Final budget bills advance
Lawmakers gave first-round approval to the remaining components of the state’s $7.8 billion budget package. An Appropriations Committee amendment, adopted May 9 on a 42-0 vote, replaced the provisions originally in LB199, a bill to make various cash fund transfers.
Debate on LB199 focused on an amendment, offered by committee chairperson Omaha Sen. Heath Mello, that would transfer $53 million in projected revenue over the next biennium to the state’s Cash Reserve Fund.
Mello said Nebraska’s economic forecast has changed since the bill was introduced, and that the amendment reflects newly projected additional revenues that the state expects to collect over the next two fiscal years. The prudent approach, he said, is to use the money to bolster the state’s rainy day fund, which the amendment would increase to $624 million.
Omaha Sen. Pete Pirsch suggested the funds instead should be returned to taxpayers in the form of a one-time rebate. He said that, in light of positive economic projections and a sufficient cash reserve, the money wasn’t needed by the state.
“I think we have a duty to return those dollars,” Pirsch said.
Columbus Sen. Paul Schumacher supported the amendment, saying the state is just coming out of a recession and should be cautious about the emerging economic recovery.
“Two years ago, we were scrambling to try and get money out of everywhere that we could,” he said. “We’re a long way from being out of the woods nationally and globally.”
The amendment was adopted 32-4 and the bill advanced 42-0.
LB198, which would appropriate funds for capital construction and property acquisition, also advanced to select file May 9. A committee amendment, adopted 43-0, became the bill.
Included in LB198 is a proposed $6 million appropriation to renovate the Nebraska History Museum in Lincoln. The proposal was originally introduced as a $7.1 million request under LB519, introduced by Omaha Sen. Bob Krist.
Omaha Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh offered an amendment that would have removed the funding.
Lincoln Sen. Bill Avery opposed the amendment, saying the funds were needed to update failing electrical, plumbing and elevator systems and to bring the building into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Lautenbaugh withdrew the amendment, saying senators had convinced him of the need for structural upgrades to the museum building.
Other projects outlined in LB198 include replacement of the Grand Island Veterans’ Home, a new State Patrol crime lab facility and renovation projects at Wayne and Chadron state colleges.
North Platte Sen. Tom Hansen offered an amendment that would have removed a $2.95 million appropriation to construct a College of Nursing building at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.
Hansen said some of the funding for the nursing facility was made possible by savings realized from an $8.5 million reduction in the budget for a veterinary diagnostic center funded by the Legislature in 2012. He said the decision to move those funds from the diagnostic center to the nursing facility should have been the subject of a public hearing. The fund transfer process, he said, lacked transparency.
“I thought the savings from the diagnostic lab should have gone back to the general fund,” Hansen said.
Lincoln Sen. Danielle Conrad opposed the amendment, saying the nursing project has been part of the university’s capital funding request for six years, and currently is their number one construction priority.
“This [proposal] has been the subject of considerable public debate,” she said.
The Hansen amendment failed on a 6-32 vote and the bill advanced 41-0.
Debate on LB194, a bill that would make funding adjustments for the current fiscal year, focused on a $2.2 million proposal to replace the current state plane with a 2001 King Air plane.
Mello said approving the purchase, which was included in the governor’s budget proposal, was a difficult decision for the committee. The plane, which the state currently leases, would be purchased from the University of Nebraska Foundation.
Fullerton Sen. Annette Dubas introduced an amendment to remove funding for the replacement airplane and instead would require the state Department of Aeronautics to contract for a study regarding the need for a state plane.
Dubas said the state should explore all of its options before committing to such a major purchase. Both lawmakers and citizens need more information, she said, and conducting a study would be a good start.
“I still feel that there are a lot of unanswered questions,” Dubas said.
Krist supported the amendment, saying a study could be done for a few thousand dollars and could save the state from a potentially expensive mistake.
“An airplane is a hole in the air in which to throw money,” he said.
Omaha Sen. John Nelson opposed the amendment, saying the Department of Aeronautics has leased the plane since 2001. The department has studied the issue, he said, and has concluded that purchasing the King Air is a solid investment.
The amendment failed on a 21-18 vote late in the evening of May 9, falling four votes short of adoption. A motion to reconsider that vote was filed by Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers and taken up when lawmakers reconvened May 10.
“There are answers that the public is entitled to,” Chambers said, “and I’m a member of the public as well as an elected official.”
Senators voted 28-14 to reconsider the vote and the amendment was adopted 26-14. Following adoption of a committee amendment on a 43-0 vote, the bill was advanced to select file 45-0.
Several other bills are included in the budget package and advanced to select file this week:
• LB195, which is the state’s mainline budget bill, advanced 36-0;
• LB196, which would provide for the $12,000 annual salaries of Nebraska’s 49 state senators, advanced 44-0;
• LB197, which would fund salaries and benefits for judges and constitutional officers, advanced 40-0;
• LB200, which would provide transfers from the cash reserve, advanced 41-0; and
• LB536, which would approve claims against the state, advanced 32-0.
