LINCOLN, Neb. (KMTV — It’s no secret that many members of the Unicameral aren’t happy with how Gov. Jim Pillen has handled the run up to this special session and those frustrations continue to grow as the session rolls on.
“That’s what we are seeing here today, a lot of emotion and no facts…” said Sen. Lou Ann Linehan.
The most recent drama has centered around a bill introduced earlier this session by Sen. Jana Hughes that first began to boil over on Wednesday.
Her bill, LB9, looked to introduce new school levy caps gradually over the next decade. But the revenue committee, headed by strong Pillen ally Linehan, has introduced an amendment to speed up that process and cut levies from $1.05 to $.25 cents, starting in fiscal year 2025 and 2026.
A move that drew the ire of some senators who were involved in introducing the bill.
“The revenue comittee has agreed that the governor’s plan is too toxic and has collapsed under its own weight because its poor policy. And are now seeking to hijack other bills,” said Sen. Danielle Conrad.
The governor and his allies, however, aren’t taking the criticism sitting down.
Senators supportive of Pillen’s plan hit back at opponents arguing they aren’t debating in good faith and are only trying to stall the process. Linehan also reminded her colleagues that bills being amended and changing isn’t unusual.
“That's the way the process works here. All of a sudden it’s 'oh, you have a bill and you are changing a bill.' But that’s exactly the way the process has worked for, I suppose, decades,” said Linehan.
Pillen himself stepped into the fray on Thursday after he released a statement chiding lawmakers for what he called “baseless personal attacks” in pursuit of festering political grievances.
It's clear from the back and forth that things are likely to get even more heated as the debates on these bills get underway as the body balances how much they want input from the governor and his team and their independence as a separate branch of government.
“I think our governor is used to walking into a board room, telling people to get stuff done and walking out expecting to get stuff done and that is not how government works,” said Sen. Carol Blood.
