The University of Nebraska’s state general fund would be reduced by 4.7 percent, if bills passed Tuesday by the Nebraska Legislature become law.
The Legislature passed a two-year budget with more than $400 million in cuts and more than $300 million in state tax increases. The university’s budget would be reduced from its current level, but the Legislature’s reduction is less than half of that proposed by Gov. Mike Johanns. The governor has until early next week to act on the bills.
“If these reductions become final, the loss of state funding will be difficult, but UNMC will continue on its trajectory toward becoming a world-class academic health sciences center,” UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., said. “We are grateful to members of the legislative body who looked closely at all available options and chose to make higher education a priority.”
Bob Bartee, executive assistant to the chancellor, said that Johanns has several options over the next few days. He could sign the bills into law, which would make the 4.7 percent cut final; he could veto the bills, sending them back to the Legislature; he could make line-item vetoes on the appropriations bill, the main budget bill; or, he could do a combination of the three options.
To override any of the governor’s potential vetoes, the Legislature would need 30 votes. On Tuesday, legislators voted 37-11 to pass LB407, the $5.4 billion, two-year budget bill. They also voted 36-13 in favor of LB759, the key bill that will increase state revenues sufficiently to support the appropriation measures as approved in LB407.
Their vote on Tuesday was a far cry from a couple of years ago, when legislators passed a two-year budget bill that appropriated $443.6 million to the University of Nebraska for 2002-03. Through a series of regular and special session actions, that amount was ultimately reduced to $412.5 million. For the 2003-2004 year, the Legislature has proposed to cut the university’s budget to $393.1 million.
“The effect of the cut is intensified because of the unavoidable cost increases that the university will experience during the next year,” said John Adams, assistant vice chancellor for budget and strategic planning. Those costs include such items as utilities, postage, insurance and library subscriptions. University-wide, those increases are expected to amount to $11.4 million.
UNMC’s share of the 4.7 percent reduction called for in L 407 amounts to approximately $4 million.
Of that number, $2 million was announced earlier this spring as part of the first phase of the campus’s plan to address the shortfall. Campus announcements regarding further reductions will be made subsequent to the final actions of the governor, the Legislature and the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.