Gov. Ricketts Issues Line-Item Vetoes before Signing Three Budget Bills
Press Release
Today, Governor Pete Ricketts signed LB 1011e, LB 1012e, and LB 1013e. He made line-item reductions to all three bills before signing them.
"The budget items contained in these bills raise General Fund appropriations for FY 2022-23 by 5.9 percent. It's important that we strike the appropriate balance between calibrating government spending and returning excess revenue back to the people," wrote Gov. Ricketts in his message to state senators. "That is how we responsibly steward taxpayer money. With that in mind, I've chosen to line-item veto certain spending items that will allow tax relief to succeed."
The Governor made veto decisions on the following items:
Provider Rates -- Veto reduces $51.8 million of General Fund expenditures
Provides for an additional 5% provider rate increase, compared to the 15% proposed in LB 1011e
Capitol HVAC -- Veto reduces $14.8 million of increased costs to the HVAC project, still allowing for an increase of $10.5 million to account for supply chain disruptions
Governor's Emergency Cash Fund -- Veto eliminates a $14 million transfer to the Cash Reserve Fund in order to ensure a sufficient balance to fulfill obligations for hospital decompression units and allow for closeout of CARES Act grants
Middle Income Housing -- Veto eliminates $20 million transfer to Affordable Workforce Housing and reduces the cash fund appropriation by the same amount
Preserves $40 million proposed in LB 1024e, which is more than sufficient to grow housing inventories
National Rail-Trail Route -- Veto reduces transfer from Cash Reserve Fund of $8.3 million for trail development to $4.15 million, reducing the appropriation as well
Community Corrections -- Veto eliminates $15 million transfer from Prison Overcrowding Contingency Fund to Vocational Life Skills Program Fund
The transfer would have drawn on funding that already has a recommended use--to replace the State Penitentiary
"My vetoes will ensure that Nebraska is poised to provide top-notch government services while keeping tax relief a possibility. In total, these reductions cut the General Fund appropriation growth by $51.8 million and limit the growth of State expenditures to 4.8 percent in FY 2022-23."
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