Thank you for visiting my website. It is an honor to represent the people of the 2nd legislative district in the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature.
You’ll find my contact information on the right side of this page, as well as a list of the bills I’ve introduced this session and the committees on which I serve. Please feel free to contact me and my staff about proposed legislation or any other issues you would like to address.
Sincerely,
Sen. Bill Kintner
Two-thirds of the legislative days of the 2013 Unicameral session have now been completed. Some have commented on the fact that this seems to be the slowest moving session in recent memory.
Whatever the reasons, I embrace the pace of this session. I don’t see any downside in limiting the amount of laws passed or in conducting lengthy public discussion about whether or not we really need to add another program, fee, or tax or tax break to Nebraska statutes.
I come from a limited government and low tax perspective on government. While some government programs and a certain amount of taxes are necessary for a functioning state government, Nebraska exceeds the necessary levels of both programs and taxes.
Extended debate on the merits or any bill is a good thing because it forces legislators to make fully deliberative arguments about the proposal contained in the bill.
It is no secret Nebraska’s state legislative branch is unique. Our “one-house” system only requires a bill to pass through one legislative body before going to the Governor’s desk for his action.
Without the added checks and balances that a second house would normally provide, the filibuster procedure is a method being frequently used this session to slow down a bill and consider it thoroughly.
In order to end a filibuster, 33 votes – instead of the 25 vote simple majority standard – is required. I have heard some argue routine filibusters are a breakdown of the legislative process and create chaos.
In my view, the process is working just as it was intended. The rules of the Legislature were written for a reason. They were also adopted unanimously by all 49 state senators at the beginning of this session.
Approximately one-third of the legislative days that remain in the 2013 session will pass quickly. The vast bulk of the work on bills designated as priority bills by individual senators, our committees and the Speaker of the Legislature have yet to be considered by the full Legislature.
The Speaker of the Legislature has advised each of us that he has designated most of the upcoming legislative days to include “late nights,” during which many of the bills are considered.
Unlike the United States Congress, however, our “late nights” will have to end by midnight. After that time, we start a new legislative day.
In the U.S. Congress, voting on bills goes on into the wee hours of the mornings. I am appreciative of the midnight deadline under our law.
Many of the substantial and controversial priority bills will be considered during the remaining days of the session.
These include debate on LB 577, the proposed implementation of Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion; LB 407, the proposed new state aid to schools formula; LB 543, the proposed repeal of Nebraska’s death penalty; LB 561, the proposed reorganization of state programs for juvenile offenders; LB 522, a proposal to provide state financial compensation to irrigation districts in water short years; and a variety of bills which propose tax breaks for a wide variety of interests.
Amidst all of those bills, we also must reach agreement on the state’s next two-year budget. The Appropriations Committee continues to meet in order to reach final decisions on funding priorities and funding levels for all state programs. Our Committee is expected to issue a final budget at the end of April. The full Legislature will begin debate on the package of budget bills in early May.
As I consider the volume and importance of the work ahead, I am reminded of Calvin Coolidge who wisely said “It is better to kill bad bills than it is to pass good ones.”
Perhaps, the only exception to that statement would be to pass a bill that repeals a prior law. It appears, however, those kind of bills are a rare occurrence. As Milton Friedman determined, “There is nothing more permanent than a temporary government program.”
There are many controversies ahead. As always, I appreciate hearing from you on these important matters. Please do not hesitate to contact me or my staff for information on any pending legislative matters, or if I may be of assistance. Please reach me at 1115 State Capitol, Lincoln, NE 68509 (402-471-2613), or at my email: bkintner@leg.ne.gov.
Kintner addresses the 2013 school funding battle
As I write, the full Legislature is just beginning debate on LB 407, the bill that will determine two of the most significant and complex issues of the 2013 session. The first decision made in this bill is how much in total state dollars will be needed to fund Nebraska’s public schools for the next upcoming two years. The second decision made in LB 407 is how that amount of money will be distributed among our 248 public school districts statewide.
Reaching a final determination on how much of your General Fund tax dollars to spend on state aid to the public schools requires the close coordination of two separate legislative committees. The Education Committee considers how to set funding priorities and policies for schools in its state aid to schools funding formula and the Appropriations Committee must then reconcile funding required for public schools with all of the other spending requests of state government agencies.
LB 407 was advanced from the Education Committee on a divided 5-3 vote of committee members. Those representing mostly urban school districts voted against the majority of committee members and have filed numerous proposed amendments that will be debated on the floor of the Legislature by all 49 state senators. Debate on this bill is expected to be quite lengthy, at least on the first round of its consideration.
There definitely exists an urban versus rural component to this complicated bill. That situation is likely when districts in our state are as diverse as the exceptionally large Omaha Public School District and very small Arthur Public School District which is located in a sparse area in western Nebraska.
The diversity of districts exists even within Legislative District 2. So, to the extent that school districts have essentially divided themselves into “sides” on the school funding debate, senators must set funding policies that reflect and embrace the vast differences in size of school districts.
The Appropriations Committee issued a “preliminary report” to the Legislature at the end of February. That report outlined helpful information regarding the level of state aid to schools funding – along with other major expenditure information. As a placeholder, the Appropriations Committee included a plan to spend approximately $125 million more in school state aid funding in the next two years.
Funding at that level, if approved, will amount to a 5 percent two-year overall increase. The percentage and dollar increases are very large because the public schools, through the state aid formula, are collectively receiving $837 million presently. These percentage increases would increase state aid appropriations to $879 million in the 2013-14 fiscal year and to $920 million in the 2014-15 fiscal year.
There are a lot of high tax dollar numbers involved in this issue. As you can imagine, spending nearly one billion dollars each year on funding to the public schools catches the attention of all senators – and taxpayers alike.
Education has always been an important spending priority. The Nebraska Constitution mandates that this area be a priority. Nebraskans, too, have clearly expressed interest in having competitive and vibrant public schools. The need to avoid pressuring property taxes also plays an important role in determining how much state funding should be allocated to school districts.
Countering those important points are the pressure that ever-increasing amounts of state aid to school districts places on the overall spending contained within the entire state budget.
At the Appropriations Committee’s preliminary budget numbers, the total state expenditures made to public school districts for state school aid amounts to 70 percent of all General Fund aid to local governments in the entire budget. When state expenditures for special education are added to that number, this amounts to 86 percent of all General Fund aid to local governments.
Numbers. Policy. Priorities. These items will abound in the LB 407 debate and consideration. The complexity of the school aid formula, in detail, is astounding.
One good tool that I have been reviewing to ready myself for this detailed debate is available on the Nebraska Department of Education’s public website. It is a tool that will provide “State Aid History By District.” Here is the website address for those who want to explore a twenty-year state aid funding history of each of the state’s school districts: www.education.ne.gov/FOS/ASPX/Search.aspx?id=9
I have reviewed profiles for each of the District 2 schools. The information is instructive to see the very large swings in state aid to schools experienced by our schools. There are many controversies ahead. As always, I appreciate hearing from you on these important matters. Please do not hesitate to contact me or my staff for information on any pending legislative matters, or if I may be of assistance. Please reach me at 1115 State Capitol, Lincoln, NE 68509 (402-471-2613), or at my email: bkintner@leg.ne.gov.
