Veto of housing agency bed bug requirements sustained

An attempt to override the governor’s veto of a measure requiring the Omaha Housing Authority to address bed bug infestations fell short May 27.

LB287, introduced by the Urban Affairs Committee, would require a housing agency in a metropolitan class city to address beg bug infestations within a certain time frame, among other requirements. Omaha is the state’s only metropolitan class city.

Included in the bill are the amended provisions of LB514, also sponsored by the committee. They would allow a metropolitan class city to require a housing authority to comply with any city rental inspection and registration ordinance, code enforcement and inspection of residential rental properties.

Also included are the amended provisions of LB321, introduced by Sen. Rita Sanders of Bellevue. They would allow sanitary and improvement districts to pay for improvements by collecting special assessments on property located outside the boundaries of the district to the extent the improvements benefit that property.

LB287 passed May 14 on a 34-15 vote.

In his veto letter, Gov. Jim Pillen said the bill’s requirements are redundant because local governments already have the authority to enforce “basic sanitation and anti-infestation standards” within their communities. Additionally, he said, OHA already is subject to “rigorous” oversight by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban and Development, which provides most of the agency’s funding.

The provisions of LB287 that allow an SID to impose taxes on property owners outside its jurisdiction “[disrupt] foundational principles of fair governance and the importance of avoiding taxation without representation,” Pillen added, saying the policy change “deserved significantly more debate and deliberation by the Legislature.”

Omaha Sen. Terrell McKinney, chairperson of the committee, filed a motion to override the veto, which was taken up for debate May 27. He said LB287 was amended in collaboration with the city of Omaha to avoid a state mandate while still ensuring that the city has the power to address the bed bug infestations, which McKinney said have continued “unchecked” by federal, state and local governments.

He said LB321 drew no opposition at its hearing and was included in the bill because it was considered uncontroversial.

“We can come back and fix the tax issue,” McKinney said, “but these conditions in which people are living need to be addressed as soon as possible.”

Omaha Sen. John Cavanaugh supported the override motion. He said Omaha officials have argued that they lack the authority to address problems at OHA. LB287 would not require the city to address the beg bug problem but would make it clear that it has the power to do so, Cavanaugh said.

Sen. Bob Hallstrom of Syracuse opposed the override motion after voting to pass LB287. He said he was “asleep at the switch” during debate on the Sanders proposal and that the constitutionality of allowing an SID to tax property owners outside its boundaries is an unsettled question.

Sanders also opposed the motion. She said the provisions of LB321 were included in the committee amendment without her knowledge and that she is willing to work on the proposal “at a later time.”

The override motion failed on a vote of 24-24. Thirty votes were needed.