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A letter from a former University of Nebraska student regent called for legislative oversight on the $2.5 million no-bid emergency economic development contract pushed by Gov. Jim Pillen.Last week, Nebraska State Auditor Mike Foley told KETV that someone should look into this.The letter urged lawmakers to look into the issue themselves, and it spurred some conversation among the state’s 49 legislators on Monday. KETV Investigates obtained a copy of a letter from attorney Ryan Wilkins, who said it’s time the Nebraska Legislature holds oversight hearings regarding the contract.READ MORE: Wilkins’ letter to State Sen. Robert ClementsThe letter was addressed to state Sen. Robert Clements, who chairs the appropriations committee.He quickly nixed the idea on Monday.”The appropriations committee will not be looking into this at this time,” Clements said. Referring to the budget, Clements said, “We’ve got $350 to $400 million reasons to do something else this month. We have five weeks to get the budget to the floor.”State Sen. Myron Dorn heads up the legislative oversight committee and said he’s talked to Pillen’s team and Foley. He said that it’s a matter of ongoing conversation.READ MORE: Nebraska state auditor finds ‘favoritism’ in no-bid contract leads straight to Gov. Pillen”Putting politics aside, the results of this contract speak for themselves. Nebraska made an investment of $2.083 million to get $307 million of federal funds. That’s a terrific ROI for the taxpayers,” Pillen said in a statement. “The separate paperwork and report submission issues by DED staff are extremely disappointing. It shouldn’t have happened, I’m very sorry it did, and we’ve taken the appropriate administrative steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again.” KETV reached out to Attorney General Mike Hilgers to see if his office would look into this matter. His office declined to comment on Monday afternoon.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 |
A letter from a former University of Nebraska student regent called for legislative oversight on the $2.5 million no-bid emergency economic development contract pushed by Gov. Jim Pillen.
Last week, Nebraska State Auditor Mike Foley told KETV that someone should look into this.
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The letter urged lawmakers to look into the issue themselves, and it spurred some conversation among the state’s 49 legislators on Monday.
KETV Investigates obtained a copy of a letter from attorney Ryan Wilkins, who said it’s time the Nebraska Legislature holds oversight hearings regarding the contract.
READ MORE: Wilkins’ letter to State Sen. Robert Clements
The letter was addressed to state Sen. Robert Clements, who chairs the appropriations committee.
He quickly nixed the idea on Monday.
“The appropriations committee will not be looking into this at this time,” Clements said.
Referring to the budget, Clements said, “We’ve got $350 to $400 million reasons to do something else this month. We have five weeks to get the budget to the floor.”
State Sen. Myron Dorn heads up the legislative oversight committee and said he’s talked to Pillen’s team and Foley. He said that it’s a matter of ongoing conversation.
READ MORE: Nebraska state auditor finds ‘favoritism’ in no-bid contract leads straight to Gov. Pillen
“Putting politics aside, the results of this contract speak for themselves. Nebraska made an investment of $2.083 million to get $307 million of federal funds. That’s a terrific ROI for the taxpayers,” Pillen said in a statement. “The separate paperwork and report submission issues by DED staff are extremely disappointing. It shouldn’t have happened, I’m very sorry it did, and we’ve taken the appropriate administrative steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
KETV reached out to Attorney General Mike Hilgers to see if his office would look into this matter. His office declined to comment on Monday afternoon.
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 |
