AP
By Grant Schulte
May 29, 2015
Nebraska
lawmakers concluded a historic 2015 session Friday marked by
high-profile votes to raise the gas tax, allow driver's licenses for
certain immigrant youths brought
to the country illegally and abolish the death penalty.
Senators
and Gov. Pete Ricketts focused on their policy agreements on spending
and property tax reductions and played down the three veto-override
votes on this year's
most contentious issues.
Ricketts
set aside his recent defeats and congratulated lawmakers on their
efforts to lower property taxes and slow state spending.
"The
work we do impacts hardworking Nebraskans all across the state,"
Ricketts said. "Our work here in Lincoln has real-life implications,
which is why it's so important
that we keep the lines of communications open and work together to grow
Nebraska."
Ricketts
and lawmakers agreed on a budget that grows state spending by about 3.5
percent annually for the next two-year cycle, compared to the average 5
percent increases
in past years. They also added $64 million a year to the state's
property tax credit fund - used to offset local property taxes - for a
total of $204 million annually.
The
governor's comments came days after lawmakers overrode his veto of a
death penalty repeal bill and legislation to give driver's licenses to
certain young immigrants
who were brought to the country illegally. Senators also increased the
gas tax over his objections.
The
vote to repeal Nebraska's death penalty drew national attention because
of the state's conservative leanings. Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha had
fought for four decades
to abolish the death penalty, passing a repeal bill once before and
never overriding a governor's veto.
"That will probably be our legacy, for better or worse," said Sen. Laura Ebke, of Crete.
Speaker
of the Legislature Galen Hadley praised senators for their willingness
to tackle issues such as the death penalty, gas tax and licenses bill.
"Sometimes it's easy to duck issues, and those three issues were difficult," said Hadley, of Kearney. "But we took them on."
Sen.
Paul Schumacher said lawmakers steered clear of the kind of "risky tax
changes" that have created budget problems in states such as Kansas. But
he said lawmakers
fell short in their effort to plan for longer-term economic development
and tax reforms.
"It's
been one of my biggest complaints since I've been in the Legislature,"
he said. "We're a very reactive body. Perhaps if we had more strategic
planning, we would
be able to do a better job in taking the state into the future."
The
session was the first for 18 senators who arrived at the Capitol in
January because of term limits. The new group helped defy early
expectations that the nonpartisan
Legislature would tilt more conservative as Republicans expanded their
majority.
Many first-year senators spent the session learning the ropes.
"The
best way to describe being in the legislature is trying to learn how to
swim," said Sen. Dan Hughes, of Venango. "You can watch YouTube. You
can read books. But until
you jump in the pool you have no idea how to do it."
Ricketts
also highlighted the state's prison reform efforts and a bill that
minimizes the so-called "cliff effect" in public benefits, in which
low-income families risk
losing all of their public assistance if they receive a raise at work.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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