Governor Vetoes Seven Late Session Bills

Lincoln, NE (August 17, 2020) Governor Pete Ricketts announced Monday that he had vetoed seven bills passed by the Legislature near the end of their just completed session.  They include:

• LB 238 – A bill containing a requirement that witnesses be allowed to view an execution completely, from the time that an inmate enters the execution chamber until the time they’re declared dead, without obstruction by Corrections Officials.  Strong criticism arose when a curtain was drawn, blocking witnesses from seeing the execution of convicted murderer Carey Dean Moore recently. The Governor commented that the bill would undermine the death penalty and public safety.
• LB 515 – Ricketts called it “a bill that would undermine the ability of schools to keep drugs out of classrooms and school grounds.”
• LB 607 & 607A – Bills The Governor said imposed unnecessary and onerous occupational licensing requirements on nail manicurists.
• LB 1004 & 1004A – Bills that would make committed offenders automatically eligible for parole from a Nebraska prison within two years of their mandatory discharge date, unless their sentence provides for an earlier parole eligibility date.  Governor Ricketts commented that it would let violent criminals become eligible to get out of prison early.
• LB 1089 – A bill that would mandate the families of all high school students to fill out and submit a Federal School Aid Form, regardless of whether the Graduate planned on going to college or planned on applying for financial aid.  The Governor said it would force all graduates to “hand over financial information to the federal government as a condition for graduating.”

Since the legislature is already adjourned, no efforts to override the vetoes are likely.