Governor Delivers State of the State Address

LINCOLN - Gov. Pete Ricketts gave the State of the State address to the state Legislature.

He highlighted milestones of 2019 and his legislative priorities for the 106th session of the Unicameral.

The governor said 2019 was marked by 318 days, from Feb. 4 to Dec. 19, when a flood alert was active somewhere in the state.

He said Nebraskans showed resiliency and a willingness to help one another. In addition, he said the Nebraska State Patrol made more than 160 rescues in the weeks following blizzards and flooding in March.

2019 milestones

• Nebraska outpaced the national rate for GDP growth
• March was the time over one million people were employed in the state
• The addition of 15,000 jobs was the fastest year-over-year job growth since 2015

2020 Legislative Priorities

• Property tax relief

The governor proposes $500 million in property tax relief over three years

The governor says local property taxes have risen 54 percent while inflation grew at 17 percent

• Flood relief

The governor recommends $50 million to pay the state’s share of FEMA projects and another $9.2 million in aid to counties.

• Retain veterans

He thanked lawmakers for approving military retirement tax relief

Workforce, Business Expansion

• The governor proposes $16 million in scholarships to connect Nebraskans with careers in the state
• Funding of LB720 to refine Nebraska’s business incentives
• $8 million to retain workforce in correction

Here is link for address video

https://governor.nebraska.gov/press/video-release-gov-ricketts-delivers-2020-state-state-address

Here is a link for governor's complete address
https://governor.nebraska.gov/press/gov-ricketts-state-state-address-0