Gov. Ricketts Urges Senators to Sustain Three Vetoes

Statement

LINCOLN -- Today, Governor Pete Ricketts announced that he had vetoed three bills. Excerpts from his veto letters are included here.

LB 108: "Nebraska is a step ahead recovering from the pandemic. We are getting people back to work and employers are trying to hire staff. As I have heard from many of you, small Nebraska businesses cannot hire staff, and they are struggling to stay open or to re-open. We should remove any incentives that would slow reopening, regrowth, re-employment, and reconnecting. Whether intended or not, LB 108 discourages Nebraskans from returning to work."

LB 147: Without clear distinctions, future legislators will likely assume responsibility over both plans, which has always been OPS's intention. The bill cannot bind future legislative actions. Should the State take over the OPS pension plan liability, it would cost Nebraskans property tax relief. The $848 million of unfunded liabilities in the OPS plan exceeds the significant and generous amount of nearly $790 million of property tax relief we all worked exceptionally hard to ensure will be provided for taxpayers next year. Funding the cost of taking over liability will come at the expense of increasing future property tax relief."

LB 306: "Instead of jeopardizing the ongoing funding integrity of the program, I will commit to using the temporary LIHEAP funding increase that Nebraska is slated to receive under the American Rescue Plan Act to serve those whose incomes fall between 130% - 150% of the Federal Poverty Level and to provide additional weatherization assistance as is proposed in the bill. When the enhanced LIHEAP funding is no longer available, then the program eligibility would return to their current levels to serve individuals whose incomes are at or below 130% of the Federal Poverty Level."

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