Page 29 - John Stinner News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

University of Nebraska (NU) System With wide margins of support, the Nebraska Legislature on Tuesday gave final approval to the state's two-year budget package, along with a plan to extend a state-University of Nebraska partnership to address building maintenance needs across the campuses. The deferred maintenance proposal (LB384) continues an existing partnership through 2061-62, providing state funding to be matched dollar-for-dollar by the university to address an estimated $800 million in deferred maintenance needs across the NU system. More than one-third of the university's buildings ar...

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts delivers his 2021 State of the State address to the Legislature. Nebraska lawmakers sent a $9.7 billion, two-year state budget package to the governor's desk Tuesday as attention turned to the money left over.  As passed, the budget package would leave about $205 million for other legislative priorities during the two years ending June 30, 2023. That's the most available in several years, setting up a scramble for the dollars. Gov. Pete Ricketts' decisions on the budget will affect how much is available for other spending or tax cut measures. He has until the en...

by Fred Knapp, Reporter/Producer, NET News Sen. John McCollister speaks Wednesday (NET screenshot) Listen to this story:  Sorry, but the video you are requesting is unavailable at this time, or unplayable on your platform! Fred Knapp, Reporter/Producer, NET News a href "https://twitter.com/fredmknapp/" img src "/sites/default/files/t+.png?" /a April 14, 2021 - 6:16pm In the Nebraska Legislature Wednesday, senators moved toward making more people eligible for food assistance. And, a proposal intended to protect student journalists was stopped by a filibuster. The food assistance proposa...

Nebraska sets stage for new prison, stops short of approval By GRANT SCHULTEApril 9, 2021 GMT OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers set the stage Friday for a new, $230 million prison even as other states close theirs, but they stopped short of fully endorsing the idea. Lawmakers gave first-round approval to $14.9 million in state funding that would allow the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services to start designing and planning for a prison to house 1,512 inmates and relieve chronic overcrowding. The measure includes $18 million to add bed space for inmates who are elderly, have ment...

Senators give initial OK to $9.7B Nebraska budget package By GRANT SCHULTEApril 9, 2021 GMT OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers gave initial approval Thursday to a $9.7 billion state budget that includes more money for property tax credits and college scholarships while setting aside $115 million for a possible state prison to ease overcrowding. Lawmakers advanced the measure, 42-0, through the first of three required votes. The package would cover state expenses for the next two fiscal years, starting on July 1. It came as some lawmakers warned about a possible economic downturn that hit...