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Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn speaks on Tuesday at the Capitol.
A proposal to give state funds to help students attend private schools cleared the second round of debate at the Legislature late Wednesday night.
The bill (LB1402) from Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn will need to clear one more hurdle on the final day of the 60-day session on April 18 in order to be sent to the desk of Gov. Jim Pillen.
Wednesday marked the second day in a row LB1402 evaded a filibuster before being advanced, receiving the minimum 33 votes needed to shut off debate just after 9:30 p.m.
Linehan
But three senators who voted to invoke cloture did not vote to advance the bill: Sen. Myron Dorn of Adams, Sen. Teresa Ibach of Sumner and Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston. It advanced 30-15.
Riepe voted in favor of the bill on Tuesday, when LB1402 advanced on a 31-12 slate after the Legislature reduced the funding for private school scholarships from $25 million to $10 million per year.
The amendment also stripped an “escalator” from the bill that would have allowed funding to grow to as much as $100 million per year.
Without any further amendments needing to be attached, Wednesday’s debate centered on the merits of LB1402.
Backers said the Opportunity Scholarship Act would do what its name advertised — provide opportunities to students and families that otherwise would not have one.
Omaha Sen. Christy Armendariz said the scholarship would give low-income students a way out of what she described as failing inner-city schools.
“Discipline and grit gets you out of poverty, exposure to things outside your neighborhood gets you out of poverty,” Armendariz said. “Locking you down into a school that’s not working for you does not get you out of poverty.”
A handful of senators pointed to a dramatic increase in state funding for public schools that passed the Legislature last year — $1 billion in an Education Future Fund, as well as more than $300 million added to the state aid formula — as a reason to send funds to private schools.
“It’s a small contribution,” said Sen. Mike Jacobson of North Platte. “It’s fixed at $10 million. I think that’s a fair deal.”
Sen. Robert Dover of Norfolk said senators who opposed LB1402 often talk about helping the poor and children, but were reluctant to provide them with better educational opportunities.
“How many more kids are going to end up in North Omaha on the streets, in gangs, in prison, or worse, dead?” Dover said. “They’re leaving them to languish in situations where this can help them.”
A bill (LB1402) from Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn appropriates $10 million in state funds to private school scholarship programs. It also replaces the Opportunity Scholarship Act, which created a tax credit program for donors who contributed to private school scholarship funds that was the subject of a referendum effort. A vote to advance the bill to the final round succeeded, 30-15, on Wednesday.
Voting yes (30): Aguilar, Albrecht, Arch, Armendariz, Ballard, Bosn, Bostelman, Brewer, Clements, DeKay, Dover, Erdman, Halloran, Hansen, Hardin, Holdcroft, Hughes, Jacobson, Kauth, Linehan, Lippincott, Lowe, McDonnell, Meyer, Moser, Murman, Sanders, Slama, von Gillern, Wayne.
Voting no (15): Blood, Bostar, Brandt, J. Cavanaugh, M. Cavanaugh, Conrad, Day, DeBoer, Dorn, Dungan, Fredrickson, Hunt, Riepe, Vargas, Wishart.
Not voting (3): Ibach, McKinney, Walz.
Excused (1): Raybould.
But critics of the bill attacked it again as an attempt to circumvent a referendum on a tax credit for donors to private school scholarship funds passed (LB753) by Linehan last year.
Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth, who said he attended both private and public schools, urged the Legislature to wait and see what the voters decide at the ballot box this fall.
Support Our Schools Nebraska, a coalition that ran a petition drive to put the tax credits for private school scholarships on the ballot, submitted more than 117,000 signatures to Secretary of State Bob Evnen last year.
Nearly 92,000 signatures were verified, well over the 61,308 necessary to qualify for the general election.
“We should wait to see what the people decide,” Brandt said. “My question is when do we stop listening to our constituents?”
Omaha Sen. John Fredrickson, who also attended private schools, said Nebraskans deserved to weigh in on whether or not the Legislature should be appropriating state funds to secular organizations.
“Not allowing to vote on that, and trying to work around the public’s desire or wish is not good governance, regardless if you support the issue or disagree with it,” Fredrickson said.
