Midwest - The Council of State Governments

Five strategies on how to address violent crime, with examples from the 11-state Midwest

The CSG Justice Center has created two new resources for policymakers: 1) “Five Ways States Can Reduce Violent Crime”; and 2) snapshots for each of the 50 states on what the most up-to-date data show about trends in crime, arrests, behavioral health, workforce, recidivism and more. This article describes each part of the five-point plan. For state policymakers, staff at the CSG Justice Center is available to help unpack the data and dig deeper into how to improve community safety. Please contact the CSG Justice Center’s Madeleine Dardeau to learn more.

#1: Solve more cases of violent crime

Nationwide, the number of violent crimes solved by law enforcement continues to decline. In 2022, no arrest was made in 63 percent of the violent crimes reported to law enforcement. According to the CSG Justice Center, research is clear that the certainty of getting caught — not the severity of punishment — is what can deter crime. Targeted state investments and grant programs can be used to:

Boost support and training for local police agencies, particularly those with low solve rates.
Reduce detective caseloads.
Improve law enforcement’s engagement with witnesses and victims. Illinois, for instance, funds a program that helps witnesses of violent crimes pay for relocation and housing-related expenses.

The CSG Justice Center also points to recent investments in the state of Ohio: more than $13 million for a Crime Lab Efficiency Program that aims to reduce and eliminate backlogs, decrease evidence processing times and upgrade lab technology.

Six years ago, the Utah Legislature established a statewide cold case unit (SB 160). Under the law, local enforcement must submit to a state-run database crimes that remain unsolved for three years. State investigators support the work in trying to solve these cold cases.

#2: Invest in data-driven violence prevention

About half of the nation’s violent crimes are never even reported to law enforcement. That fact points to the importance of having effective crime-prevention strategies.

Legislatures can be a catalyst for this work.

The CSG Justice Center singles out legislative-initiated work being done in the state of Washington: Researchers there were tasked with identifying the most cost-effective programs to prevent crime; the findings are now used to determine ongoing state investments.

As part of a statewide crime prevention strategy, the CSG Justice Center says, data-driven, evidence-based initiatives should target help for the communities most impacted by violent crime.

This can include increasing social and public health services, supporting culturally responsive violence reduction programs, and improving neighborhood infrastructures. In recent years, Illinois has allocated $250 million to the Reimagine Public Safety Act for this type of programming.

#3: Address trauma to prevent trauma

Illinois, Iowa and Ohio are among the 12 U.S. states that are home to at least one Trauma Recovery Center. The goal of this TRC model is to provide help to the survivors of violence. For example:

evidence-based psychotherapy to target symptoms of distress and to increase interpersonal safety;
clinical case management to address legal, housing, financial or medical needs;
help for survivors in securing the victim-compensation benefits that they are eligible to receive.

“Ensuring that individuals experiencing trauma are connected to relevant support and resources is critical to breaking the cycles of violence,” the CSG Justice Center notes.

In late 2023, lawmakers in Michigan passed the bipartisan Crime Victims Rights Package. This suite of enacted bills includes HB 4420, a measure that allows police officers or prosecuting attorneys to share victims’ contact information with domestic and sexual violence service providers who can provide supportive services.

Also last year, the Minnesota Legislature established a $500,000 grant program to address the health and wellness needs of victims, and their families, who have experienced trauma.

#4: Set statewide goals to reduce recidivism

Earlier this year, Nebraska became the fourth U.S. state to join Reentry 2030, a national initiative to improve the reentry success for people with criminal records. Within a state, the initiative establishes specific goals to reduce rates of recidivism. It involves partnerships among state and local leaders in the justice, workforce, health and housing sectors.

Among the new goals for Nebraska to reach by 2030:

Increase GED completion among incarcerated individuals by 30 percent and college coursework enrollment by 50 percent.
Expand participation in vocational and life-skills programming by 25 percent.
Ensure enrollment in Medicaid for all individuals who are incarcerated and eligible for this public health insurance program.
Make sure all individuals who are incarcerated obtain state identification and birth certificates prior to release.
Within 30 days of parole placement, at least 90 percent of individuals who are released from incarceration will be gainfully employed.

