Bill to increase food stamp use approved

Nebraska lawmakers gave final approval to a bill that could increase the use of food stamps in the state. The bill (LB171) approved Monday requires the state to more aggressively seek federal options and funding that could help more people get food stamps. About 120,000 people in Nebraska receive food stamps each month.

Nebraska lawmakers OK bill targeting metal thieves

Nebraska lawmakers have passed a bill that could make it harder for thieves to sell stolen metal to scrap dealers. The Legislature on Monday gave final-round approval to a bill (LB766) that supporters also believe could make it easier to catch thieves. The bill from Senator Abbie Cornett of Bellevue would require those who sell metal to scrap dealers provide their names, fingerprints and driver’s license numbers. Manufacturers and commercial vendors would be exempt. The bill was prompted by thefts of items by thieves who want to cash in on the high price of scrap metal.

Nebraska legislators resolve major issues

With seven working days left, all of the big issues facing the Nebraska Legislature have been resolved or are well on their way to resolution. Thursday will mark the last day for bills to advance from first-round debate if they are to pass this year, barring exceptional circumstances. The last day of the session is April 17. Legislators will meet four days this week and three days next week.

Only a handful of the 77 bills designated as priorities by individual senators or by committees have not received first-round debate. Before the session started, the budget, roads funding, school aid, tax cuts, the death penalty and the future of the Nebraska State Fair made it onto most lists of major issues. The only required action in this 60-day session — passing a budget — has been done. Lawmakers are scheduled to consider overriding the governor’s lone line-item budget veto on Monday.

Gov. Dave Heineman took his red pen to a $14.5 million increase in Department of Roads funding that would require a 1.2 cent per gallon increase in the gasoline tax. Heineman also is expected to veto another road-funding measure (LB846), if it arrives on his desk. The bill has cleared two rounds of debate and awaits a final vote.

Lawmakers are on track to pass enhanced business incentives for companies that add large numbers of high-paying jobs (LB895). Among other major issues, lawmakers passed a ban on smoking in workplaces and public buildings and a “safe haven” bill allowing parents to abandon children at hospitals.

Heineman vetoes gas tax boost

The portion of the state budget that would have required a fuel tax increase of about a penny per gallon was vetoed Wednesday by Gov. Dave Heineman. It was the only veto he made in the budget plan passed by the Legislature last week. He signed the rest of the spending bills, along with a bill changing the state school aid formula. The school aid measure, LB988, will mean a smaller increase in growth in state aid for the 2008-09 school to help close an estimated $60 million gap between spending and expected state revenues.

Together, the budget and state aid changes mean state spending for the two-year budget period ending June 30, 2009, will total about $6.8 billion. That amounts to 4.6% average annual growth in state spending. Lawmakers passed a budget requiring an estimated 1.2 cents per gallon increase in the state motor fuel tax on July 1 as a way to maintain current funding for road construction. Heineman expressed appreciation for the Legislature’s willingness to look at the road funding challenges. But he did not agree with their solution.

State Sen. Deb Fischer of Valentine said that if lawmakers don’t override the veto, the governor’s action means that much less money will be available for road maintenance and construction. She said the state road-building budget already faces a crisis. Meanwhile, the governor voiced hope that U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., and the rest of Nebraska’s congressional delegation, all Republicans, would be able to secure more federal dollars for the state’s road-building efforts.

Corporate farming bill pulled from Nebraska Legislature

An attempt to block corporate ownership of farms and ranches in the state fell flat in the Legislature on Tuesday, lessening chances that a voter-approved ban that stood for 25 years will be revived. The bill (LB1174) would have banned all non-family corporations, but not out-of-state interests, from farm ownership. The out-of-state allowance was a response to a federal appeals court decision in 2006 that threw out the ban. Referred to as Initiative 300 since it was approved in 1982, the ban was considered one of the strictest in the country.

The court ruled that I-300 unfairly burdened out-of-state interests. Lawmakers voted down a key amendment to the measure on Tuesday. Then its main sponsor, Sen. Cap Dierks of Ewing, pulled the bill off the legislative docket. During debate on the issue, opponents said it would stymie agriculture by keeping farmers from forming corporate partnerships that could increase capital for their operations and shield individuals from liability.

It makes no sense that those opportunities are available to other business ventures but not agriculture, said Sen. Ron Raikes of Lincoln. “These are not villainous characteristics. These are things we allow for businesses for very good reason. And to say they shouldn’t apply to agriculture … escapes me,” he said. The state’s major farm and ranch organizations, including the Nebraska Farm Bureau, the Nebraska Cattlemen and the Nebraska Corn Growers, opposed Dierks’ bill, along with the State Chamber.

