Officials Seek To Protect Ag Dollars
Sidney Sun Telegraph | By Klark Byrd on November 7th, 2009
District 29 Sen. Tony Fulton of Lincoln, a member of the legislature’s Appropriations Committee and state treasurer hopeful, said Thursday that he will work to protect commodity checkoff dollars from being transferred to the state’s General Fund.
The moving of funds is one sought by other legislators looking to seal up a $334 million shortfall in the current fiscal year budget. The bill in question, LB 3, introduced on Wednesday as the legislature began its special session, allows for the transfer of commodity checkoff dollars to the state’s general fund at the discretion of the legislature, Fulton said.
“When farmers agree to send money to the government for the purpose of promoting their industry, government should honor the intention with which that money was given,” Fulton said. “There are other ways to tighten our belt without placing a greater burden on Nebraska farmers. I will work with other members who share this concern to find an alternative to using checkoff dollars.”
The Appropriations Committee held a public hearing on LB 3 Thursday afternoon, the results of which were unknown as of press time. The Nebraska Wheat Board and Nebraska Ethanol Board were scheduled for public hearing before the Appropriations Committee Friday morning.
District 47 Sen. Ken Schilz wrote in an e-mail Thursday afternoon that he also disagreed with the checkoff dollar issue.
“I am in total disagreement with this idea,” Schilz wrote. “I have been working with other rural senators to make sure this does not move forward.”
Schilz said that the various checkoffs the governor has targeted were created to help promote, educate and provide research to further markets and the utility of the commodities.
“It was never considered as a tax that the state or anyone could latch onto and divert for budgetary funds,” he said. “I … have already started to investigate how we can pass legislation to make sure that this can never happen again.”
Schilz also said he was steadfast in his belief that the state should not increase taxes to cover the budget.
“In these times of economic hardship, it is not wise or is it good policy to expect or force the private sector to come up with more dollars for the state,” Schilz wrote. “This can and will be done through cuts to the states budget.”
Schilz said the first few days of the special session would be used to introduce bills, and as of Thursday afternoon 12 bills had been introduced. Friday was the last day for bills.
“The bills that have been introduced contain both broad encompassing bills such as the governor’s recommendations to single-issue items such as repealing sales tax incentives for C-Bed projects,” Schilz wrote. “There is even a bill to repeal the death penalty with the introducer claiming that repealing the death penalty will save the state money.
“It just goes to show that when money gets tight, anything can happen,” he wrote.
Schilz said that committee hearings had already begun in the appropriations committees and that once all hearings were conducted, debate would start on the floor.
According to a letter in Gov. Dave Heineman’s budget recommendations, his plans include a $280 million reduction in general fund spending comprised of $61 million in across-the-board reductions, $154 million in specific reductions and $65 million in reductions to the general fund reappropriations.
“I will oppose any attempt to increase income taxes or sales tax,” Heineman wrote.
Heineman’s detailed 99-page plan to balance the budget is available at http://www.budget.ne.gov.
Anyone interested in the bills that have been introduced in the special session can visit the legislature’s Web site www.nebraskalegislature.gov.