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March 2, 1990 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Vol. 89 No. td39 l(
Committee advances budget
of $6.6 million for regents
By Victoria Ayotte
Senior Reporter
The Nebraska Legislature’s Appropria
tions Committee on Thursday advanced
Gov. Kay Orr’s budget bill and amend
ments to it that would give the NU Board of
Regents $6.6 million of the $12.6 million it
requested for 1989-1991.
The committee did not recommend the
regents’ emergency deficit requests of $1.4
million for asbestos removal in Burnett Resi
dence Hall at the University of Ncbraska-Lin
coln or any instructional equipment funds out
side of those requested for the UNL College of
Engineering & Technology.
The governor’s budget bill, LB 1031, makes
additions to the biennial budget the Legislature
passed last year. The Appropriations Commit
tee recommended amendments to the gover
nor’s bill to add $5.5 million in allocations for
all slate agencies.
Stale Sen. Jerome Warner of Wavcrly,
appropriations chairman, said the committee
found that Burnett Hall’s immediate asbestos
problem had been solved.
There probably was no need to “go in and
tear out all the asbestos” because some of it
wasn’t active or harmful right now, he said.
Warner said the committee stayed with the
governor’s recommendation for instructional
equipment and found there wasn’t an emer
gency need for equipment outside of the engi
neering college.
The regents had requested $750,000 for
1989-90 and $1.7 million for 1990-91 for in
structional equipment. The committee and
governor’s recommendations arc for $350,000
in 1989-90 and $525,000 in 1990-91.
Other recommendations in the bill include
$1 million in 1989-90 for health insurance
increases for NU faculty and staff and $1.9
million in 1990-91. That’s an increase of
$182,000 in 1989-90 and $1.1 million in 1990
91 above the governor’s recommendation.
The university had requested $3.3 million to
cover both years.
Solid waste reduction bill faces
final reading after advancement
By Victoria Ayotte
Senior Reporter
The Nebraska Legislature on Thursday
advanced a bill to provide a compre
hensive plan for reduction in solid waste
after adopting an amend
ment to reduce the amount
of support from the state
treasury by $1 million.
LB 163 was on its sec
ond round of considera
tion, select file and now
faces a third round, final
reading.
The bill requires a $1
tax on tires and a $25 to
$50 tax on retail businesses depending on their
amount of sales, along with $500,000 in slate
treasury money.
The amendment, which cut $1 million from
the general fund appropriation, was offered by
Sen. Rod Johnson of Sutton. It cut Tecumseh
Sen. Spence Morrissey’s previous amendment
which gave $1.5 million from the state treasury
to the Waste Reduction and Recycling Incen
tive Fund. (
The Department of Environmental Control
has the responsibility of contracting for a recy
cling plan under Johnson’s amendment. Sen.
Scott Moore of Seward attempted to amend the
amendment to create a special committee of
senators and other interested people that could
contract for the plan, but his amendment failed.
Johnson said he proposed his amendment
because senators were concerned about the
amount of general lax money going to the t und.
Morrissey supported Johnson’s amendment.
“We’re getting close, and I think we have a
really good program,” he said.
Johnson agreed and urged senators to ad
vance the bill, which he said would help small
communities license their landfills and bring
them up to standards.
“We can stick our head in the sand here but
eventually the Environmental Protection Agency
is going to make us do it,” Johnson said. “It’s
not going to go away.”
Sen. Elroy Hefner of Coleridge proposed an
amendment to put a 10 cent per dozen tax on
non-dcgradable diapers, which he said arc a big
problem in the landfills.
Hefner said his amendment would raise
$670,000 to $800,000 or more for the fund and
also would encourage use of degradable dia
pers. Degradable diapers, he said, are made
from com, which is grown in Nebraska, com
pared to non-dcgradable diapers, which are
made from petroleum and often imported from
other countries.
“I realize I’m swimming upstream on this
amendment,” Hefner said, ‘‘but I’m suggest
ing that we set policy here in this chamber and
not listen to the folks behind the glass doors,’
referring to the lobbyists from diaper compa
nies.
Johnson opposed the amendment, saying he
thinks it would “bring the bill down and possi
bly kill it.”