Nationwide, falling rates of recidivism point to progress and the impact of state-level policy changes. Still, 70 percent of people released from prison are re-arrested within five years.

#5: Improve justice data collection and use

A lack of sound data collection, reporting and analysis hampers efforts to improve criminal justice systems.

“You can’t fix what you don’t measure,” the CSG Justice Center says. “Data on crime, arrests, backlogs and punishments are hard to get.

“And despite an increasing focus on improving reentry outcomes, only half of states report data on outcomes for the millions of people sentenced to probation supervision.”

One option for states: Join the Justice Counts initiative, a nationwide coalition that is adopting a common set of metrics to provide key insights on trends, operations and outcomes in the criminal justice system.

The CSG Justice Center is leading this effort.

Iowa joined a handful of other states as a founding member of Justice Counts. Illinois and Wisconsin have secured federal grants to pursue the initiative’s goals.

The use of data also is central to the technical assistance provided to states via the Justice Reinvestment Initiative. In this region, nine states have partnered with the CSG Justice Center on this initiative: Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin.

The result has been the adoption of data-driven, evidence-based policies to improve public safety, save taxpayer dollars, reduce rates of recidivism, and help victims of crime.

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2024 MLC Chair’s Initiative on Workforce | Governors tout successes, new policies to build talent pipelines

Innovation in workforce policy and development is the focus of the 2024 Midwestern Legislative Chair’s Initiative of Ohio Sen. Bill Reineke (pictured to the right). In support of the initiative, CSG Midwest is producing a series of articles, research briefs and policy sessions for the region’s legislators on this initiative.

Below, we explore the State of the State addresses delivered by Midwestern governors in early 2024 and focus on their ideas for building talent pipelines and addressing workforce shortages. We look at four common policy strategies:

Boost rates of postsecondary attainment
Expand the reach of apprenticeship programs
Address the child care needs of families
Recruit out-of-state workers

Strategy #1: Boost rates of postsecondary attainment

More jobs are requiring some postsecondary education and training beyond high school, a workforce reality noted in several of the governors’ recent speeches and proposals.

In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants to make the first two years of community college tuition-free for every high school graduate. For students, she said, the plan would open new opportunities to pursue better-paying jobs. But Whitmer also noted that the state and its businesses will benefit from a larger pool of postsecondary-trained workers.

“As more supply chains come home and advanced manufacturing businesses expand in Michigan, they will need qualified talent,” she said. The state’s goal is to have 60 percent of working-age adults with a college degree or postsecondary skill certificate by 2030.

Six years ago, Iowa lawmakers set this statewide target: by 2025, 70 percent of the workforce should have education and training beyond high school. To get there, new programs were established and funded under the Future Ready Act (HB 2458 of 2018). For instance, a last-dollar scholarship has been made available to students pursuing degrees or certificates in high-need occupations. In fiscal year 2023, a total of $24 million went to nearly 10,000 Iowans. An associate degree in nursing was the most common occupation being pursued.

In her January 2024 address, Gov. Kim Reynolds reported to legislators that the state had reached its 70 percent goal ahead of schedule.

“Future Ready Iowa was born in this building with an executive order and bipartisan legislation; we set the vision and laid the foundation,” she said. “But elected leaders aren’t the ones who got it done. It was the people of Iowa … who created a new culture, merging the worlds of work and education like never before.”

At the start of Indiana’s 2024 session, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb challenged education and policy leaders to find new ways of making college more accessible. Among his ideas: create more degree options. Under SB 8, every public university would need to offer at least one three-year degree program, as well as study the feasibility of offering associate degrees to students.

Strategy #2: Expand reach of state-supported apprenticeship programs

Another feature of Iowa’s Future Ready initiative has been to invest more in registered apprenticeships — “earn and learn” programs for people to get paid while receiving on-the-job training and skills. Part of Iowa’s strategy has been developing and expanding new apprenticeships in high-demand fields. (The state’s Workforce Development Board identifies the high-demand fields).