Corporate tax adjustment gets second-round approval by Nebraska lawmakers

The Nebraska Legislature advanced legislation Tuesday that would give smaller business some tax relief. Lawmakers gave second-round approval to a bill (LB888) that would expand the state’s lower corporate income tax bracket to $100,000, from the current $50,000.

By taxing more of a business’ income in the low bracket, corporations — especially small firms — would see relief. The tax rate for the low bracket is 5.58%, compared with 7.81% for the high bracket.

Supporters say the change is needed to make Nebraska more competitive with surrounding states and to help small businesses prosper in a time of a slowing economy. The State Chamber supports LB888.

Nebraska senators give final OK to state budget, send to Governor

Senators gave final approval Friday to a $6.8 billion, two-year state budget that includes a likely 1 cent-per-gallon increase in the fuel tax. Now it’s Gov. Dave Heineman’s turn. “The governor is going to take his whole five days and review the budget in detail,” said Jen Rae Hein, spokeswoman for Heineman. The governor has line item veto power, meaning he can reduce or eliminate specific budget items.

The deadline for those decisions is midnight Thursday. And the Legislature can, with 30 votes, override individual vetoes. Though Heineman has not promised any vetoes, many senators expect he will veto the $14.5 million added to the roads department budget, an addition likely to trigger a 1-cent per gallon increase in the state’s fuel tax in July. This is the second year of the biennial budget, so there are few major changes to the original budget passed last spring.

The Legislature did not dip into the state’s cash reserve fund to balance the budget this year, said South Sioux City Sen. Pat Engel. “Hanging on to the cash reserve is the prudent thing to do,” he said. The budget would push state general fund spending to $3.32 billion for the fiscal year ending June 30 and $3.54 billion for the next fiscal year. That means spending would grow an average of 4.6% over the two-year budget period.

State aid bill gets second-round approval; school aid would still grow at 9%

Despite complaints from a number of senators about the effects of proposed changes to the state’s school aid formula, the Legislature gave second-round approval Thursday night to a bill amended to reduce the 17% growth rate of state funding next year by another $11 million.

With the most recent version of the bill (LB988), state aid would increase overall next year to $839 million, $62 million less than original calculations, but still $70 million more than schools got this year. Schools had been slated to get nearly $901 million in state assistance for 2008-09 under Nebraska’s current state aid formula, a $132 million, a 17% increase.

LB988, introduced by State Sen. Ron Raikes of Lincoln, was put on a fast track after updated forecasts showed Nebraska would collect less tax revenue than previously expected through 2008-09. Last week, state senators voted for a version of the bill that trimmed the aid amount by $50 million, which still would be a 10% increase from 2007-08. But it was not enough to close an estimated $60 million budget shortfall for the current fiscal year. And the bill resulted in sharp reductions for small schools in sparsely populated areas of the state.

Thursday, Raikes returned to the Legislature with a new proposal that subtracted more from next year’s aid amount, but softened the blow to phase in over two years the deep cuts proposed for the school districts in sparsely populated areas. Raikes emphasized that the bill does not “cut” state aid. Overall, the state is still increasing its allocation to schools, but a number of districts will be receiving less money. “Keep in mind that state aid still increases by more than 9% next year,” he said. “Be careful how you use the word ‘cut.’”

State leaders talk growth and development

Spurring growth and development in Nebraska — that was the goal of a meeting Thursday in Grand Island. The Nebraska Department of Economic Development is meeting with people here at Central Community College. State leaders are hoping to help people better understand the resources and attractions the state has to offer and how communities can push growth.

Presenters say Nebraska has a lot of resources many potential out of state businesses do not know about. The Department of Economic Development holds three meetings like this a year. The next briefing will be held in July at NPPD offices in North Platte. The last one will be in Lincoln in December.

More businesses may have to file Nebraska taxes online

Some Nebraska businesses may be ushered into the electronic era whether they like it or not. State lawmakers gave first-round approval to a bill (LB819) Thursday that would require businesses with payrolls of at least $100,000 to pay taxes and file state wage reports electronically.

Current law requires only employers with $500,000 or more in annual payroll to file electronically. Sen. Abbie Cornett of Bellevue, head of the Business and Labor Committee, says many of the businesses that would be affected by the law already file online. The requirement could be waived if it were found to cause a business undue hardship. If approved, the bill wouldn’t take effect until 2010.