“The disposablc aspcctof this bill is that the
bill ought to be disposed of,” said Sen. Loran
Schmit of Bcllwood.
Sen. LaVon Crosby of Lincoln opposed the
amendment, saying it hits the people who arc
the most financially vulnerable -- those with
new babies and senior citizens who must wear
See LEGISLATURE on 3
Regent Fricke fails to file
for re-election to board
From staff report*___
Regent Don Fricke of Lincoln on Thursday said he
will not seek re-election to his seat on the NU
Board of Regenu.
Thursday was the deadline for incumbent regents
candidates to file for re-election. March 16 is the deadline
for new candidates.
Candidates for Frickc’s seat arc Dick Powell, Charles
Wilson and Earl Scudder, all of Lincoln.
Fricke said the main reason he decided not to run lor re
election is, ‘‘I just don’t have the time.”
Fricke said the high cost of running a regents campaign
also was somewhat a factor.
The proposal to restructure the higher education gov
ernance system also was a factor, he said, but not that
much” of one. The proposal in the Nebraska Legislature
would eliminate the current Board of Regents.
Regent Remit Hansen of Elkhorn alsohaiannounccd
he will not run for re-election. Hansen and Ericke s scats
were the only ones up for a vote this year. _
W-Willi:__
Andy Rodrigues of Omaha clings to a tree in Cooper Park on Thursday
afternoon.
18 arrested in third day
of protests at Cooper Park
By Ryan Steeves
Senior Editor_
Emotions ran high Thursday as
demonstrators again scaled trees
at Cooper Park to protest their re
moval.
In the third day of protests, at least 18
protesters were arrested in the park at
S ixth and D streets and cited for obstruct
ing government operations, said Lt. Lee
Wagner of the Lincoln Police Depart
ment. A few protesters resisted arrest, he
said.
Contractors were felling the trees for,
among other things, a soccer field and
tennis courts. The recreational areas will
be used by Everett Junior High School.
Everett, located at 1123 C St., will
switch buildings with Park Elementary
School, currently located across the street
from the park.
Protesters and residents who live near
the park said they were upset because
contractors were removing 70 hemlock
trees. They said the park should be pre
See TREES on 3
Sports agent bill fails in Legislature
By Victoria Ayotte
Senior Reporter _ _
State Sen. Jim McFarland of Lincoln failed Thursday in
a last-ditch effort to pass his bill to require registration
of sports agents.
McFarland proposed an amendment to include the provi
sions of the sports agent bill on a different bill senators wanted
to indefinitely postpone.
McFarland’s bill was considered earlier in this year’s ses
sion, but was postponed. McFarland said Speaker of the Legis
lature Bill Barrett told him the sports agents bill would not get
on the agenda again this session.
McFarland said he will not seek office again, so he won’t be
able to propose the bill again.
Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha told the Legislature that McFarland
deserves a chance to get the sports agents bill passed because he
has worked on the issue for four years and cares about it.
“Let’s see if we can get this passed for Sen. McFarland and
for the state of Nebraska,’’ Ashford said.
An amendment to a bill cannot be considered if it is not
relevant, so McFarland moved to suspend the rules to permit
consideration of his amendment to the unrelated bill.
Sen. Jacklyn Smith of Hastings said she opposed McFar
land’s motion and thought it was inappropriate. Smith and other
senators had proposed an amendment to the bill senators were
originally discussing, LB 159. Only one senator said to with
draw the amendment.
Smith and Sen. Carol Pirsch of Omaha did not consent to
having the amendment withdrawn, Smith said.
‘Tm trying to figure out what in the heck is going on with
this bill,” Smith said. ....
Senators laughed loudly at that, but Pirsch did not think the
issue was funny.
“I may not have red hair,” the brunette Pirsch said, but I
am hot, too.”
McFarland, who used to play football, said the importance ot
passing the sports agent bill should override the inappropriate
ness of suspending the rules. A lot ol Nebraska athletes have
come ‘‘dangerously close” to losing their eligibility because of
unscrupulous sports agents, he said.
McFarland’s motion to suspend the rules failed 17-24.
