on your city
and your county spending outside of a public safety exemption,
which can basically be a catch all for anything the
city or county wants to spend money on. And I
would be willing to bet that gets watered down even
(06:08):
more in January. So that I mean, having a new
cap on government spending is always, in my mind, a
good thing, and new control on government it's a good thing.
The cuts on statewide spending. Again, you're looking at a
few million dollars. That also is it's a good thing.
(06:31):
It's a good like half a step in the right direction.
It doesn't go nearly far enough. But I'm hopeful some
of the conversations we had about other ideas proposed in
this session carry into January. So I'm always optimistic. I'm
always helpful.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
So people like me, who I stopped doing my own
taxes when there was just too much of a fear
that I was signing my name to that and it
was going to lead to me going to jail, Like
do you at test under penalty of law? Everything here
in this tax return is true. I'm like, I don't
even know. It seems like I know about numbers in
the English language and I don't know what I'm doing.
(07:09):
So I take my stuff to someone and they do
a great job with it. So I already get this
tax income tax credit for property tax. You know already
get that. A lot of people do so for people
who have already gotten that by virtue of applying for
it through whatever means, not only do we not see
(07:29):
any further tax relief, but allowing some of the municipalities
to go up with the rise of inflation, our property
taxes might go up. The assessments aren't being capped as
the even a lot of the county assessors have asked for,
so my assessment could go through the roof. In other words,
not only am I not going to see any property
tax relief, I could be paying more next year, right.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Not with this new cap. The only exception I would
say on this cap is if you live in Lincoln.
The there's a small wrinkle in that they've been up
against their Levey lids. So that's where you may see
like infinitesimally small growth and government spending. However, if you
are collecting this income tax refund on your property taxes paid,
(08:17):
I am like you've hit a box in turbo taxes.
Say you're a homeowner, even if you don't have an
accountant like you can hit a box on TurboTax and tax.
And if you've never claimed this before, if you're sitting
back going I own a home like, I haven't claimed
this super this has been in place for two years.
There's a three year look back, so you can still
(08:37):
claim all of your refund money that you are entitled
to call the Nebraskat Apartment of Revenue today, start that
process because you can still collect everything you're entitled to.
But also something I do like, and i'll be thirty four,
is that we are kicking more excess state revenue towards
this this property tax refund on your come taxes paid.
(09:01):
So if you're like me, if you're like you, where
you collect your rebate every year, you do everything you
needed you to get that collected and maximized, you will
still be seen increases due to the funneling of excess
revenue in LB thirty four to that fund.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
I saw a picture of Governor Pillen talking about that
which was passed and some of the property tax things
that he did say was better than nothing. He was
flanked by a number of state senators. I was scouring
that group. I didn't see you in there. Did I
miss you?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
No? I don't know. My invite must have gotten lost
in the mail. It doesn't break my heart too much.
I got home to my kittle earlier.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
This has been something where the governor insinuated that you
need to learn how to balance a check's book, checkbook.
Your social media posts on this gut rather entertaining and
suggesting whether or not you a Yale graduate know how
to balance a checkbook, And it seems like perhaps you
and the governor are not going to go out and
(10:08):
get ice cream when all of this is done. So
how much can I mean that he still wants a
partner to be able to find a way to give
property tax relief and all these other conservative principles. How
much can he count on you to help find and
get elected that candidate in your Southeast Nebraska district.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
You know, I think in District one, we've got two
really solid candidates running to replace me. You've got Bob Halstrom,
You've got Dennis Shart, and they're both solid guys, lifetimes
of service. And at the end of the day, like
I have nothing personal against Governor Pillen, it's just Republicans
don't raise taxes, like it's anybody who proposes tax increases
(10:55):
or who proposes pro abortion things like those are my
two norm stars in politics, and I'm going to fight
any legislation that violates my two north stars of politics.
And he happened to find that out in this session.
