Stinner Eyes Range of Potential Federal Funding Initiatives for Pandemic Recovery | Regional government
Senator John Stinner listens to testimony during an October 5 Appropriations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill.
GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star file photo
Senator John Stinner de Gering, chairman of the Legislative Assembly Appropriations Committee, on Wednesday highlighted water resources and tourism development, workforce initiatives and rural broadband development as potential beneficiaries of the Federal pandemic recovery funding to be allocated by the state government next year.
“I am 100% in favor of improving access and accessibility to mental health,” Stinner said in a webinar question-and-answer session hosted by the OpenSky Policy Institute.
State Senator John Stinner
District: 48
Of: Gering
Party: Republican
Stinner said the University of Nebraska has proposed “some proposals of merit” for funding with the flow of federal stimulus dollars into state government as well as proposed initiatives promoted by community colleges.
The state government will receive more than $ 1 billion in federal stimulus funds for distribution by the legislature.
Wishart says pandemic funding priorities can help shape Nebraska’s future
Stinner said the legislature will need to ensure that it meets the federal criteria associated with injecting these federal dollars.
“It must be a one-time expense,” he noted in conversation with Renee Fry, executive director of OpenSky.
A new state prison proposed to replace the aging Lincoln State Penitentiary was also part of the discussion.
With the state sitting on a healthy budget surplus and a recent forecast for revenue to come, “we have the money” to build a new prison if the legislature decides to back Gov. Pete Ricketts’ proposal to do so, Stinner said. .
