Governor Pete Ricketts vetoed a bill that would have required him to apply for another round of federal emergency rental assistance.
LB 1073 was introduced by State Senator Justin Wayne. This federal program would have allowed eligible individuals up to 12 months of back rent and three months of future rent with an amount of up to $20,000. The federal government extended the program for three years and the amount available to Nebraska is $120 million.
A vote on the bill was taken March 23rd. That bill had an emergency clause where it would have gone into effect immediately. That vote failed 26-16. Senators then passed the bill 26-15 without the emergency clause.
The bill was then sent to Governor Ricketts. In the veto letter, Ricketts stated Nebraska still has $30 million in unused funds from the first round of federal assistance and that amount was enough to meet the needs of those still needing pandemic assistance.
“We must guard against big government socialism where people are incentivized not to work but are instead encouraged to rely on government handouts well after an emergency is over,” Governor Ricketts said.
The deadline to apply for the federal funding is March 29th. Senator Wayne did file a motion to override the veto. Thirty votes are needed for the override. At posting, no date has been set for additional debate.