Gov. Pillen Vetoes Several Bills on Thursday
Governor Jim Pillen vetoed five bills on Thursday. Four attempted overrides failed on Friday morning.
LINCOLN, NE – , Governor Jim Pillen issued his veto of LB 1256. In his veto letter to the Legislature, Gov. Pillen expressed his objection to aspects of the bill that would allow counties, cities and villages to reclassify certain types of services and then exceed property tax caps for those purposes.
Based on an assessment of the impact, the Department of Revenue estimated the allowances would cost $40 million annually.
“I cannot in good conscience sign LB 1256 into law, which will increase property taxes, while we are in the middle of a property tax crisis,” said Gov. Pillen.
He urged senators to sustain his veto this year, in consideration of the burden to Nebraska taxpayers.
---
LINCOLN, NE – Citing concerns about transparency and increased vulnerability to foreign adversaries, Governor Jim Pillen has vetoed LB 1029, legislation that would exclude compensation, salaries, and wages from being disclosed by Nebraska’s colleges and universities when contracting with foreign adversarial sources.
In his veto letter to the Legislature, Gov. Pillen expressed his strong objection to excusing institutions of higher education from reporting such employment contracts and expenditures to the public, especially when global tensions and foreign academic espionage are at an all-time high.
He also pointed out that endorsement of this legislation contradicts the hard work senators have engaged in the past several years to protect Nebraska from foreign adversarial threats.
“I am deeply concerned that the full impact of these reporting exemptions was not adequately debated by the members of the Legislature," he said.. "Transparency in state-supported institutions is a fundamental right of the public.”
---
Lincoln, NE – Governor Jim Pillen outlined numerous objections to LB 929, one of the bills he has chosen to veto this legislative session. In his letter, he called out the “do-nothing legislation” for proposing to allow what is already permitted in law.
“Even though it has limited effect, LB 929 sends a terrible message,” said Gov. Pillen. “LB 929 invites overuse of our health system and more meddling in future legislative sessions.”
The Governor added, “This creates an expectation that there will be no shared responsibility, which is a core tenant in ensuring that our benefits are hand-ups, not handouts.”
---
LINCOLN, NE – Governor Jim Pillen announced his veto of LB 839 and proposed a potential alternative for appropriately increasing the number of affordable housing options available to those with disabilities.
Gov. Pillen noted in his letter to the Legislature that LB 839 was likely to cause housing developers to opt out of affordable housing programs and could boost their costs, if required to build a percentage of accessible units, as defined in the bill.
“Simply put, adding expensive new regulatory requirements to a program designed to make housing more affordable is counterintuitive and the wrong approach for lowering housing costs for Nebraskans,” said Gov. Pillen.
---
LINCOLN, NE – Addressing the Nebraska Legislature by letter today, Governor Jim Pillen said that while he believes LB 1237 to be well-intentioned, it will not receive his signature. However, the proposal to enhance security at the Nebraska State Capitol will still become law.
“Although LB1237 includes provisions which would not have been my preferred policy routes toward achieving our shared goal of a secure Capitol, I nevertheless respect the good faith and earnest efforts of the bill’s designers, as well as the overwhelming support it received on final passage by the Legislature, and will therefore allow it to become law.”
LB 1237 assigns the Nebraska State Patrol responsibility for implementing security procedures by January 1, 2027 to prevent the entry of weapons and prohibited substances into the State Capitol.
Gov.
---
Lincoln, NE – , Governor Jim Pillen vetoed LB 878. The bill’s intent is to extend six weeks of paid maternity leave for all state employees, which are currently provided to the 12,000 rules covered public servants and members of NAPE/ASMCE.
In the Governor’s veto letter, he highlights his belief that these benefits should be negotiated through the collective bargaining process.
“I have directed the Department of Administrative Services to negotiate with the leaders of SLEBC, SCATA, and FOP to provide six weeks of paid maternity leave to all their members,” said Gov. Pillen.