The State of Nebraska won’t apply for second round of emergency rental funds as Gov. Pete Ricketts has vetoed the rental assistance bill

Nebraska – The State of Nebraska won’t apply for second round of the federal emergency rental funds after Gov. Pete Ricketts vetoed the bill that should have allowed to apply for these funds.

According to multiple reports, the second round of assistance would have been nearly $120 million federal pandemic rental assistance.

Gov. Ricketts said his decision to veto the bill stemmed from the fact that Nebraska is longer in a state of emergency due to the pandemic. Furthermore, the governor backed his decision up claiming that additional funds will make recipients reliant on the government.

State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha, who introduced the bill, has filed a motion to override Tuesday’s veto, according to a news release from the Unicameral. That would require support from 30 state lawmakers; senators passed the bill 26-15.

As per the bill, people would have been eligible to apply for 12 months of back rent and three months of future rent, but no more than $20,000. The bill was designed to directly transfer these funds to the landlord once an applicant was approved in the program.

In addition to his previous claims, Gov. Ricketts explained that the state of Nebraska also has $30 million unused funds from the first round of federal pandemic aid program as the state only used a total of 40% of the money given due to the pandemic by the federal government.