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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 1975)
mwwt&mmM doilu tesfej thursday, October 23, 1975 volume 09 number 34 lirtcoiri, nebraska Leqislature fishes for fiscal solution i '-'.., PJwto by Td Kb With State Senator Calvin Car stenY - "peace offering", of apples in the foreground, Ne braska Governor J. J. Exon Wednesday addressed the spe cial session of the Legislature. FAB I unds By Marisa Lucas Support for construction of an East Campus bulletin board came in the form, of a 51, COO allocation from the Fees ASoca tion Board (FAS) Wednesday night. Larry Rasmussen, Ag Advisory Board chairman, representing nearly 45 East Campus students present at the meeting, asked FAB for funding of a bulletin board to be used for publicising East Campus events. ... Situated between Burr and Fedde dor mitories, the bulletin board would "be a tremendous help in informing UNL stu dents, staff and visitors," he said . Rasmussen said they requested funds from FAB because there are more than in sid LviS.!. GrasiteS admittance: Men to Mortar Hoard. , n.5 Granted money: Proposed , -" -performing arts center. . , . . p.10 Also Find: : , Editorials. ......... 4 ...... p.4 Arts md Entertainment. .... p.l 2 Sports... p.14 Crossword ............... p.16 Short Stuff p.l 2 "WW t v- 601 SI Weather Hsars4ay:. Partly cloudy skies. Highs in the raid to upper 60s. Thursday ' t&tfiti Mostly cloudy, with temperatures ranging from the upper 40s to low 50s. 1 Fd'Jay: Cloudy and chance of rdn. Temperatures in the high 60s. , ' By Dick Ffcrsot : : Gov. J. J. Exon told the Legislature, which opened its special session Wednes day afternoon, to "fish or cut bait" in dealing with the state's fiscal problems. Fie said he called the session to avoid the necessity of raising the state income tax rate to 16 per cent and the state sales tax rate to three per cent, and to head off a projected year-end general fund balance of $1 million. Exon compared that projected balance with $41 million which was left in 1974 and $46 million remaining in 1973. He said without legislation, what he termed the state's cash flow problems could cause a deficit in the general fund early next year. Cash flow refers to the necessity to have enough cash in the general fund to pay the state's bills as they come due. No tax raise Exon said for the Board of Equalization not to raise tax rates when they meet in three weeks, the Unicameral must act on four bills he presented to the senators, including: -Appropriating $5,000 to cover the special session's costs of printing and round-trip transportation for the senators. -Authorizing the Board of Equalization when setting 1976 tax rates to account for only actual estimated expenditures and omit the previous five per cent account cushion. -Waiving specific date requirements of disbursement of funds to governmental subdivisions, to allow the issuance of state warrants to delay those payments if the genera! fund becomes short, and establish priorities in the order of payment. Personal services would be given first priority, then other state expenditures and thirds, intergovernmental transfers and aid. Exon said the third bill's purpose was to avoid Revenue Dept. projections of an $1 1 million deficit in the general fund in January, $9 million in February and March, $11 million in April and $6 million in May. -Cutting appropriations made by the 1975 Legislature by $10.4 million. Includ ed are a three per cent reduction in state agency spending amounting to $63 million, cancellation of $2 5 million appro priated to the Education Dept. but not scheduled for expenditure and a $1.4 mil lion cut in the governor's emergency fund. Some not affected The spending cut would not affect aid to political subdivisions, nor would the Department of Corrections be included in the agency spending cuts, he said. That de partment was in a spending deficit position because of increasing numbers of inmates caused by longer sentences and higher con viction rates. Exon denied that a three per cent cut would have1 a greater impact than expected because the fiscal year is nearly four months old. He said if the Legislature ap proves his bills by Nov. 1, one-third of the way through fiscal 1975-76, the net cut would be 4 J per cent for the final two-thirds of the year. . Exon said he did not recommend- any reductions in capital construction, adding that it should be considered in the regular legislative session in January. He said, however that he has directed the Depart ment of Administrative Services to return all agencies' capital construction requests for reevaluation. Apples starf EastCam pusnoteDoar 2,500 undergraduates on East Campus paying $61 iO per semester in Student Activities fees. . Rasmussen said they requested money from FAB because plans for the bulletin board had been approved by the UNL Physical Plant, but they lacked construc tion funds. Another reason, he said, was because of the past limited allocation of FAB funds benefiting East Campus clubs or er ganizationa. Ha added that the "one time t ' rtment would be sufficient." 