Home Local News NEBRASKA BUDGET DEBATE HITS A ROADBLOCK

NEBRASKA BUDGET DEBATE HITS A ROADBLOCK

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A proposal that would help balance the state’s finances in the current budget cycle has hit a roadblock in the Nebraska Legislature.

Senators continued to debate the measure on Wednesday but adjourned for the day without voting.

Some lawmakers argued against the cuts recommended by Gov. Pete Ricketts and the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee.

Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha suggested lawmakers scrap the proposal and craft a new budget.

Nebraska faces a projected $895 million revenue shortfall in the upcoming two-year budget cycle.

The bill under debate would address the current fiscal year’s shortfall by imposing across-the-board cuts, taking unspent money back from departments and making withdrawals from various cash funds.

Sen. John Stinner of Gering, the Appropriations Committee chairman, says the cuts were carefully reviewed by his committee.

AP