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Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Nebraska Legislature lets Pillen's veto bite bedbug bill
Nebraska lawmakers upheld a governor's veto Tuesday of a bill aimed at getting a better and faster response to bedbugs from Omaha's housing authority. Derek Hovendick, shown here, is a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the OHA. He shows bedbug bites he says he got while living at an OHA apartment high-rise. (From lawsuit documents) LINCOLN — The Nebraska Legislature started the week by upholding another gubernatorial veto — this time related to a bill lawmakers previously passed to help fix a persistent bedbug problem in Omaha's public housing. State Sen. Terrell McKinney, chair of the Urban Affairs Committee, had moved to override Gov. Jim Pillen's veto of Legislative Bill 287, which in part sought potential remedies to a pest infestation in Omaha Housing Authority towers occupied by low-income residents. 'This is about human dignity,' said McKinney. 'It's about standing up for the values of the people we were sworn to represent.' The motion to override needed 33 supporters but failed on a 24-24 vote, after the legislation had been adopted 34-15 on May 14. The 10 senators who flipped included State Sen. Rita Sanders of Bellevue, whose own bill was part of the package put forth by the Urban Affairs Committee and championed by McKinney. 'I am going to stand with the governor,' said Sanders. Others who switched: State Sens. Stan Clouse of Kearney, Barry DeKay of Niobrara, Myron Dorn of Adams, Bob Hallstrom of Syracuse, Jana Hughes of Seward, Teresa Ibach of Sumner, Glen Meyer of Pender, Mike Moser of Columbus and Jared Storm of David City. All are Republicans in the officially nonpartisan Legislature. While mechanisms aimed at OHA accountability dominated previous discussions, Tuesday's deliberations amplified an unrelated argument that was not a focus of earlier rounds of debate. Hallstrom said his objection was related to the Sanders component — which relates to sanitary improvement districts and was LB 321 before it was folded into LB 287. The sticking point for him, said Hallstrom, who said he researched more over the weekend, amounted to taxation without representation, or an SID being empowered to tax outside its boundaries. 'My bad if I was asleep at the switch,' he said. 'But now I have this newly discovered evidence.' Sanders, in explaining her change, said her bill was added to the package without her knowledge — though McKinney disputed that, saying he could produce correspondence that showed her staff was aware. Sanders called the addition an 'unfriendly amendment,' which provoked McKinney to say: 'Not one time did you ever tell me it was an unfriendly amendment.' Sanders said she believed her portion about SIDs could use more work and reiterated that she would side with the governor. Pillen, responding to the Legislature's action, said he was not elected 'to simply sign every bill that reaches my desk into law.' 'Nebraska does not need redundant solutions and bureaucracy in search of problems — and it's essential that we protect foundational American principles, including fair governance and avoiding taxation without representation.' He added, 'that's some pretty basic, good governance stuff. In his earlier letter outlining reasons for the veto, Pillen said that LB 287 created 'needless duplicative government mandates' and lamented also that the SID-related component would grant some regulatory and taxing authority over people living beyond the SID boundaries. State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha, upon questioning Sanders, said it was unfortunate the Bellevue lawmaker did not voice her stance earlier, as it was now too late to separate out the SID element. Clouse said he changed course for a different reason. He noted that he was not afraid of reprisal from Pillen. What has changed, Clouse said, is who will be leading the City of Omaha as mayor. Now that John Ewing Jr. has toppled the three-term Mayor Jean Stothert, Clouse said he would like to give the new administration the 'opportunity to weigh in' and take on the pesty matter 'head on.' State Sens. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln and Megan Hunt and Ashlei Spivey of Omaha were among those who questioned the newly elevated objections. 'For this to be a reason now to not support the override is a bit concerning to me,' said Spivey, who noted there were three full rounds of debate. McKinney called the 'newfound opposition' perplexing and frustrating. 'But even so, it's bigger than that issue.' He acknowledged that the OHA has stepped up an attack on bedbugs. A class-action lawsuit was filed earlier this year. But McKinney said he lacks faith the agency, on its own, would rid dwellings of the hard-to-eliminate bugs. He took issue with Pillen's rationale, saying he did not see LB 287 as overstepping or duplicating powers or processes. He said the legislation had been modified to give the City of Omaha the option, not a mandate, to do more to push the OHA to eliminate pests from public housing dwellings. OHA's major funder is the U.S. Housing and Urban Development. State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha said the bedbug issue is not new, and that a roadblock to a resolution has been City of Omaha leaders asserting that the city is 'not responsible for this problem because they don't have the power to do it.' He said LB 287 proposed to create a 'permissive structure' — telling the city that it 'may' step in to regulate OHA in areas such as providing for pest control, inspections, penalties for code violations and requiring monthly updates to the city council. City Attorney Matthew Kuhse has said that even though the Omaha mayor appoints and the City Council confirms OHA board members, the housing authority is a separate legal entity. He argued that any additional oversight or regulations should be by the Legislature and not the city. The Legislature's decision to uphold Pillen's veto, dousing LB 287, comes a week after upholding another Pillen veto. In that case, State Sen. Victor Rountree of Bellevue had proposed legislation to expand SNAP or food aid benefits to people with certain drug pasts. McKinney, following the vote, told social media followers that 'the fight isn't over.' He said he would do all possible to push for 'accountability, dignity and a basic level of humanity' from the Legislature, City Hall and Washington D.C. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Pillen vetoes bedbug bill aimed at relief for Omaha public housing residents
