LINCOLN- Nebraska lawmakers will take up a rare motion Monday to override Gov. Jim Pillen's veto of a proposed law that would eliminate a state ban that prohibits residents convicted of some felony drug crimes from receiving federal food assistance. The bill (LB319) from Sen. Victor Rountree of Bellevue would have allowed Nebraskans convicted of selling drugs to have their eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, restored immediately after they are released from prison or jail.

Nebraska's Republican governor vetoed the proposal, which seeks to reverse the 2009 law that prohibited drug dealers and, in some cases, convicted drug users from accessing SNAP benefits, hours after lawmakers sent it to his desk on a bipartisan 32-17 vote. In his veto letter to lawmakers, Pillen said individuals "that distribute or sell illicit drugs should not be entitled to taxpayer-funded benefits." LB319 is the first bill Pillen has vetoed this year and would require 30 votes to overcome — no sure thing despite the 32 votes Rountree's bill received Wednesday.

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