So I Republicans don't raise taxes. I'm very unapologetic about
(11:16):
what I believe on that front, we have to seriously
cut spending and fix our valuation system if we're ever
going to make real progress. And I'm hopeful that this
special session helped introduce him to that idea, helped encourage
him to think about that idea, like whatever it takes
for him to come around as the concept that we
as fiscal conservatives, don't raise taxes.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Two more things here, one's a look back, one to
look forward for you. The governor said he was going
to keep you guys all there till Christmas if he
didn't get his property tax wishes. Well, yesterday was August twentieth.
It's we got a little time here before Christmas. But
he also conceded, he said, looks like the math is
pretty clear. I'm not going to call another special sessions.
(12:00):
So thus ends the current legislative career of State Senator
Julie Slama. So it appears so as you look back
to your years here in the unicameral, whether it was
battling ugly comments from Ernie Chambers, whether it was battling
(12:21):
people like state Senators Megan Hunter Mikayla Kavanaugh, you're very
progressive young women liberal counterparts in the legislature, Like, what
do you look back on here in your time in
Lincoln serving the people Southeast Nebraska. And I'm sorry, I
don't remember which district you're from. District what District one? Okay, yes,
number one from first district number one. Disc Pardon my ignorance,
(12:44):
but you look back you're representing the people of District
one here. What do you look back on? Good? Bad, ugly?
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Yeah. For me, my proudest moment serving District one have
been those moments where I can directly go to bat
for Southeast Nebraska and get results. A levee in my
district failed in twenty nineteen. I was able to help
join forces with the landowners of that agg land that
was now flooded, the town of Peru that had all
(13:13):
of its infrastructure compromised, to go to bat on a
state and federal level and get some positive results and
get progress moving on getting that levee repaired. Looking back
that issue, times in which I've been able to get
infrastructure investments in False City for electrical redundancy, more degree offerings,
(13:35):
a crew state, things that aren't sexy, but I can
look back on and go because I went to bat
for my district, something positive happened. Those to me personally
are my biggest wins. And of course there's the statewide
there's this state wide progress we've made too leave past
voter id we look like we're on our way to
(13:58):
protecting innocent life and our constitution and reinforcing that come November.
I've had the chance to go toe to toe and
fight with extreme far left progressive, going sixteen rounds with
Ernie Chambers or Megan Hunter, MICHAELA. Kavanaugh. That just gave
(14:20):
me the chance to say what I believe in as
a Republican, as a rural Republican representing southeast Nebraska. And
I'm grateful for all the moments, whether whether they were good,
bad or on the whole, especially if you look back
at Cender Chambers comments ugly. But I wouldn't change it
(14:42):
for the world. I met my husband here, we have
our first son, and then another little girl who in January.
So I'm just so grateful to Governor now Senator Ricketts
for taking a chance and appointing a young fighter to
the legislature, sure in the district one, for intrust in
you by colecting me in twenty twenty.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
You've been emailing me since you were I don't remember
if it was before you went off to Yale. I
think it was, but it goes back to me when
you were a teenager. So what have I heard the
last from you? Or have those who cast a ballot
throughout the stay of Nebraska have they heard the last
from you?
Speaker 2 (15:25):
You know, never say never, Scott. I don't think you've
heard the last of Julie Slama, and you certainly haven't
heard the last of young conservatives, in the next generation
of conservatives, especially in rural Nebraska, who have great new
ideas and are looking to make a positive difference in
the states.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
In the meantime, I just look forward to hearing about
all the great things happening with your beautiful young family,
and I want to get an email from you a
few years from now going My daughter says she loves
President Kamala Harris, And I don't know what to do,
you know, or whatever whatever ends up happening here, but oh,
for sure, Yeah, this is going to be the greatest
(16:09):
time of your life here being a young mom. So
enjoy it and look forward to hearing what comes next
here politically for you. Thank you very much for all
the time here this morning. All the entertainment over the
years will definitely be in touch.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Thank you so much, my friend.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
That is District one representative southeast Nebraska around Peru. That's
State Senator Julie Slama. Scott Voices News Radio eleven ten
kfab