One of Reynolds’ policy goals for 2024 is to expand high school students’ access to apprenticeships or other work-based learning opportunities (internships, job shadowing, etc.) in targeted industries.

In her 2024 State of the State address, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem highlighted the impact of recent investments in apprenticeships, including a new three-year, $7.9 million grant program. With that money, apprenticeship sponsors are eligible for up to $15,000 in funding support as well as state technical assistance.

“In just the first two quarters since launching the expanded effort, we’ve more than doubled the amount of new apprenticeships,” Noem said.

Raising awareness about apprenticeships and other worker training programs is the goal of Indiana’s One Stop to Start, a new web resource highlighted by Holcomb during his State of the State address. The “one stop” resource highlights high-growth industries in Indiana and includes a listing of state-supported education and training opportunities. Additionally, individuals can get connected with a career navigator to explore potential options.

In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine called for a statutory change requiring every high school student to have a career plan upon graduation from the the state’s K-12 system. “The [current] law fails to require maybe the most important thing — a plan for students to find a career they love and can excel at after graduation,” he said.

He also hailed recent state-level investments in career technical education, including $200 million in grants for new or expanded classrooms and more than $67 million to pay for new equipment in career tech programs.

Strategy #3: Address the child care needs of families

In Kansas, more than half of the families in search of child care cannot find an open slot, Gov. Laura Kelly said to legislators in January. “[It’s] forcing many parents to quit their jobs, and the shortages are worst in our rural areas.”

Her proposed budget includes $56 million for child care. More than half of this money would be used to build up Kansas’ child care infrastructure — grants to build new facilities or expand existing operations. Local and private dollars match the state-level support.

Kelly also proposed one-time funding of $5 million for a public-private partnership in a 26-county region of northwest Kansas. Combined with private dollars and the support of local foundations, the state dollars would create a new endowment, a sustainable source of funding to add child care slots in this region’s mostly rural communities. If successful, the approach could be replicated in other parts of Kansas.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen has proposed building a “micro-center” network of child care programs.

This model aims to remove some of the common infrastructure and operational obstacles faced by smaller-sized, family-based child care providers — for example, a lack of space to expand capacity in their homes or a lack of capital to build a stand-alone center.

Here is how it works: Smaller providers get low- or no-cost space to deliver care in a few rooms of an existing facility (a school or business in the community, for example). These smaller providers also then get administrative and technical support from a shared, outside entity.

Nebraska’s LB 1416 would establish a state grant program to pursue the micro-center model.

In Illinois. Gov. J.B. Pritzker told legislators in February that with continuing state investments for an initiative known as “Smart Start,” universal preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds could be achieved by 2027. Last year’s Illinois budget included $300 million in new funding for child care and early-childhood education. With those additional dollars, the state is

providing grants to schools and nonprofit operators to create more child care slots and for private operators to expand operations;
investing in programs that raise the wages of workers in this sector and that create new scholarship and apprenticeship programs; and
expanding the availability of child care assistance for lower-income families.

“Smart Start is having the desired benefit for working parents and their children,” Pritzker said. “Child care utilization rates are higher than ever before.”

Last year, North Dakota legislators took steps to expand child care capacity, and Gov. Doug Burgum hailed that $66 million investment in his 2024 State of the State address. As part of the enacted legislation (HB 1540), more families became eligible for state-funded child care assistance, providers are being paid at higher rates, and employers are getting incentives to cover part of their workers’ child care expenses.

“What’s happening with that investment, now more than 4,800 working families have received help with child care costs just in the first six months of this biennium; more than 300 child care business have benefited from grants and incentives,” Burgum said. “Think of that, close to 5,000. When we talk about trying to solve our issue with 30,000 jobs open, we put a huge dent in it … because we got 5,000 people that maybe came back into the
workforce.”

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers told legislators in January that a child care crisis is imminent minus state action; public funding is needed to keep many centers open, he said. Like other Midwestern governors, too, Evers linked the lack of child care availability to a shortage of workers.

