Click here for an interactive look at the UNMC proposal.
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LINCOLN — The University of Nebraska's four-part construction initiative won't find an easy road to approval this year in the Nebraska Legislature.
The initiative will have to battle myriad other ideas for state spending or tax reduction.
Among the ones introduced so far: the governor's plan to cut income taxes, child welfare reform, state college building projects, child care subsidies and school aid proposals.
The four university projects could even wind up being pitted against one another.
"Everything's competing against each other," said State Sen. Lavon Heideman of Elk Creek, the Appropriations Committee chairman. "This will be a year for the Legislature to look at priorities."
A key decision for lawmakers will be whether to go along with Gov. Dave Heineman's call for income tax and inheritance tax cuts.
The governor declined opportunities Wednesday to comment about the university's proposal.
Last week he touted "tax relief for Nebraska's hard-working, middle class taxpayers" as the state's highest priority, contrasting it with "more spending for special-interest groups."
Heineman's plan would reduce revenue to the state by $130.8 million annually, leaving little wiggle room in the budget.
Speaker of the Legislature Mike Flood said numerous factors must be considered before lawmakers make some of those critical decisions. The February forecast of state tax revenues will be key, along with the certified figures on state school aid.
"We have a lot of potential ingredients in this year's legislative stew," he said.
University officials say they are looking to get the $91 million for their initiative from the state's cash reserve fund, rather than the state general fund.
Doing so would avoid an immediate conflict with proposals for ongoing tax cuts or spending.
But selling the idea to senators may not be any easier.
Although Sen. Abbie Cornett of Bellevue co-sponsored the bill to provide $50 million for the university's cancer research and treatment facility, she expressed caution about depleting the cash reserve fund.
The fund was used in recent years to help reduce the bite of budget cuts.
It also has been tapped for large, unexpected expenses, such as replacing federal funds for the Beatrice State Developmental Center when the troubled institution lost its Medicaid certification.
The cash reserve is projected to amount to $414 million by the end of the two-year budget period.
"That's our rainy day fund," she said.
Having a strong cash reserve would be even more important if lawmakers passed tax cuts, which would leave less flexibility in the state budget, Heideman said.
"The more risk you have, the more you need to rely on your fallback," he said.
Sen. Tony Fulton of Lincoln, who sponsored the bill to provide $17 million for the Lincoln nursing facility, said he would be willing to take that much from the cash reserve "for something that is sorely needed in the state of Nebraska."
But he's not willing to tap the fund for the entire amount sought by the university, and he predicted that not all the projects could be approved.
"The reality of it is we're not going to spend $90 million," Fulton said.
The university's projects also will have to compete with construction proposals from the state colleges.
Sen. John Harms of Scottsbluff introduced a bill to put $22.3 million toward renovating the athletic facilities at Chadron and Peru State Colleges. He said the projects need discussion.
"We haven't put much money into the state college system," he said.
The university got $25 million last year for construction on the Innovation Campus, while lawmakers continued to tighten down on most state agencies.
The initiative outlined Wednesday represents the university's only funding request for the year.
While the university has other construction projects in the works, funding already has been secured for them.
World-Herald staff writers Paul Hammel and Leslie Reed contributed to this report.
Contact the writer:
402-473-9583, martha.stoddard@owh.com
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