{"id":31063,"date":"2022-04-24T09:19:47","date_gmt":"2022-04-24T09:19:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/?p=31063"},"modified":"2022-04-24T09:19:47","modified_gmt":"2022-04-24T09:19:47","slug":"speaker-says-2022-legislature-amassed-big-time-work-product-regional-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/24\/speaker-says-2022-legislature-amassed-big-time-work-product-regional-government\/","title":{"rendered":"Speaker says 2022 Legislature amassed big-time work product | Regional Government"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The 2022 Legislature adjourned last week with an outsized scorecard of big-time accomplishments, fueled in part by a billion dollars in federal pandemic relief funding and an unanticipated flow of state revenue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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At the top of the list for many senators was enactment of the largest tax reduction package in state history, a bill (LB873) that included income tax cuts, increased property tax relief and phased elimination of state income taxation of Social Security income.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Along with that came epic water development initiatives, including a $500 million plan to build a South Platte River canal and reservoir system (LB1015) to claim and capture water flowing into the state from Colorado, a right secured by a century-old compact between the two states.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Another major proposal (LB1023) sets the stage for construction of a 4,000-acre lake between Lincoln and Omaha that would promote economic development and tourism while extending the state’s water recreational opportunities to include the rapidly growing metropolitan complex.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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People are also reading\u2026<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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That plan will await completion of studies to assure that the project would not interfere with the current and future supply of water to the cities of Lincoln and Omaha, along with an environmental impact study.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“There are still hurdles,” Speaker Mike Hilgers said, “still so much work to do.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But there was more, much more, in this legislative session’s list of projects, including allocation of federal funding (LB1024) to build housing and create economic development opportunities in North Omaha and South Omaha.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Legislature also set aside funding to build a new state prison to replace the aging State Penitentiary in Lincoln without yet pulling the trigger to begin construction.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“It’s incredible what we have done,” Hilgers, of Lincoln, said after the Legislature adjourned on the 60th and final day of its 2022 session.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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An onslaught of filibusters this year grabbed headlines and slowed the process, but did not reduce the impact of the end product.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The huge allocation of funding and commitment to major projects was “very disciplined” in terms of careful consideration of ongoing costs and the future fiscal impact, Hilgers said, as were the tax cuts when measured against the long-term impact of declining state revenue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>
\n Watch now: Ricketts gives Nebraska Legislature’s performance a ‘wow!’ rating<\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n

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\n Watch now: Ricketts describes water development bills as vital to Nebraska’s future<\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n

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In the end, at the insistence of Appropriations Committee Chairman John Stinner of Gering, more than a billion dollars was stored away in the state’s cash reserve, or rainy day fund, as a protective safeguard.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“I always thought our income taxes were too high,” Hilgers said. “A lot of working parents in my district in Lincoln are taxed at the highest rate.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Looking at the 2022 legislative scorecard, he said, “it’s incredible what we have done.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On a long list that he compiled and shared with senators on the final day, Hilgers said he believes funding for a new University of Nebraska Medical Center rural health complex in Kearney (LB792) may be one of the most impactful developments for rural Nebraska.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The end result of this Legislature’s accomplishments reflects collaboration with Gov. Pete Ricketts, Hilgers said, a factor that may have been reflected in the governor’s effusive praise for the Legislature’s work product.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Wow!” Ricketts exclaimed in his farewell remarks to the Legislature on Wednesday prior to adjournment of the 2022 legislative session.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“What fantastic work you have done,” the governor declared.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“We did not agree on everything, but we had a very good collaborative relationship,” Hilgers said during the interview in his Capitol office a day later.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hilgers said he would place the tax reduction package “probably at the top of the list” of legislative accomplishments, with Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, chairwoman of the Legislature’s Revenue Committee, leading the way in shaping and reshaping the proposal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the end, Hilgers said, “we got to say no to fewer people” during this legislative session.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But the reality is that “a lot of the projects would not have happened without federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“There are still hurdles ahead,” Hilgers said, “so much work to do on the lake.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hilgers may no longer be a senator next January; he is a Republican candidate for attorney general this year. But, he said, he will try to “remain involved as much as the law will allow” in attempting to bring the proposed lake to fruition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha, a leader in the so-called STARWARS (Statewide Tourism and Recreational Water Access and Resource Sustainability) legislative effort, will still be actively engaged in the process, Hilgers said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hilgers said the legislative session “moved the ball forward” in terms of law enforcement legislation, although it ultimately rejected criminal justice sentencing reform proposals that emerged from a legislative study in conjunction with the Crime and Justice Institute.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Legislature approached the implementation of casinos in Nebraska in “a responsible way,” Hilgers said, by limiting voter-approved casinos to six current horse racetracks (LB876) pending a study to be completed by 2025.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Looking at the total work product, Hilgers said, “it is incredible what we got done.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\n Ricketts, others hail major tax cuts as historic and transformative<\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n

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