Lawmaker says budget ideas well-received, for most part

Thursday, January 19, 2017
A group of more than 10 visits with District 44 State Sen. Dan Hughes via conference call this morning at the McCook Area Chamber of Commerce. (Bruce Baker/McCook Gazette)

McCOOK, Neb. -- State budget amendments proposed earlier this month by the Governor appear to have been well received by legislators, at least according to District 44 State Sen. Dan Hughes. Sen. Hughes said this morning he didn't anticipate the proposal to be a slam dunk but the general feeling was positive towards it.

The adjustments total some $276 million and are intended to close a budgeting gap attributed to lagging tax receipts when compared to forecasted revenue.

During this mornings legislative conference call at the McCook Area Chamber of Commerce, Sen. Hughes said legislators would likely put their personal touches on the proposal but indicated he was confident the appropriations committee would come up with a budget revision bill in the next couple weeks.

McCook Community College Vice-President Andy Long said he believed Gov. Ricketts had submitted an "overall, reasonable budget," although he was concerned with talk of income tax cuts that might cause taxing entities to look at cutting services. Long asked if the removal of some sales tax exemptions had been taken off the table for consideration.

"No, everything is on the table," replied Sen. Hughes, adding several bills had been introduced that looked at expanding the sales tax base. Sen. Hughes also said he was sympathetic for income tax cut proposals, simply because there wasn't enough votes to achieve property tax relief without a coalition of senators from the two initiatives working together.

"Property tax relief certainly is my number one priority," he added.

The introductory period for new bills ended this week with Nebraska legislators set to mull some 667 new bills this session. Sen. Hughes said the overall number was about average when compared to prior years, although, the 11 bills he introduced is a top mark for him.

Sen. Ernie Chambers dominated time on the senate floor during the first week of debate, according to Sen. Hughes. He indicated Sen. Chambers was unhappy with how bill referencing was shaking out and unsuccessfully lobbied for several bills to be redirected to the Judiciary Committee where he would have more input. Sen. Chambers is a member of the Judiciary Committee.

"He took the fight to the floor on four or five bills and lost on each attempt to re-reference the bills," said Sen. Hughes, adding it was a very educational experience for many freshman senators on how to use legislative rules in your favor, or how they can be used against you.

Several factors are weighed when determining which committee a bill is referred to, with the committee having a significant impact on whether the bill ever makes it out for debate on the floor, explained Sen. Hughes.

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