Pillen lets Nebraska Capitol security changes become law without signing, vetoes four more bills

LINCOLN — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen chose to let legislative tweaks to State Capitol security become law without his signature Thursday, in a flurry of decisions that included vetoes of four more bills from Democratic lawmakers.

Pillen, in a one-page veto letter, said he would let Legislative Bill 1237 become law around Capitol security. He said he shared lawmakers’ commitment to ensuring Capitol safety and security and would work with the other branches of government to implement the changes. The bill had passed 45-4. 

“I cannot in good conscience add my signature and approval on a bill which I believe unnecessarily disrupts a long tradition allowing for the open and secure expression of one of our most important constitutional rights — the Second Amendment — in the very building in which those rights frequently come under attack,” Pillen wrote Thursday.

State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair, chair of the Legislature’s Executive Board that led LB 1237, first announced in mid-November that lawmakers would seek “enhanced security measures” in light of “recent acts of political violence in nearby states and across the country.” 

No specifics were announced at that time, but a Pillen spokesperson said Pillen would sign a “prudent and fiscally sound” security bill. The Supreme Court’s chief justice, the governor and the Legislature’s Exec Board already coordinate on Capitol security with the state capitol administrator.

LB 1237 was introduced in January and would have originally banned firearms from the Capitol outright, as well as brass or iron knuckles, pepper spray, tasers and stun guns. This led to backlash against the Republican-dominated Legislature and, later, a compromise.

New security measures

Now, by Jan. 1, the Nebraska State Patrol must implement new security measures that include a way to screen for certain substances, such as explosives, spray paint and other hazardous materials, as well as knives with blades over 3.5 inches in length and firearms, unless the person is law enforcement or has a valid concealed carry permit.

The Legislature was presented with a couple of spending options and went with the cheapest: one public entrance, down from four, on the west side nearest to a statue of former President Abraham Lincoln. That entrance is not accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act, so the state will need to make at least temporary accommodations, a legislative fiscal estimate says.

Lawmakers appropriated $921,419 for the upcoming fiscal year to cover costs, including $50,000 for security equipment and 11 new paid positions. Funding for an additional public entrance would have cost about $600,000 more each year and added seven more paid positions.

“Although I anticipate challenges with compliance and implementation, I will provide diligent directives to the State Patrol to take care that all the provisions of this bill will be faithfully executed,” Pillen said.

Hansen said he was “not too terribly surprised” by Pillen’s action and said Pillen’s office was “kind of neutral on the idea of the bill to begin with.”

Legislators and Pillen’s team recognized the need to be respectful around the Second Amendment, Hansen said, and he and Pillen each celebrated a fix in allowing concealed carry in the Capitol, which had previously been outlawed.

“I just want to let people know that we’re going to ensure that this is done efficiently and so we can make sure people get in and out of the Capitol, the same way they did before,” Hansen said Thursday evening. “Once this first phase gets completed, my goal is to make sure that we start working on the other entraces as soon as we can as well, so we can go back to some sense of normalcy like we had before.”

During this legislative session, the Legislature had a trial run of screening attendees at high-profile, often contentious legislative hearings, with no issues. That included hearings for bills around gender dysphoria medications and restricting bathrooms to users’ sex at birth.

Other vetoed bills

Also on Wednesday, Pillen vetoed LB 1256, a bill that would have clarified emergency management definitions, citing property tax concerns. The bill, from State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, passed 49-0.

On Thursday, Pillen vetoed four more bills:

• LB 839, from State Sen. Victor Rountree of Bellevue, would have required that multifamily housing projects seeking assistance from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund set aside a certain percentage for accessible housing for persons with mobility and hearing or vision impairments. Pillen, in a one-page veto letter, said the bill would force builders to opt out of affordable housing programs or increase costs. He suggested instead that state agencies work with disability rights advocates and housing developers to develop a scoring system that incentivizes developers to build the appropriate number of accessible dwelling units. The bill had passed 34-15.

• LB 878, from State Sen. Dunixi Guereca of Omaha, meant to provide six weeks of paid parental leave to any permanent state employee after the birth of a child or adoption of an infant up to 1 years old. The bill at one point was narrowed to cover only female employees, but it expanded before passage to any adoptive or biological parents, partly due to work between Guereca and State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, chair of the Legislature’s Business and Labor Committee. Pillen, in a one-page veto letter, said such benefits should be negotiated through collective bargaining. He directed the state to begin negotiating with the three organizations representing state employees whose labor contracts do not currently require six weeks of paid maternity leave for female employees. The bill had passed 41-7.

• LB 929, from State Sen. John Fredrickson of Omaha, meant to explicitly allow managed care organizations to cover the cost of co-pays, deductibles and other Medicaid charges. Pillen, in a one-page veto letter, said that’s already the law and that the “do-nothing legislation” invited “overruse of our health system” or future legislative “meddling.” The bill had passed 31-18.

• LB 1029, from State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, meant to clarify reporting requirements between colleges and universities and foreign adversaries in the normal course of business, such as graduate students or researchers from China or contracts with Amazon through third parties. Pillen, in a two-page veto letter, said the bill took a “step backward” in recent efforts to crack down and lead against foreign adversaries. The bill had passed 29-20.

Overriding a veto requires at least 30 votes. It’s common that a governor and allies amp up pressure on lawmakers to flip the votes of previously supportive lawmakers. 

‘Political maneuver’

Of the five lawmakers whose bills were vetoed this year, all are registered Democrats, and three are up for election.

Rountree declined to comment but confirmed he would seek to override Pillen’s veto. Cavanaugh also seeks a veto override and said Pillen was “playing politics with emergency management.”

Pillen vetoes bill defining snow/ice removal, flood management as ‘emergency management’ duties

Guereca said he was “extremely disappointed” with Pillen’s veto and that he had “worked collaboratively,” including with other lawmakers, Pillen’s office and the association for state troopers. Whether he would seek a veto override, Guereca said: “I am currently exploring my options.”

“I will always work in good faith with interested parties to ensure that the policies we are pushing forward are as strong as possible,” he said in a text. “I believe that is exactly what we did with LB 878.”

Fredrickson said he was “unbothered by this political maneuver” and said his focus remains on his constituents and ensuring they can access the health care they need. He hadn’t decided yet whether to seek a veto override Thursday evening but said he would talk about the veto Friday.

Conrad said she was “unbothered” by the veto of the “technical cleanup bill” she brought “as a professional courtesy to the University of Nebraska after they consulted with the Attorney General’s Office about how to ensure compliance with existing law.”

Said Conrad, now in her 12th legislative year and running unopposed for reelection: “I never heard a concern from the Governor’s Office about this bill, which is out of alignment with the dynamic collaboration that exists between separate and equal branches of government.”

The final day of the 2026 legislative session begins at 9 a.m. Friday. In addition to veto overrides, Pillen will give a legislative address and 13 lawmakers leaving the body due to term limits or who are not running for election will bid farewell.

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