“From my vantage point, three things are key to addressing our state’s workforce challenges: First, we must find a long-term solution to our state’s looming child care crisis; second, we must expand paid family leave; and third, we must invest in public education at every level, from early childhood to our technical colleges and universities.”

On that second priority, Evers has proposed a state investment of $240 million to jump-start a program that would ensure 12 weeks of paid family leave for most private-sector employees.

Last year, Minnesota legislators established a state-run insurance program providing workers with up 20 weeks of family and medical leave and also created a first-in-the-Midwest Child Tax Credit.

In his 2024 State of the State address, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz highlighted a new state biennial budget that includes expanded access to Early Learning Scholarships and Child Care Assistance programs as well as voluntary, publicly funded prekindergarten. Legislators also invested in higher pay for child care workers and higher compensation rates for providers.

“We’ve expanded access to pre-k and affordable child care,” Walz said in his address.

Strategy #4: Recruit new workers to the state

Pillen and Noem said part of their states’ strategies for alleviating workforce shortages should be to attract out-of-state talent.

Pillen has proposed a new tax credit for employers who cover the relocation expenses of people who move to Nebraska for work (LB 1400). The credit is up to $5,000 per employee. The relocating worker must have an annual wage of between $70,000 and $250,000. That worker also would get a one-time income tax break.

“We must recognize that investing in the twenty-first century workforce is different from what we’ve done before,” Pillen said. “No longer can we focus tax breaks on companies that are takers, not givers, and that do not share our values.

In June 2023, South Dakota launched “Freedom Works Here,” a workforce-recruitment campaign with targeted ads for the state’s highest-demand professions — for example, electricians, plumbers, welders, accountants and nurses. This campaign, combined with recent statutory changes that recognize out-of-state professional licenses, has led to more job applicants and a year-over-year increase of 10,000 people in the labor force, Noem said.

“This is indisputably the most impactful workforce campaign in South Dakota’s history,” she added.

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Rates of chronic absenteeism are much higher than pre-pandemic levels; Indiana is among the states with a new law to address it

The long-term consequences for habitually missing school are numerous.

A student falls behind in reading comprehension during the pivotal early grades. Social-emotional development is diminished. And it becomes more common that a young person will not graduate on time or will drop out of school entirely.

In every Midwestern state, students are considered “chronically absent” if they miss 10 percent or more of the school year. This attendance problem worsened during the pandemic, and despite a return to in-person learning, rates of chronic absenteeism have yet to drop back down to pre-pandemic levels (see table for the Midwest).

Getting to the root causes

The nonprofit initiative Attendance Works categorizes the root causes of chronic absenteeism, placing them into one of four “buckets” (see graphic).

A student’s socioeconomic status can play a role in how many buckets are filled or the severity of the contributing factors that keep them from school — for example, housing insecurity, community violence or a lack of transportation.

But Attendance Works founder and executive director Hedy Chang adds that all young people are susceptible to having attendance impediments, to becoming disengaged with learning, and to possessing a negative association with the school environment.

“Aspects of the buckets changed during the pandemic,” Chang says.

“[Chronic absenteeism is] deeper and more pervasive in some ways among economically challenged communities. And there are more kids who are not economically challenged who are chronically absent than ever before.”

To turn around this trend, Chang stresses the importance of collecting good, timely data. She points to Connecticut as an example of this approach.

During the pandemic, that state not only adopted a universal definition for both in-person and virtual-learning attendance, but also began collecting attendance data monthly instead of annually.

This new trove of data, plus a commitment to making attendance rates public and promptly addressing any reporting inaccuracies, led to the creation of a home-visit model: the Learner Engagement and Attendance Program.

Visits began being made to the homes of a targeted set of chronically absent students in order to make direct connections with students and their families. Though chronic absenteeism in Connecticut remains high, these interventions helped to reduce rates by almost 3 percentage points between academic years 2022 and 2023.

The visits also have led to student placements in after-school, summer school and other learning-enrichment programs.