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District 35
Raymond Aguilar
Grand Island
Elected 2020
402-471-2617
raguilar@leg.ne.gov
District 17
Joni Albrecht
Thurston
Elected 2016, 2020
402-471-2716
jalbrecht@leg.ne.gov
District 14
John Arch
La Vista
Elected 2018, 2022
402-471-2730
jarch@leg.ne.gov
District 18
Christy Armendariz
Omaha
Elected 2022
402-471-2618
carmendariz@leg.ne.gov
District 21
Beau Ballard
Lincoln
Appointed 2023
402-471-2673
bballard@leg.ne.gov
District 3
Carol Blood
Bellevue
Elected 2016, 2020
402-471-2627
cblood@leg.ne.gov
District 25
Carolyn Bosn
Lincoln
Appointed 2023
402-471-2731
cbosn@leg.ne.gov
District 29
Eliot Bostar
Lincoln
Elected 2020
402-471-2734
ebostar@leg.ne.gov
District 23
Bruce Bostelman
Brainard
Elected 2016, 2020
402-471-2719
bbostelman@leg.ne.gov
District 32
Tom Brandt
Plymouth
Elected 2018, 2022
402-471-2711
tbrandt@leg.ne.gov
District 43
Tom Brewer
Gordon
Elected 2016, 2020
402-471-2628
tbrewer@leg.ne.gov
District 9
John Cavanaugh
Omaha
Elected 2020
402-471-2723
jcavanaugh@leg.ne.gov
District 6
Machaela Cavanaugh
Omaha
Elected 2018, 2022
402-471-2714
mcavanaugh@leg.ne.gov
District 2
Robert Clements
Elmwood
Appt. 2017, elected 2018, 2022
402-471-2613
rclements@leg.ne.gov
District 46
Danielle Conrad
Lincoln
Elected 2022
402-471-2720
dconrad@leg.ne.gov
District 49
Jen Day
Omaha
Elected 2020
402-471-2725
jday@leg.ne.gov
District 10
Wendy DeBoer
Bennington
Elected 2018, 2022
402-471-2718
wdeboer@leg.ne.gov
District 40
Barry DeKay
Niobrara
Elected 2022
402-471-2801
bdekay@leg.ne.gov
District 30
Myron Dorn
Adams
Elected 2018, 2022
402-471-2620
mdorn@leg.ne.gov
District 19
Robert Dover
Norfolk
Appointed 2022
402-471-2929
rdover@leg.ne.gov
District 26
George Dungan
Lincoln
Elected 2022
402-471-2610
gdungan@leg.ne.gov
District 47
Steve Erdman
Bayard
Elected 2016, 2020
402-471-2616
serdman@leg.ne.gov
District 20
John Fredrickson
Omaha
Elected 2022
402-471-2622
jfredrickson@leg.ne.gov
District 33
Steve Halloran
Hastings
Elected 2016, 2020
402-471-2712
shalloran@leg.ne.gov
District 16
Ben Hansen
Blair
Elected 2018, 2022
402-471-2728
bhansen@leg.ne.gov
District 48
Brian Hardin
Gering
Elected 2022
402-471-2802
bhardin@leg.ne.gov
District 36
Rick Holdcroft
Bellevue
Elected 2022
402-471-2642
rholdcroft@leg.ne.gov
District 24
Jana Hughes
Seward
Elected 2022
402-471-2756
jhughes@leg.ne.gov
District 8
Megan Hunt
Omaha
Elected 2018, 2022
402-471-2722
mhunt@leg.ne.gov
District 44
Teresa Ibach
Sumner
Elected 2022
402-471-2805
tibach@leg.ne.gov
District 42
Mike Jacobson
North Platte
Appt. 2022, elected 2022
402-471-2729
mjacobson@leg.ne.gov
District 31
Kathleen Kauth
Omaha
Appt. 2022, elected 2022
402-471-2327
kkauth@leg.ne.gov
District 39
Lou Ann Linehan
Elkhorn
Elected 2016, 2020
402-471-2885
llinehan@leg.ne.gov
District 34
Loren Lippincott
Central City
Elected 2022
402-471-2630
llippincott@leg.ne.gov
District 37
John Lowe
Kearney
Elected 2016, 2020
402-471-2726
jlowe@leg.ne.gov
District 5
Mike McDonnell
Omaha
Elected 2016, 2020
402-471-2710
mmcdonnell@leg.ne.gov
District 11
Terrell McKinney
Omaha
Elected 2020
402-471-2612
tmckinney@leg.ne.gov
District 41
Fred Meyer
St. Paul
Appointed 2023
402-471-2631
fmeyer@leg.ne.gov
District 22
Mike Moser
Columbus
Elected 2018, 2022
402-471-2715
mmoser@leg.ne.gov
District 38
Dave Murman
Glenvil
Elected 2018, 2022
402-471-2732
dmurman@leg.ne.gov
District 28
Jane Raybould
Lincoln
Elected 2022
402-471-2633
jraybould@leg.ne.gov
District 12
Merv Riepe
Ralston
Elected 2022
402-471-2623
mriepe@leg.ne.gov
District 45
Rita Sanders
Bellevue
Elected 2020
402-471-2615
rsanders@leg.ne.gov
District 1
Julie Slama
Sterling
Appt. 2019, Elected 2020
402-471-2733
jslama@leg.ne.gov
Vargas
District 4
R. Brad von Gillern
Elkhorn
Elected 2022
402-471-2621
bvongillern@leg.ne.gov
District 15
Lynne Walz
Fremont
Elected 2016, 2020
402-471-2625
lwalz@leg.ne.gov
District 13
Justin Wayne
Omaha
Elected 2016, 2020
402-471-2727
jwayne@leg.ne.gov
District 27
Anna Wishart
Lincoln
Elected 2016, 2020
402-471-2632
awishart@leg.ne.gov
Reach the writer at 402-473-7120 or cdunker@journalstar.com.
On Twitter @ChrisDunkerLJS
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Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn speaks on Tuesday at the Capitol.
Linehan
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