LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) — A bill that attempts to force Gov. Pete Ricketts’ hand in applying for $120 million in emergency federal rental assistance is one step closer to being approved.
The Nebraska Legislature advanced the measure to the final vote Wednesday on a voice vote.
Ricketts has beenadamant that the state should not apply for the second round of pandemic-related rent and utility funds, saying “the storm has passed,” and “we must guard against becoming a welfare state.”
He tweeted a message Wednesday just before the vote, calling on his supporters to call their state senators “now to urge them to vote no.”
‘I feel optimistic’
Sen. Matt Hansen of Lincoln, who has made Legislative Bill 1073 a priority, has noted that Nebraska is one of only two states that haven’t applied for the already-earmarked rental and utility funds available under the American Rescue Plan Act.
If Nebraska does not apply by the end of this month, the $120 million would revert to other states.
Thirty votes are necessary to override a governor’s veto. The first vote on the measure garnered 29 votes of support. Hansen said the third vote will be scheduled so the Legislature can respond to a Ricketts veto, if necessary.
“I feel optimistic,” Hansen said Wednesday.
Earlier this legislative session, representatives of several rural nonprofit groups testified that additional rental assistance was needed. Many described the state’s online application system as cumbersome and said that might be why some of the first round of funds had not yet been distributed.
Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Cate Folsom for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com. Follow Nebraska Examiner on Facebook and Twitter.
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