Chang has said, too, that these visits “improved family-school relationships, increased feelings of belonging, improved access to resources, and [led to] greater gratitude and appreciation” — all of which can improve attendance.

Indiana’s new interventions

Tackling chronic absenteeism was a top priority this year for Indiana lawmakers.

“Almost one in five Indiana students were chronically absent last year,” Sen. Linda Rogers says. “There were 547 schools where a quarter of the students were chronically absent, and 84 schools where half of the students were chronically absent.”

She was a co-sponsor of this year’s SB 282. Signed into law in March, it requires school districts to develop truancy prevention plans while also creating a framework for future state action.

“Absent students,” those missing five days of school within a 10-week span, will be provided with wraparound services to increase the likelihood of attendance and be referred to counseling or mentoring.

The parents/guardians of “absent students” will be required to take part in a school-initiated conference about the attendance problem. They also will be informed about the legal consequences of a student becoming habitually truant, and may be expected to attend counseling or mentoring with their child.

Students with unique attendance barriers — for example, foster care placement, homelessness and life-threatening illness — will receive additional services.

SB 282 also gives Indiana’s attendance officer (who is appointed by the state secretary of education) a new responsibility: regularly collect ideas and recommendations for legislative action from local school officials, and then provide a yearly report to the General Assembly.

Initially, the bill included a more punitive approach: authorizing juvenile courts to impose civil fines of up to $1,000 on the parents/guardians of habitually truant students.

After receiving feedback from various stakeholders, Rogers says, she and her colleagues amended the bill with a “softer approach.”

Chang says she understands and believes in the idea of holding students and families accountable. But she also suggests that lawmakers be wary of punitive approaches, which often don’t take into account the root causes of absenteeism and also can lead to inequitable treatment.

“You have two kids who are both sick: One kid has a doctor and brings in a doctor’s note, and the other kid doesn’t have access to health care and doesn’t bring a note,” she says. “The kid without the note is going to have the unexcused absence.”

Chang also points to a 2020 report by The Council of State Governments Justice Center on findings from South Carolina. In that state, the CSG study found, the involvement of the juvenile justice system for chronically absent students resulted in even worse attendance rates.

Financial ‘nudge’?

This year in Ohio, lawmakers have been debating the efficacy of a new way to boost attendance — financial incentives.

Under HB 348, the state would establish two pilot programs. The first would provide cash transfers ranging from $25 to $500 to a select group of kindergarten and ninth-grade families whose students maintain an attendance rate of at least 90 percent within a two-week, quarterly or yearlong period.

The second pilot program would award selected students $250 for graduating high school, and an additional $250 for maintaining a grade-point average of 3.0.

“My seventh-grade social studies teacher always told us, ‘Always remember this, kids: Money isn’t everything, but it’s way ahead of whatever’s in second place,’ “ Rep. Bill Seitz, one of the bill’s two primary sponsors, said during a committee hearing on previous incentives that schools have offered to improve attendance.

The attendance-specific pilot program would target schools with the highest quartile of chronic absenteeism in Ohio.

For his committee hearing witness slip, the bill’s other main sponsor, Rep. Dani Isaacsohn, referenced a 2016 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research that evaluated the relationship between cash transfers and attendance and academic performance among a group of freshmen in Chicago Heights, Ill. One of the conclusions of that study was that cash rewards were the most effective, at least in the short term, for students just below the performance measure baseline.

Isaacsohn explains one of the variables this pilot would evaluate, if the bill passes, is the extent of cash as an input.

“[What we want to test is] how many people there are who could be nudged or who could be moved with a cash incentive to shift toward a culture of daily and regular attendance,” he says.

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MIPRC receives federal grant

The Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission won a two-year, Interstate Rail Compacts (IRC) grant of up to $300,000 from the Federal Railroad Administration.

This is the first funding being made available under the new IRC grant program, which was created in the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law”).

The FRA announced the opportunity for the first round of funding, for federal fiscal years 2022 and 2023, in May 2023.

A team of MIPRC officers, commissioners and partners prepared the commission’s application, which was submitted in July. Grant recipients are required to provide a 50 percent match.

