Nebraska consumption tax — ‘EPIC Option’ — won’t be considered in 2025 legislative session

LINCOLN — The conservative grassroots efforts for an “EPIC” rewrite of Nebraska’s tax code, to eliminate all taxes in place of consumption taxes, will skip the Legislature this year.

State Sen. Brian Hardin of Gering, the heir to the “EPIC Option” effort long carried by term-limited former State Sens. Steve Erdman of Bayard and Steve Halloran of Hastings, filed Tuesday to withdraw Legislative Resolution 10CA and LR 11CA, two related constitutional amendments, and Legislative Bill 331, aimed at adopting the “Nebraska EPIC Option Consumption Tax Act.”

Supporters of the effort have fallen short in the Legislature and through signature-gathering efforts. Still, they are determined to reach voters for whether property, income and corporate taxes — and miscellaneous taxes like the inheritance tax — should go away by Jan. 1, 2028.

Grocery items purchased for off-premises consumption would not be taxed through LR 11CA, while LR 10CA would prohibit all taxes except retail consumption taxes and excise taxes.

In Nebraska, all bills and constitutional amendments get a public hearing, unlike many other state legislatures.

Hardin, speaking with the Nebraska Examiner on Tuesday, said the need for hearings complicated the timing for EPIC in the 2025 legislative session. He awaits a dynamic study on EPIC.

“We just learned yesterday it’s not going to be done until late April,” Hardin said Tuesday. “I can’t get the data that I need to get through everything.”

Hardin’s legislation had not yet been scheduled for a public hearing before the Revenue Committee. Public hearings end in late March.

By withdrawing the proposals, Hardin or another senator would need to reintroduce them in January 2026 for lawmakers to consider the legislation for the November 2026 ballot. Or supporters could launch a new petition drive.

The three withdrawal motions will go to a procedural vote of the full Legislature later this session.

Erdman, who passed the EPIC mantle to Hardin, said in January that “big, bold changes” take time and that “EPIC is alive and well.” Erdman said the next effort would be “far more involved,” with a specific plan to reach the ballot.

In a text Tuesday, Erdman said that withdrawing the bills won’t impact the movement’s future.

“Going forward, we will have a whole new look,” Erdman said in January. “I think it’ll be an opportunity for the Nebraska people that are being taxed out of their homes and farms and businesses to understand that there’s only one option, and that’s to change the whole system.”