Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts vetoes rental assistance bill

LB 1073 would require the state to apply for the second round of funding from the federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts announced Tuesday that he has vetoed the rental assistance bill.

LB 1073 would require the state to apply for the second round of funding from the federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

The bill was passed by the Nebraska Legislature with 26 votes on March 23, then went to Ricketts’ desk for approval.

Lawmakers would need 30 votes to override the veto.

“The ERAP is no longer about addressing the impacts of coronavirus,” Ricketts wrote in the veto letter.  “Instead, taking three more years of federal funding to make rental payments will create a government subsidy that will make people more reliant on the government for years to come.”

Ricketts wrote that the state must guard against “big government socialism” that incentivizes people not to work.

He said he cannot justify the federal relief when Nebraska has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation.

“The State still has nearly $30 million of unused ERAP funds.  This means that after more than a year, we have only expended about 40% of the program’s dollars,” he said.  “The remainder is more than enough to meet the legitimate needs for assistance through the end of the year.”