Committee to review CSC’s $13 million request

Nebraska Appropriations Committee to begin decision debate regarding Chadron State’s $13 million funding request sometime this week, source says.

Tim Freburg, spokesman for Sen. Lavon Heidemann, chair of the Nebraska Appropriations Committee, said Tuesday morning “They still have a week before they go to the all-day debate for it, so I’m sure some sort of action will be taken sometime this week.”

LB1019 represents the funding request by the NSCS on behalf of Chadron State for a $13 million renovation and expansion of its Armstrong Gym.

“The appropriations committee, by rule, needs to put the appropriation bills on the floor (on general file) by March 7,” Laurie Weber, spokeswoman for Nebraska Legislature Speaker Mike Flood, said Wednesday morning.

“This bill was introduced, I think, to get the issue in front of the appropriations committee. If they adopt it as one of their recommendations, it will be put in one of their budget package bills,” Weber said.

“The appropriations committee is still making their final recommendations to be included in the budget bills. The forecasting board meets this Friday and they were waiting to make some final decisions until they see what is said,” Weber said.

“By the end of next week, they’ll probably try to have that finalized, or by the fifth [of March], so that they can get everything written for committee amendments and then put it on the floor,” Weber said. “I anticipate getting to debate the budget bills on March 13.”