Americans for Prosperity-Nebraska Applauds Governor’s Commitment to Lower Taxes

Contact: Brad Stevens (402) 310-7897, bstevens@afphq.org

- Difficult Economic Times Call for Scrupulous Examination of Legislative ‘A’ Bills –

LINCOLN – This morning Governor Dave Heineman made a difficult acknowledgment, that Nebraska faces a gap of $56.8 million in expected revenue receipts. The Governor indicated a Special Session may be necessary to balance the budget without increasing taxes. AFP-Nebraska applauds Governor Heineman for his steadfast commitment to holding the line on taxes. According to the Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index, Nebraska ranks 42nd in the nation for its business tax climate. AFP-Nebraska is grateful that Governor Heineman knows that high taxes are a disincentive to economic development, which creates new jobs.

Americans for Prosperity-Nebraska proposes state government look at the excessive amount of spending bills, also known as ‘A’ bills, introduced by the Legislature this session. During the 2009 session 44 ‘A’ bills were introduced. Forty ‘A’ bills were passed, which according to the Legislative Fiscal Office, contributed to $13,740,357 in increased General Fund spending in the biennial budget. In addition, $11,227,790 Cash Fund expenditures were appropriated. There remain an additional three ‘A’ bills on Final Reading, to be taken up when the Legislature reconvenes in January, worth $790,000 in increased General Funding spending and $340,000 in lost revenue.

Examples of ‘A’ bills that deserve closer scrutiny by the Legislature:
LB 633A, introduced by Sen. Heath Mello, would allocate $300,000 in General Fund dollars for ‘decorative lighting’ and ‘new sod in parks’, according to the Senator during Legislative floor debate. Taxpayers should not be asked to pay for frills when the state faces such a large gap in revenue.

LB 414A, introduced by Sen. Brad Ashford, provided salary increases to Nebraska judges. Members of the Nebraska Supreme Court already receive $135,881, the new salary increase will jump the wage to $139,278 this year and to $142,760 in 2010. There will be comparable increases for judges at the Appellate, District and Juvenile, County and Workers Compensation level. While the work of judges is vitally important, at a time when Nebraskans are losing their jobs combined salary increases for judges at the cost of $1,313,025 in increased General Fund obligations, and $67,502 in increased Cash Fund expenditures is inappropriate.

LB 72, introduced by Sen. Abbie Cornett, would require the state to print policy guidelines for food allergies to be posted in schools. The cost is estimated at $46,000, yet the Nebraska Department of Education estimates the real cost could be an additional $81,000. No group representing schools, nurses, or students testified in support of this bill.

While we applaud Nebraska’s leaders for balancing the budget with property tax relief in May, the current economic climate will require further tightening of the state’s belt. AFP-Nebraska encourages state legislators to reduce the amount of new spending.