The grant will enable MIPRC to expand its staff, update and modernize its electronic and published communications channels and materials, broaden its outreach to myriad stakeholders, and strengthen its ability to apply and compete for future federal planning grants.

The grant will also help MIPRC evolve into the enhanced regional governance authority envisioned by the FRA-led Midwest Regional Rail Plan of 2021, which set forth a strategic 40-year vision for the Midwest’s passenger rail network.

Current MIPRC member states are Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and Wisconsin. Iowa, Nebraska and Ohio are eligible to rejoin the compact; South Dakota also is eligible to join.

CSG Midwest provides secretariat services to MIPRC.

Learn more about MIPRC at miprc.org.

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Wind, Solar and Siting: A Look at Recent Laws and Legislative Trends in the Midwest

“Wind, Solar and Siting: A Look at Recent Laws and Legislative Trends in the Midwest ” ~ PDF

Introduction: Varying visions on siting authority

Across the Midwest, interest in new solar and wind projects is undoubtedly on the rise as the region and the country shift from fossil fuels to renewables.

Less certain: Who should have the authority to approve or deny proposals to build new wind and solar facilities? State regulators? Local governments? Some combination of the two?

Ultimately, the decision on who gets that authority rests with state legislatures, and an analysis of laws in the 11-state Midwest shows a mix of approaches being used. In states such as Indiana, Iowa and Kansas, the fate of proposed renewable projects rests entirely or mostly with local governments; conversely, state-level regulators in states such as Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin take on much or all of the siting authority over larger projects.

Proposals to shift the balance of power between state and local governments have been introduced in state capitols across the Midwest in recent years. This legislative activity has included the enactment of new laws in states such as Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.

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Midwest’s legislatures explore paths to property tax relief

The property tax, Joan Youngman says, “will never have a quiet life.”

On the one hand, people are reminded every day of the critical amenities provided through this local revenue source — schools, roads, police, etc. “Voters are aware of their property values and of the services, and that’s a good thing for [local] accountability and responsible decision making,” says Youngman, a senior fellow and chair of the Department of Valuation and Taxation at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

On the other hand, they also are mindful of the costs.

How much did you pay last year in property taxes? People are much more likely to know that answer compared to sales or income taxes, at least in part because the property tax typically is collected as a lump-sum payment and can total thousands of dollars.

In recent years, Rep. Mike Amyx says, he and other Kansas lawmakers have been hearing loud and clear from constituents about the impacts of rising property taxes.

“The values of properties are going up; people’s incomes have not [kept pace]. And, of course, you have folks on fixed income,” he says. “We’re seeing some fairly big hardships because of that.”

In his State of the State address in January, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen identified “out-of-control property taxes” as the state’s “most important economic issue.” His goal: sign new laws this session that result in a 40 percent reduction in property taxes. Kansas and Nebraska are not alone. Youngman notes that in just about every state where legislatures are in session, bills have been filed to provide some kind of relief.

Rising vales, rising taxes

U.S. home values reached an average of $342,941 in January 2024, according to the Zillow Home Value Index; that is an increase of 68.3 percent since January 2017. The annual growth in home values was 3.1 percent between January 2023 and January 2024.

The value of agricultural land has been on the rise as well. Last year alone, it went up 7.4 percent. Between 2009 and 2023, the value of farmland nearly doubled, from $2,090 per acre, on average, to $4,080, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

This kind of jump in property valuations often results in higher tax bills, putting more pressure on lawmakers to intervene.

Most states in the Midwest fall somewhere in the middle of U.S. states on measures of property tax burdens and reliance (see maps), but there are exceptions.

Indiana, for instance, ranks in the bottom one-fifth of states.

Statutory changes made there a decade-and-a-half ago allowed for a “tax swap” that reduced reliance on the property tax. The General Assembly raised the sales tax rate from 6 percent to 7 percent and had the state assume full funding responsibility for the costs associated with day-to-day student instruction in K-12 schools. Around the same time, a legislative-initiated, voter-approved constitutional amendment established new property tax caps. For instance, the tax paid by an Indiana homeowner cannot exceed 1 percent of the property’s gross assessed value.

