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Nebraska’s budget deficit has dominated much of this year’s legislative session. On Wednesday, lawmakers finalized the budget plan in LB1071 and 1072, sending it to Gov. Jim Pillen’s desk to sign. Before passing the plan, lawmakers briefly injected some humor into what had been a tense process, staging an April Fools’ prank on Speaker of the Legislature John Arch. Arch, looking at the vote tally, initially saw a wave of red, indicating total opposition to the plan. Moments later, enough senators switched their votes, and the budget bills sailed ahead.”I was stunned,” Arch said.Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Clements spearheaded the budget process through the session and said it was a difficult balancing act.“It’s a big relief to get the budget passed,” Clements said. “It was a lot of hard work.” But to some lawmakers, the budget itself is no laughing matter. The plan drew criticism from many Democrats in the officially non-partisan body.“When we’re hearing from people in the developmental disabilities community, when we’re hearing from people who are affected by different funds that are being raided, it tells me that we are not making the right decisions as a state,” Sen. George Dungan said. The budget bills include pulling $50 million from the tobacco settlement fund and $152 million from the state’s cash reserve, often referred to as the rainy day fund.Dungan said there will be many rainy days ahead because of what he called unsustainable personal and corporate income tax cuts. Those rates will drop to 3.99% next year. “Yet again, this legislature’s being short-sighted, you know, looking at the immediate issues and not having any kind of long game is what got us here in the first place,” Dungan said. “In my first year, I was raising the red flags about these tax cuts for corporations and for the wealthy.”Clements, who is termed out and will not return to the body next year, acknowledged that next year will be a “pinch point,” as those tax cuts come into effect. But he said after that, he expects revenues to grow.Pillen praised the budget’s “fiscal conservatism.””We are on track to deliver $3.6 billion in property tax relief this biennium and reduce income tax rates to 3.99% in 2027,” he said in a statement. “I congratulate the Legislature on what has been accomplished. There’s still work to be done in the coming weeks to finish the job. We will keep working to meet the expectations of Nebraskans — reducing government spending, investing in our kids, and lowering property taxes.”Despite the adjustments, Nebraska is projected to face a roughly $647 million deficit in the next two-year budget cycle, even if all the revenue bills currently pending pass this year.Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
Nebraska’s budget deficit has dominated much of this year’s legislative session.
On Wednesday, lawmakers finalized the budget plan in LB1071 and 1072, sending it to Gov. Jim Pillen’s desk to sign.
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Before passing the plan, lawmakers briefly injected some humor into what had been a tense process, staging an April Fools’ prank on Speaker of the Legislature John Arch. Arch, looking at the vote tally, initially saw a wave of red, indicating total opposition to the plan. Moments later, enough senators switched their votes, and the budget bills sailed ahead.
“I was stunned,” Arch said.
Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Clements spearheaded the budget process through the session and said it was a difficult balancing act.
“It’s a big relief to get the budget passed,” Clements said. “It was a lot of hard work.”
But to some lawmakers, the budget itself is no laughing matter. The plan drew criticism from many Democrats in the officially non-partisan body.
“When we’re hearing from people in the developmental disabilities community, when we’re hearing from people who are affected by different funds that are being raided, it tells me that we are not making the right decisions as a state,” Sen. George Dungan said.
The budget bills include pulling $50 million from the tobacco settlement fund and $152 million from the state’s cash reserve, often referred to as the rainy day fund.
Dungan said there will be many rainy days ahead because of what he called unsustainable personal and corporate income tax cuts. Those rates will drop to 3.99% next year.
“Yet again, this legislature’s being short-sighted, you know, looking at the immediate issues and not having any kind of long game is what got us here in the first place,” Dungan said. “In my first year, I was raising the red flags about these tax cuts for corporations and for the wealthy.”
Clements, who is termed out and will not return to the body next year, acknowledged that next year will be a “pinch point,” as those tax cuts come into effect. But he said after that, he expects revenues to grow.
Pillen praised the budget’s “fiscal conservatism.”
“We are on track to deliver $3.6 billion in property tax relief this biennium and reduce income tax rates to 3.99% in 2027,” he said in a statement. “I congratulate the Legislature on what has been accomplished. There’s still work to be done in the coming weeks to finish the job. We will keep working to meet the expectations of Nebraskans — reducing government spending, investing in our kids, and lowering property taxes.”
Despite the adjustments, Nebraska is projected to face a roughly $647 million deficit in the next two-year budget cycle, even if all the revenue bills currently pending pass this year.
Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.
NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
