The comprehensive package of income and property tax cuts that stalled in the Legislature last week touched off some fireworks Thursday when Speaker Jim Scheer of Norfolk announced he'll return the bill to the legislative agenda next week.
Sen. Bob Krist of Omaha protested that Scheer was ignoring his own requirement that the sponsor of a bill be able to demonstrate that he or she has the 33 votes required to break a filibuster before a bill that has been trapped by its opponents could be rescheduled for more time-consuming debate.
That bill (LB461) does not have 33 votes, Krist declared, despite "this propaganda" to the contrary disseminated by Gov. Pete Ricketts and Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion, chairman of the Revenue Committee and sponsor of the legislation.
"I don't care if it's the governor's top priority," Krist told the Legislature. "The gloves are off now."
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Later, during an interview, Smith said that "I have demonstrated (to the Speaker) the votes I believe I have.
"This is too important to Nebraska not to go to cloture and not to have a full conversation," he said. Cloture is the motion required to end debate and proceed to a vote.
"We not only have too large of a tax burden, but we don't have a plan to take the state forward," Smith said. "This bill targets business growth and job creation in the state."
Scheer, interviewed before he left for his home in Norfolk at the beginning of a four-day legislative break, said that "Sen. Smith never implied that he had 33 votes for the bill, but he assured me he has 33 votes for cloture."
So, the Speaker said, he has scheduled a second round of debate on the bill for Tuesday afternoon with three hours remaining on the time clock before a cloture motion would be in order. Â
Last week, an attempt to return the bill from its first-stage floor consideration to the Revenue Committee failed on a 15-29 vote. Â
That vote count exposed danger for the proposal, since the showing of support by 29 senators fell four votes short of the 33 senators that ultimately will be required to invoke cloture and end the filibuster.
Scheer said he recognizes that some senators may vote for cloture but not for the bill, a pattern that has emerged in earlier legislative showdowns.
And, the Speaker said, "I know things can change, because people have a tendency to tell whoever they're talking to what they want to hear.
"I'll be very, very surprised if it's not close" when the cloture vote is taken late Tuesday afternoon, Scheer said.
Smith said any decision to block the bill from further consideration would have "denied the citizens and businesses of the state their day."
Looking ahead, Smith said guiding a controversial bill through what will be a legislative minefield will be a challenge "with one roadblock after another."
"It is fluid," he said. "You have to manage it. You pick them up and you lose them" as senators move toward a cloture motion.
The governor has "reached out and talked to senators," Smith said.
"But I'm not carrying water for the governor," he said. "I'm carrying water for the businesses and taxpayers of this state."