On the flip side, Nebraska is one of the Midwestern states (along with Illinois) with a higher-than-average reliance on the property tax.

Numerous legislative proposals this year would change that and add new revenue sources in exchange for the 40 percent reduction in property taxes envisioned by Gov. Pillen. For example:

Raise Nebraska’s sales tax rate from 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent.
Broaden the sales tax base by imposing a tax on more services (for example, dry cleaning, digital advertising, accounting, storage and moving, and business legal services), on candy and soda, on lottery tickets and games of skill, and on certain agricultural-equipment parts.
Raise the cigarette tax by $2 a pack (from 64 cents to $2.64).

Nebraska Sen. Lou Ann Linehan says a series of legislative changes are needed to bring a more balanced approach to government finance. She and others refer to it as the “three-legged stool”: income, sales and property taxes accounting for roughly the same amount of revenue for state and local governments.

The stool is no longer level, Linehan says, with property tax collections in Nebraska now at $5 billion, compared to $3 billion in income taxes and $2 billion in sales taxes.

She adds that additional revenue sources from sales and other taxes should only be part of the solution. Linehan also wants harder, state-level caps that limit annual growth in tax collections by local governments; under her proposed LB 1414, the total amount being collected would mostly have to remain the same from one year to the next. (There are exceptions to account for new construction or to pay off bonds, and allow voters to approve higher amounts.)

This harder cap, Linehan says, will keep property taxes in check even as property values rise. LB 1414 does not apply to school districts, though a measure passed last year (LB 243) curbs districts’ year-over-year increases to 3 percent, with exceptions to account for growth in overall enrollment or the number of higher-need students.

Outside the Legislature, advocates of eliminating all income, property and inheritance taxes in Nebraska are seeking to get their proposal on the November 2024 ballot. Their idea is to fund state and local government through a consumption tax. A petition to end property taxes in North Dakota, via a constitutional amendment, also has been circulating.

Transparency in taxation

In Kansas, any proposed constitutional amendments must first get legislative approval, and Democrats and Republicans have proposed separate property tax-related measures. The Republican plan would limit counties from raising the valuation on any property by more than 4 percent in a single year; the Democratic proposal would reduce the rate at which residential property is assessed, from 11.5 percent to 9 percent. (Rates are set in the Constitution.)

Statutory-level changes also are under consideration this session. One idea is to expand Kansas’ existing homestead exemption, a policy lever common across the country.

According to Youngman, the universality of the homestead exemption (all property owners get relief) often makes it more politically popular than targeted, “circuit breaker” programs, which provide assistance only once property taxes exceed a certain percentage of a homeowner’s income.

Still, if set as a fixed-dollar amount (rather than a percentage of the home’s worth), the homestead exemption can help counter-balance “the inherent regressivity in tax valuations,” says Youngman, noting that “the lower end of the residential class tends to be over-assessed.”

She suggests that state legislatures fund these exemptions, rather than leaving it to local governments to find ways of making up the lost revenue.

Proposals in Kansas would raise the homestead exemption on the statewide property tax to $100,000 of valuation; it already was raised two years ago from $20,000 to $40,000 under HB 2239.

Homestead exemptions, circuit breaker programs, assessment and levy limits, and property tax rate caps are among the ways that states in the Midwest have sought to curb property taxes. But Youngman also says there is value in increasing state-level transparency, while allowing for local control over budgeting decisions that impact local services.

In Kansas, a “truth in taxation” law passed in 2021 (SB 13) now requires local taxing bodies to alert residents and hold public hearings prior to any vote that increases property tax collections.

“It’s an inhibiting step [to increasing taxes] because you no longer can have what you might call a ‘silent tax increase,’ ” says Youngman, noting that property tax collections can rise simply because of rising assessment values. “At the same time, you’re not imposing [limits] from a higher level of government. You’re not requiring a one-size-fits-all approach when areas of the state may have very different needs and resources.”

