1972 - LB1241 - Exempted one-eighth of the value of business and farm inventories, livestock, and farm machinery beginning in 1973 and one-eighth of the value each year thereafter for four years. By 1977 such property was valued and taxed at three-eighths of its actual value. The state replaced all of the money lost to local governments due to the exemption.

1977 - LB 518 - Exempted the remaining three eighths of the value of business and farm inventories, livestock and farm machinery over the succeeding three years. For 1978, 100% of farm inventories and farm machinery was exempt, in 1979, 100% of business inventories was exempt and in 1980, livestock was exempt. At first, the state replaced the lost income based on the assessments of such property in 1977, but after the Nebraska Supreme Court struck down this distribution as constituting a permanently closed class, violative of the Special Legislation Clause, a change was made in 1982. The total amount reimbursed was $82.6 million, which included prior reimbursements for the exemption of household goods and intangible property. It is distributed in proportion to total property taxes levied by counties. The amount to be distributed to counties was set in statute as $17.9 million. The actual amount appropriated has been less in most years since and the statutory amount was changed to $13.5 million in 1992.

1992 - LB 1063 - Adopted net book value approach for the valuation of all personal property and therefore added farm machinery to the tax rolls. The reduction in value for personal property other the previously-exempted farm machinery averaged about 20%. Had no constitutional amendment passed to authorize the net book value approach to valuation of personal property, the bill called for assessing all personal property, including farm and business inventories at actual value. LB 1063 also allowed a refund of sales taxes paid on farm machinery, provided the machinery appeared on the personal property tax schedule. The revenue lost from the sales tax exemption was replaced with a temporary $4 per ton tax on commercial fertilizer and a reduction in county personal property replacement aid of $3.5 million. The reduction in state aid to counties was distributed among counties based on the amount of taxable farm machinery in each county.

1997 - LB 271 - Eliminated the property tax on motor vehicles and replaced it with a uniform, statewide tax and fee system. The fee is a nominal amount, generally between $5 and $30 and the proceeds are distributed to cities and counties based on the distribution of Highway Trust Fund dollars. The motor vehicle tax is determined from a table that begins with a higher initial tax as MSRP of the vehicle when new increases and declines with the age of the motor vehicle itself. The schedule was designed seeking a reduction in taxes on motor vehicle of about $15 million from the previous year property tax amounts but the actual proceeds turned out to be $30 million less. The money was originally distributed to all local governments in proportion to their relative levies.

1998 - LR 45 CA placed four separate constitutional amendments on the 1998 general election ballot as follows: (1) strike the requirement that motor vehicle taxes be distributed to local governments in proportion to property taxes levied, (2) provide for the merger or consolidation of cities and counties, (3) limit the property tax exemption for government property to property used for a public purpose, and (4) strike all references to townships in the Constitution. The first three amendments succeeded while the fourth failed.

LB 695 - Provided an equalized aid program for counties. The program distributes about $6 million annually to counties that are unable to generate the average number of dollars per road mile by levying the average county property tax rate. The bill also provided that counties receive $35 per day for state prisoners held in county jails.

1999 - LB 142 - Implemented part of LR 45 CA by providing that the proceeds from the motor vehicle tax be distributed 60% to the school where the vehicle is registered, 22% to the county and 18% to the city except in Douglas County where the city-county shares are reversed. This change caused counties to receive more money from the motor vehicle tax than they were receiving from the property tax. Consequently, the appropriation for the personal property tax replacement aid for counties was reduced and aid was increased for Community Colleges and Natural Resources Districts.