LINCOLN- After a heated eight hours of debate, Nebraska lawmakers advanced a measure that would fill most of a projected deficit looming over the state’s next two-year budget. The Nebraska Legislature advanced Legislative Bill 264 Wednesday on a 34-6 vote, pushing it through the first of three rounds of floor debate. The measure, the second of two mainline budget bills, has to do with transfers from cash funds and the cash reserve over the next biennium, starting on July 1, 2025, until June 30, 2027. The Legislature must pass these bills by May 15.

An amendment that dropped late Tuesday covered recent adjustments the Appropriations Committee made to lower a projected $262 million deficit by an estimated $219 million. A second amendment to fill the remaining gap will be considered on the first mainline budget bill during its second round of floor debate, according to the Appropriations chair, State Sen. Rob Clements of Elmwood.

The amendment includes dozens of cuts to various cash funds, as well as a $132 million transfer from the state’s rainy-day fund. Some of the largest cuts include $12.5 million from the Department of Motor Vehicles Cash Fund and $8 million in interest from the Nebraska Capital Construction Fund.

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