She also recommends stronger state oversight of locally administered property tax systems to ensure accuracy, fairness and accountability. Options for that oversight could be a legislative committee or a state-level board or official.

Paths to property tax relief: An overview of state policy strategies and examples from the 11-state Midwest

Provide homestead exemptions that reduce the taxable value of a property owner’s primary residence. The exemption is typically a fixed-dollar amount set in statute. Two years ago, Kansas legislators raised the exemption on the statewide property tax from $20,000 of valuation to $40,000; HB 2239 also included a trigger that automatically increases the exemption to coincide with statewide rises in property values. Various proposals in the 2024 session would raise the exemption to $100,000.
Establish assessment limits that cap how much a property’s value (for tax purposes) can increase from year to year. Under the Michigan Constitution, the taxable value of property cannot grow by more than 5 percent or the rate of inflation (whichever is less) until ownership is transferred.
Impose a tax rate cap that is tied to the value of the property. Constitutional language in Indiana guarantees that the tax paid by individuals on their primary residence will not exceed 1 percent of the property’s gross assessed value. The cap is 2 percent for residential non-homesteads and 3 percent for other property.
Institute levy limits that curb how much revenue can be collected by local governments, with year-over-year growth typically capped at a certain percentage. Iowa legislators established new tiered levy limits last year. Under HF 718, when overall property assessments in a taxing district rise between 3 percent and 6 percent, the levy limit is set at 2 percent. When assessments increase 6 percent or more, levy growth is capped at 3 percent.
Increase general aid to local governments. This was among several property tax relief provisions included in Minnesota’s omnibus tax bill from 2023. HF 1938 included an additional $80 million each year in local government aid and county program aid. With this influx of state dollars, lawmakers say, local governments can deliver critical services and avoid property tax increases.
Raise state-based taxes. The property tax limits and caps in Indiana and Michigan (see above) were implemented at the same time those states raised sales tax rates. One goal of these “tax swaps” was to reduce a reliance on the property tax to fund K-12 schools.
Offer targeted relief when the property tax bill for a homeowner exceeds a certain percentage of income. Minnesota has one of the nation’s furthest-reaching circuit breaker programs: a high maximum refund (compared to many states), with eligibility open to all income-qualifying homeowners and renters. In other states, eligibility may be limited to seniors or the disabled and not include renters.
Provide income tax credits to homeowners and other property-tax payers. In Wisconsin, a school levy tax credit is applied to every taxable property. Recent laws in Nebraska made property owners eligible for a refundable income tax credit based on the amount they pay in property taxes to the local school district and community college.
Allow for the postponed payment of taxes until the property is sold or the owner dies. Illinois is among the states with this kind of property tax deferral program, and a 2021 law (SB 2244) expanded eligibility for it. Illinois seniors with incomes of up to $65,000 now qualify. The maximum amount that can be deferred every year also was raised to $7,500.
Adopt “truth-in-taxation” laws. One example of this approach is Kansas’ SB 13, a law passed in 2021 that requires a local taxing body to alert residents and hold a public hearing prior to any vote that increases the amount of total property tax revenue it collects. This requirement includes sending a notice to each property-tax payer about the proposed increase and the public hearing. A similar law was enacted in Nebraska in 2021 (LB 644).

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2024 MLC Chair’s Initiative on Workforce | Governors tout successes, new policies to build talent pipelines in their state

Innovation in workforce policy and development is the focus of the 2024 Midwestern Legislative Chair’s Initiative of Ohio Sen. Bill Reineke (pictured to the right). In support of the initiative, CSG Midwest is producing a series of articles, research briefs and policy sessions for the region’s legislators on this initiative.

Below, we explore the State of the State addresses delivered by Midwestern governors in early 2024 and focus on their ideas for building talent pipelines and addressing workforce shortages. We look at four common policy strategies:

Boost rates of postsecondary attainment
Expand the reach of apprenticeship programs
Address the child care needs of families
Recruit out-of-state workers

(Note: The governors of Minnesota and Ohio had not yet delivered their addresses when this article was written in February 2024.)