Bedbugs have been a complaint at a dozen Omaha Housing Authority sites. One of the bugs is shown in some bedding. (Stock photo by) LINCOLN — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen has squashed, at least for now, a legislative effort to help Omaha public housing residents get rid of a persistent bed bug problem, vetoing an Urban Affairs Committee bill pushed by a North Omaha lawmaker. Legislative Bill 287 sought quicker and better remedies to bedbug infestations and other concerns voiced by low-income residents of the Omaha Housing Authority, primarily those who live in publicly subsidized apartment towers. The proposed intervention followed public outcry by OHA residents and advocates, including a class-action lawsuit led by a group of current or former residents of 10 public housing high-rise apartments and represented by attorney and former State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha and two Iowa lawyers that specialize in bedbug cases. State Sen. Terrell McKinney, who has pushed the legislative effort, said Wednesday that he was disappointed by Pillen's veto — and is submitting a motion to override it. McKinney, chair of the Urban Affairs Committee, said that he resorted to legislation because residents were not seeing relief they wanted through any other level of government. 'This bill was introduced in response to the complete lack of accountability regarding the Omaha Housing Authority both from HUD and the City of Omaha,' he said Wednesday, referring to the federal U.S. Housing and Urban Development, which is the primary funder of OHA. 'It was meant to assist and help people who have been living through horrible conditions.' State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha remarked from the legislative floor Wednesday that it 'should not go unnoticed' that the two bills vetoed in recent days by the governor were championed by Black men. Last week, the governor vetoed a bill by State Sen. Victor Rountee of Bellevue on expanding SNAP benefits to people with certain drug pasts. The Legislature upheld the veto Monday. In a letter laying out his objection to the bedbug bill, Pillen said it created 'needless duplicative government mandates and regulatory bureaucracy where none is needed.' Pillen said he believed local governments should possess the authority to enforce basic sanitation and anti-infestation standards for dwellings within their jurisdiction. He said that the City of Omaha already possessed that authority. He also said the legislation imposes 'a redundant solution in pursuit of a problem' that federal oversight is legally equipped to address. He said OHA, which manages the units that residents say are infested, is subject to 'rigorous federal oversight.' OHA tower residents and their advocates have said in court documents and media events that the infestation dates back to 2016. OHA officials have said that they have been working on the problem, and have implemented various measures. Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert and several city council members objected to the bedbug-focused legislation. Among key elements of the bill is an option for the City of Omaha to step in and regulate OHA in areas such as providing for pest control, inspections, penalties for code violations and requiring monthly updates to the city council. During legislative debate, State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, a member of the Urban Affairs Committee, told his colleagues that the option allows the city discretion to pass an ordinance to take more local control. There's been 'a lot of kicking back and forth of who's responsible' and the option, he said, would eliminate the reason the city has given for not engaging more in an oversight role. 'They claim they don't have the authority this bill would grant them,' Cavanaugh said. 'It just takes away their opportunity to say, 'We can't do that.'' City Attorney Matthew Kuhse previously wrote a two-page letter to lawmakers saying that the housing authority is a separate legal entity and that any additional oversight or regulations should be done by the Legislature, not the City of Omaha. Omaha's mayor appoints OHA board members, and the city council confirms them. LB 287 had been amended earlier to also include a bill originally introduced by Sen. Rita Sanders of Bellevue related to sanitary improvement districts. Pillen, in his veto letter, complained that portion would grant SIDs some regulatory and taxing authority over people living beyond their boundaries. He said the change was 'sufficiently consequential' and deserved 'significantly more' deliberation. McKinney on Wednesday reiterated that the bill's key focus on OHA accountability gave the City of Omaha the option to take action if they chose it. 'It does not mandate anything.' He said, 'The residents of OHA deserve better, and the governor chose not to support their right to safe, accountable housing.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
