The Legislature was adjourned this past weekend for a much-needed four-day weekend. Although I needed some time in the bank to meet with our outstanding management team, I did take an hour to visit with a group of veterans representing most of the veterans’ groups in the area.

They shared their legislative priorities and concerns with me. I appreciate their passion and willingness to take the time to fight for the best interests of all veterans. They deserve our support.

Tuesday will mark Day 73 of the 90-day session. The debate will turn to the budget and how we will produce a balanced budget by Day 80. Our state Constitution requires that we have a balanced budget, and passing a budget is the only thing the Legislature is required to accomplish in the 90-day session.

The budget includes a series of bills, but the bulk of the budget is in LB 261, introduced by the speaker at the request of the governor. The second bill we’ll consider on Tuesday is LB 264, also brought by the speaker at the request of the governor, which deals with cash fund transfers.

The Executive Board designated both LB 261 and LB 264 as “Speaker Major Proposals.” Up to five bills may be so designated by a super majority of the executive board. A Speaker Major Proposal allows the speaker to order the amendments offered on the floor as he sees fit. This means that any priority motions that get in the way of moving the debate forward can be pushed to the end of the debate. Normally, these blocking motions can inhibit getting amendments on the floor and restrict debate to the initial motion. Taking this step is normally done to stay on track to ensure that we get the budget completed by Day 80.

The initial biennium budget was distributed to every member of the Legislature last week, and Appropriations Committee Chair Rob Clements walked us through the highlights on Thursday morning.

The budget proposal focused first on finding any cash funds that were excessive and trimming those back. We can agree or disagree on the cuts, but on balance, the cuts made sense.

There are three funds that have my attention. One, transfer of future interest accruing on the funds set aside for the Perkins County Canal project. Two, funds transferred from the State Visitors Promotion Fund. This fund was scheduled to have $4 million transferred, but the final proposal was reduced to $1 million in each of the two upcoming fiscal years. Three, the Youth Outdoor Recreation Fund (replacement money for the former 4-H camp). The proposal is to leave $3 million of the $10 million in the fund to have it adequately funded during the coming biennium, but the state remains on the hook for the remaining $7 million as the matching funds are collected.

I will leave you with one observation regarding the state’s fiscal situation. We left the special session last summer with $56.9 million above the minimum reserves. In the interim, the forecasting board lowered its forecast for future revenue, which initially put the budget in a projected $489 million shortfall. Meanwhile, there have been several new losses of revenue brought on by reductions in federal funding. This was primarily seen in the form of Federal Medicare Assistance Percentage (FMAP), which allocates funding based on the economic performance of each state. The better a state performs economically, the more money it loses (up to 50% of all funding).

I also want to remind everyone that the state’s Cash Reserve (rainy day fund) currently stands at $821 million (14% of expenses). This compares to a rainy day fund of $333 million in FY2019-20 (9.2% of expenses). The state is far from broke and has room to navigate through this environment.

I am looking forward to a lively debate on the budget and am certain that the Legislature will be able to find a path forward to a balanced budget.

It is a privilege to represent you in the Nebraska Legislature, and I look forward to hearing from you regarding issues that are important to you. I can be reached at 402-471-2729 or by emailing me at mjacobson@leg.ne.gov.

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