State Sen. Bob Krist of Omaha, Democratic candidate for governor

State Sen. Bob Krist of Omaha, a Democrat running for governor, criticizes the tax relief package proposed by Gov. Pete Ricketts this legislative session.

“From the day he stepped into office, Pete Ricketts has demonstrated special tax breaks for the rich while abandoning the rest of us,” Krist tells reporters during a Capitol Rotunda news conference. “In fact, (the) governor’s tax reform bill, LB 947, would have resulted in as much as a $13 million windfall for T.D. Ameritrade, his family’s company.”

Gov. Ricketts backed Legislative Bill 947 this year. It proposed a phase-in of property tax relief as well as a cut in the corporate income tax from 7.81% to 6.84%.

Ricketts declines to address the criticism directly.

“Well, first of all, I think when you’re talking about political attacks that you really need to go talk to the campaign on that and that’s all that is,” Ricketts tells reporters when asked about the Krist assertion.

Ricketts does defend his proposal, saying LB 947 grew out of much consultation with state senators and interest groups in an effort to overcome a filibuster.

“And we know that getting to the threshold of 33 votes is difficult, that it requires a super majority, and in the case of the property tax bill we had a minority of senators who were insisting upon raising taxes and you cannot get tax relief by raising taxes,” according to Ricketts.

Neither LB 947 nor any other property tax relief package passed the just concluded legislative session.

Sen. John Murante

The sponsor of the voter photo ID measure concedes defeat in the legislature but doesn’t give up on the idea.

Sen. John Murante of Gretna fails to get the votes needed to overcome a filibuster of his resolution which would have placed voter photo ID on the November ballot.

He dismisses claims voter fraud doesn’t exist in Nebraska, pointing out two voter fraud convictions within the last year.

“So, we know that it does exist, but the truth of the matter is we can’t find voter fraud unless we look for it,” Murante tells Nebraska Radio Network. “And putting a common-sense voter identification proposal into our constitution and letting the people of Nebraska vote on that would have been an important first step.”

Murante declined to use his allotted three hours of floor debate on LR 1 CA, instead calling for a cloture vote after about an hour of debate. He fell well short of the 33 votes needed to end debate and go to a vote on the resolution.

Thought defeated in the legislature, Murante isn’t giving up.

Murante says he is in discussions about mounting an initiative petition drive to place the issue on the ballot. He says if it gets there, it will pass.

“I am convinced the voters would approve it overwhelmingly. They don’t understand want the holdup is.”

AUDIO:  Brent Martin reports [:45]

Amanda Gershon of Lincoln addresses a Capitol Rotunda news conference on the Medicaid expansion petition drive.

A petition drive aiming to place Medicaid expansion on the November ballot has kicked off at the Capitol.

Lincoln resident Amanda Gershon says signatures will be gathered to take the issue directly to the voters, because the Unicameral has failed to act.

“For the last six years, our state legislature has failed to pass Medicaid expansion and allow more than 90,000 low-income Nebraskans to get the health care they need,” Gershon tells reporters during a news conference in the Capitol Rotunda. “I’m talking about hard working people who we all know and depend on.”

Gershon says the issue became personal to her after she became deathly ill.

“I needed health care desperately but couldn’t get it,” Gershon says. “In 2016, my body crashed. I spent a week in the hospital fighting for my life. The doctor told me I was going to die at 33-years-old and if I hadn’t been able to get the health care, I probably would have.”

Gershon says she was lucky when was approved for disability, then qualified for Medicaid.

Marea Bishop of Bellevue, who owns a photography business says she cannot afford health insurance and, in 2011, fell ill and was unable to work full-time.

“Not having health insurance turns your life into a vicious cycle,” according to Bishop. “If people can’t afford medication and treatment, they can’t get healthy, which is what they need to be able to return to work.”

Nebraska Appleseed estimates 90,000 Nebraska would received health insurance coverage if Medicaid is expanded under the rules of the federal health care law. Under the law, the federal government would cover 90% of the cost of expansion.

Volunteer and paid signature gathers will attempt to gather approximately 85,000 signatures of registered voters by July 6th to place the issue on the November ballot.

AUDIO:  News conference on petition drive to place Medicaid expansion on the November ballot. [13 minutes]

State Treasurer Don Stenberg in his Capitol office.

State Treasurer Don Stenberg calls the late Charley Thone a gentleman; a down-to-earth, common sense Nebraskan.

Thone, the former governor and congressman, has died at the age of 94.

Stenberg worked for Thone in the governor’s office in the late ’70s.

“He was a very perceptive, very smart individual which I think is part of the reason why presidential candidates from Goldwater to Reagan sought his advice on their campaigns,” Stenberg tells Nebraska Radio Network during an interview in his Capitol office. “I enjoyed working for him very, very much. He was a wonderful boss and gave me a lot of opportunities.”

Thone put a young Stenberg in charge of legislative relations after Thone won election as governor in 1978. Stenberg says Thone was laid back, had good judgment, and was willing to listen.

Stenberg was disappointed when Thone lost his re-election bid to young, up-and-coming Democrat Bob Kerrey. Stenberg points out the race was close throughout the 1982 election year. He blames the loss on the recession which severely impacted agriculture.

Stenberg says Thone will be missed.

Thone campaign poster/Nebraska State Historical Society photo

“I really do. I think Charley Thone was just one of those people who could relate to people from all walks of life. He was a real gentleman,” Stenberg says. “I know I’ll miss him and I think many Nebraskans who knew him personally will miss him a great deal.”

Stenberg counted Thone as one of his trusted advisors when he decided to run for public office.

Thone, raised on a farm near Hartington, represented the 1st Congressional District of Nebraska from 1971 to 1979. Thone served on the House Agriculture Committee. Thone, a Republican, also served on the House Select Committee on Assassinations, investigating the death of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. He left Congress to run for governor.

After public service, Thone returned to practicing law.

Thone died of natural causes Wednesday afternoon.

Thone is survived by his wife, Ruth, and three daughters.