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CO II
Wednesday, april 18, 1973
lincoln, nebraska vol. 96, no. 101
Legislature to act
on non-fiscal bills
by Steve Arvanette
State senators decided Tuesday to
go ahead and pass bills on final reading
which have no fiscal impact. Among
the bills passed Tuesday was
Scottsbluff Sen. Terry
Carpenter'sLB179 that calls for the
aquisition by the University of Hiram
Scott College in Scottsbluff.
Gov. J. James Exon had told
senators Monday that the state income
tax could be reduced by one-third if
his state operational budget was
accepted without additions.
Senators had tentatively agreed
Mondav to rush the bill toward final
reading Wednesday and adjourn for the
year without any additional spending
measures.
Monday afternoon saw the
governor's budget bill advanced over
two of the three votes needed prior to
enactment. Shouted down to defeat,
with Appropriations committee
chairman Sen. Richard Marvel's
approval, were all committee
amendments to the bill.
Among these amendments rejected
was an extra $1.2 million for the
University.
All additional bills calling for state
funds will be postponed for one year if
the Legislature sticks by its decision
on the budget.
Among expenditures to be delayed
for one year would be all state capital
construction funds. NU had appeared
in line for $16 million in construction
funds.
Major NU capital construction
funds agreed to by Exon were a new
Law College and Life Sciences building
on the UNL campus, utilities building
at UNO and a College of Nursing
building at the NU Medical Center in
Omaha.
The Appropriations Committee
appeared to have agreed on Exon's NU
capital construction requests and were
considering a new library for UNO
over Exon's objections.
Anne Campbell, NU lobbyist, said
the University will "probably be able
to live with " Exon's budget.
But she added: "We'll not be
allowed to move along on our
Five-Year plan as anticipated."
Campbell said the University's
greatest concern was the dropping of
all capital construction for one year.
"It means keeping on as we've been
doing," she said.
Of additional concern, she said, is
the $1 million University deficit that
looms in the current fiscal year. It had
been anticipated the Legislature would
appropriate the needed funds to pay
the deficit, however, that now appears
unlikely.
Campbell said the deficit probably
would be absorbed into the 1973-74
fiscal year's budget. "It'll definitely
hav. an impact," she said of the
projected debt.
Although the University will not
receive as much state money as
expected, it appears NU may gain a
new campus. With Tuesday's 25-21
vote to have the University acquire
Hiram Scott College, the fate of the
proposal lies with Exon.
The governor told the Daily
Nebraskan several weeks ago that he
had not been given a workable plan for
the campus and that he might veto the
bill.
Should Exon sign the bill, the
University would take over operations
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Gov. Exon. ..said Monday the state income tax could be reduced by
one-third if his budget was accepted without additions.
of the campus 90 days after the
Legislature adjourns.
Had the bill received 33 votes, it
would have gone into effect
immediately upon the Governor's
signature. With 25 votes being the
minimum needed to enact the bill, it
appears unlikely Carpenter could get
33 votes to override a possible Exon
veto.
UNL
does
indeed
compute
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by Mary Voboril
Computers-someday they will become a public utility, like
electricity, according to Don Costello, director of the UNL
computing center.
The UNL computer, purchased for about $2 million in
1967, already has become a utility of sorts. It not only serves
UNL' and its students, but also is used by such private
operations as the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) in
Columbus, and state users such as the Legislature.
According to Walt Bruning, director of the University-wide
computer network, the purpose for having a network is to
share resources-first, within the University system and then to
any other interested parties.
All University computing equipment was absorbed by the
network, which serves the University of Nebraska at Omaha,
the NU Medical Center and UNL, in October 1971. At that
time fiscal and managerial control-and ownership -was
transferred to NU President D.B. Varner's office.
The legislative budget allocates about $3 million to the
network each year. Of that amount, the Lincoln center
receives about $1.4 million. About $350,000 is spent each
year on UNL data processing and about $1 million is used for
teaching, research and equipment purchases.
In the netv-v rk allocations system, somewhat of a hierarchy
exists. The Legislature allocates money specifically for
computer operations. The NU president then apportions funds
to the chancellors of the three campuses. Each chancellor
divides the money as he sees fit among college deans. From the
deans, money goes to department chairman, from chairmen to
teachers, and from teachers to students, Bruning said.
Money is divided with consideration as to which
departments most use computer services. Students tequest
money from instructors for computer use if they need the
computer for a class project.
Everybody pays for using the computer, Bruning said,
including the Legislature, which this year will be billed about
$135,000, mostly for bill drafting.
"But before we accept a job, even from the Legislature, we
must be sure it is beneficial to both parties-the user and the
University," Costello said.
Apparently the University almost always comes out on the
long end of the stick.
"There never is any loss to the University for outside use of
the computer," Costello said. "There usually is a gam."
For example, the Columbus NPPD contract with the
University includes a 25 per cent surcharge on all computing.
The company uses the computer for predicting power need-, .it
potentially critical times, determining power load flows and
optimum sites for new power plants.
Programs such as NPPD can be used in teaching and
research with electrical engineering students, for example.
Such arrangements "give us access to programs we otherwise
could not afford to have," Costello said.
The Columbus NPPD contract also provides $4,000 for a
graduate assistant to work in the computer center.
Of the 25 to 30 "outside users" not including the state, the
Columbus NPPD is the largest, Costello said. However, he said
the total billing this year for all outside users "probably will
not amount to 50,000."
Another major user is the Legislature. Every word of every
statute has been keypunched into computer-readable form for
the UNL system. If a state senator wants to change the name
of an agency, review the exact powers of a state official,
amend an old bill or draft a new one, the computer can give a
printout of all bills or numbers or sections of bills related to a
particular subject.
The Legislature, like private users, is assessed a 25 per cent
surchar ge.
Although the state operates its own computing syslem
using the UNL center actually saves the state money, Costello
Sa.fi.
He said "100 plus" people woi k in the UNL center.
Fourteen of these employes have mastei s degrees, he added.
"The statehouse people do not have the manpower we
do -they simply could not afford to hire enough people for the
three or lour months the Legislature is in session."
Costello said the UNL computer syslem is "the first and
best bill drafting operation in the country," The University
benefits because the Legislature was required to purchase
special computer equipment, or "hardware" as it's called, in
order for UNL to assume some of its operations. The hardware
is available year-round to the University, although the
Legislature only uses the equipment while it is in session.
The original UNL computing center was established in
1959, Costello said. The emphasis was on computing, and it
was little more than a fast adding machine, he said. He added
that the center is approaching its 10th year in its relationship
with IBM.
"People should realize the computer is no longer just a
computer hut an information processing machine," Costello
said. "Even the Encyclopedia Biitannica can be purchased in
computer readable form. We are a service agency, but not
nough people know what we can do. So we also have to x
salesmen."
Thus Costello and his staff frequently visit University
departments to explain how the UNL computer can serve
them or save1 them money.
Continued on p. I.