Published: Friday, March 25, 2022
After extensive and spirited debate, Nebraska state senators advanced the North Omaha Recovery Act to the next phase on Tuesday, March 22, 2022.
With a 28-0 vote and 19 non-votes, the $475 million package was moved to select file and will now go through some adjustments based on the discussions heard on the floor of the Nebraska Unicameral. It will need to advance through two more rounds of debate in order to make it to Governor Pete Rickett’s desk.
The plan calls for investments in entrepreneurship, employment, job creation, workforce training, housing, and tourism. It is a business centric approach to help address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 and the underlying economic conditions that have hindered North Omaha for decades.
Senators Justin Wayne and Terrell McKinney presented a compelling case for the much needed funds to help accelerate improvements and developments in North and South Omaha and other communities with qualified census tracts around the state.
“North Omaha has been neglected for decades,” said Wayne. “This is exactly what the ARPA funds were designed for. But, it doesn’t matter to me where the funds come from. ARPA. Cash reserve. General funds. I am open.”
Some senators questioned the level of investment and wanted to know more about the process for implementation.
McKinney had an answer. “One area we can find funds is the $175 million currently budgeted for a prison,” he said. “Let’s invest in people, not prisons. That is the responsible and conservative thing to do.”
Other senators voiced support, but said they would want more details about the amount and the sources of the funds before they vote on the next round.
Wayne responded. “It’s interesting that some senators had absolutely no questions with how we allocated $4 billion dollars with the overall state budget, but now want to question every detail when it comes to North Omaha.”
The bill was initially introduced by Wayne and McKinney based on their review of other plans for North Omaha. Over fifty testifiers traveled to Lincoln to speak with the Urban Affairs and Appropriations Committees during public hearings.
Later, Senator Tony Vargas of South Omaha and a group of business leaders developed a separate $50 million proposal for South Omaha. Thirty additional speakers attended the hearing for the South Omaha bill.
Eventually, the senators from North and South Omaha decided to join forces and created the East Omaha Recovery Plan. That plan was voted out of the Urban Affairs Committee on a 6-1 vote leading to this first round discussion with the full senate.
It will come back to the floor for the next round after some additional discussions and negotiations between the senators.
“We will come back with more details and we are willing to talk to anyone about the best way to move things forward,” said Wayne.
“To make it plain, this is our attempt to put a boot factory in North Omaha to provide our community with the proverbial boots that they have yet to receive in our lifetime in order to give them the tools and empower them to pull themselves up,” added McKinney.
The debate on the floor of the Nebraska Legislature the entire week has primarily focused on the state budget, use of the federal ARPA funds, the needs of North Omaha, whether to build a new prison or invest in reforms and other important issues facing the state. Negotiations between senators are ongoing to finalize the amount that will be allocated to North and South Omaha and for projects across the state.
Learn more about the plan. www.northomaha2022.com
