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Governor Pillen Signs Budget, Announces Line Item Vetos
LINCOLN, NE – Today, Governor Jim Pillen announced he has signed the 2025-2027 State Biennium Budget and issued line item vetos. In his letter, the Governor thanked members of the Appropriations Committee and the legislative body for its work in developing a fiscally conservative budget. He noted that those efforts solved the $432 million reported shortfall and honored the state’s commitment to providing tax relief for Nebraskans.
The Governor went on to say that he was disappointed that LB170 failed to pass, which would have provided additional property tax relief to Nebraskans, and would have built on the work undertaken over the last two and a half years to provide such relief.
Gov. Pillen identified the following vetoes, which he said are “necessary to honor our commitment to fiscal restraint.”
In summary, they include:
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Reducing the Supreme Court’s budget increase to mirror the rate of increase provided to the University of Nebraska
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Using existing agency funds to cover Fire Marshal salary and health insurance premium increases
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Reducing the additional appropriation provided to public health departments, thereby, bringing funding back to a pre-pandemic level
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Cutting an $18 million cash fund reappropriation for recreational upgrades at Lake McConaughy
“As with all current decisions sunounding our state budget, as stewards of the public's resources we must prioritize what is necessaiy over what would be nice to have. We must be conservative in good times as well as during fiscally challenging times. Reducing spending is hard work, but Nebraskans expect us to exercise common sense and discretion in achieving a balanced, fair and operative budget,” said Gov. Pillen.
The full letter is attached.
