1 week Ago By Erin Bamer Omaha World-Herald
LINCOLN — Nebraska lawmakers sided with the governor in their approval of a 1.25% state aid increase to the University of Nebraska system in the state’s upcoming biennial budget. The Nebraska Legislature’s Appropriations Committee voted 7-1 for the increase Tuesday afternoon, after a week of negotiations between Gov.
Jim Pillen and University of Nebraska President Jeff Gold appeared to hit a stalemate. A 1.25% increase would translate to $8.
7 million more in state aid going to the system, totaling about $708 million for both of the next two fiscal years covered in the budget. Pillen’s original budget proposal for the university suggested a 2.07% cut to general fund dollars, equating to a roughly $14.
3 million cut for the next fiscal year. University of Nebraska President Jeffrey Gold had requested the Legislature approve a 3.5% increase in state funding for each of the next two years.
After talks with the Governor’s Office, there seemed to be an agreement reached to increase state funding to the university system by 1.25%. However, confusion rose in the committee last week over whether that increase would take place for just one year of the two-year budget, or for both years, effectively being a 2.
5% increase overall. A 2.5% increase would bring an additional $17.
6 million in state aid to the university. The committee delayed their vote for a week to allow Pillen and Gold time to reach a resolution, but by Tuesday, members opted to proceed with the vote. State Sen.
Jason Prokop of Lincoln proposed to follow Gold’s request for a 2.5% increase, but that motion failed on a 4-5 vote. Sen.
Myron Dorn of Adams said he favored a smaller increase because of Nebraska’s current budget constraints. Lawmakers are currently grappling with how to fill a projected $289 million deficit in the budget, and Dorn noted that a 1.25% increase would still deepen that hole.
Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha, the singular vote against the 1.25% increase, objected to how the committee reached a decision on the university’s funding.
She called out committee chair Sen. Robert Clements of Elmwood for organizing an official meeting that same morning that excluded the committee’s three Democrats, which includes herself, Prokop and Sen. Ashlei Spivey of Omaha.
Dorn admitted that the intent of the meeting was to have a conversation without those three senators present, but said no agreements or decisions were made. He vowed that he would not participate in any future committee meetings that intentionally excluded members, though Clements was noncommittal on whether he would organize more this session. Cavanaugh asked if the university’s budget was discussed at the morning meeting.
Dorn said it was briefly, but only to review information he had already explained to Cavanaugh and other members over the weekend. He said he wasn’t able to reach one committee member during that time, and wanted to ensure he was on the same page. During the same meeting, the committee also voted to restore the full $11 million to the Tobacco Settlement Biomedical Research Development Fund, and fund the university’s Project Health $50 million for both fiscal years.
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