4 1 FAB member Skip Walter supported the allocation, saving a responsibility of the board is to help the students if it can. The resolution to use $1,000 from the board's $5,000 contingency fund passed . 7-2-2. ... , . , The Daily Nebraska's financial status was reviewed in a position paper submit ted by Skip Walter. It recommended to Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Ken Bader that income statements from the Daily Nebraskan should be interpreted as showing financial losses from their publishing activities. In addition, it called for a re-evaluation by the FAB of procedures for granting the paper subsidy payments to make up its operating losses. ; . Daily Nebraskan losses through Septem ber were reported as over $3,500. "We're in financial trouble now, Becky Brite, Daily Nebraskan editor-in-chief said. new session While senators chewed on apples pro vided by Sen. Calvin Carsten from "the second district, apple capital of Nebraska" and the chaplain appealed to Providence for clarification of "monetary flow, fiscal responsibility and express obligation," the Legislature opened its special session Wednesday afternoon. By voice vote, the senators adopted the same procedures, rules and officers as the 1975 regular session. ' Three bills were introduced besides the four by Gov. J. L Exon. Sen. Loren Schmit of BeUwood introduced a bill to purchase JFK College in Wahoo for a veterans home. Believue's Sen. Frank Lewis introduced two bills, one providing for the Legislature to set income and sales tax rates and another establishing those rates at 13 per cent "and two and one-half per cent . respectively. ' Lewis also moved to adjourn the ses sion before any action was taken, but was defeated 36 to 7. Senators voting to adjourn included Lincoln's Roland Luedtke, Harold Simpson and Wally Barnett; Douglas Bereuter of Utica, George Burrows of Adams, Omaha's Ernest Chambers and Lewis. Governor's proposals Lewis said the governor's proposals were short-range, that the state's fiscal problems -could wait until the regular session in January and that if the Legislature remains in special session, it should deal with problems on a long-term basis. Continued on p.7 Abel petition asks longer . a Jbm Ska Me. : - visittuiun L Jumping University Hurdles " ' Petition for a 24-hour visits ilon option We, the undersigned, being of mature mind and body, feci it Is the rfeht of all University of Nebraska students living, in UNIVERSITY HOUSING, to re ceive guests of either sex in their rooms at my hour, day or night, if they so desire without fear of intimidation by university authorities. THEREFORE, we call for immediate, action to changs ths University of Nebraska Coed VldiztUm policy to give a 24 -hour visitation option. . : Abu II residents petition . By Barbara Lutz Eleventh-floor Abel Hall residents are gearing up to circulate a petition, which calls for expanding the 14-hour maxi mum visitation to 24 hours, to be pre sented to the NU Board of Regents. Calling their organization "Jumping University Hurdles" (from the cover of ihit year student handbook), commit tee members said they intend to do just . that. ' The regents granted an increase from 12 to 14 hours last June, but turned down a request for 24-hour visitation. Sue Ihne, Residence Hall Association (RHA) president, said that in differenti ated housing, students on each residence hall floor vote on their visitation hours. They have three options: 0-, 8-, or 14 hour visitation. , Ihne said to change visitation hours now requires a unanimous floor vote and. signed statements from each under age student's parents. "This is the first year the opportun ity is available to change visitation hours she said. John Warns, the petition onnniia-' tion adviser, said they are trying'to get 8,000 signatures and now have between 1 ,000 and 1 00. ... "Ths idea is to get everybody on the bandwagon. We are just trying to get everyone organized. We are not seeking power," he said. - ... Ihe goal of 24-hour visitation called for in the petition will apply not only to Abel 1 1 , Warns said, but to all UNL resi dence halls. "If we get our 8,000 signatures, we. wOl represent more students than , AjSUN," he said, "because only 2,000 voted (at ASUN elections) last year. "We are not out for bureaucracy or ' power plavr. We just want to get the job done," he explained. The Jumping University Hurdles or ' gardzation filed a letter of intent with ASUN allowing them to circulate their petition. Paul Morrison, second vice-president of ASUN, said they are not recognized as an official student organization, but have ASUN support. Robin Buchman, secretary of the Council on Student Life's Housing Policy Committee (HFC) and RHA, said a resolution in favor of 24-hour visita tion was passed at the RHA meeting September 25. HPC formed a task force to investi gate differentiated housing, Buchman said. Ken Bader, vice . chancellor for stu dent affairs, said it is doubtful that the regents would take any action on the proposal until the task fores has finiihed its evaluation of differentiated housing. "The board would hear them (the petitioning students) but if they follow their past track record, it would need to come through the university chancel lor," Bader said. ...
