Nelson seeks higher tax credit
By John Fulwldf
Staff Reporter
Gov. Ben Nelson announced Mon
day two separate plans related to chil
dren in an effort to make child care
more affordable and reduce state costs.
Nelson proposed to quadruple the
state child-care tax credit for some
Nebraska taxpayers and to reduce
delinquent child support payments.
He said in a conference call that
the goal of the increased credit was to
spur people to find jobs. Nelson said
the cost of child care was a barrier for
parents getting off welfare.
Currently, on state income taxes,
Nebraskans can receive a tax credit
equal to 25 percent of the credit of
fered federally. The credit is nonre
fundable.
With the proposed change, which
Nelson estimated would cost the state
$5 million annually, families with a
yearly adjusted gross income of less
than $25,000 would receive a refund
able state credit equal to the federal
tax credit.
Previously, those taxpayers would
have received, on average, a nonre
fundable credit of $84, said Phil Rich-j
mond, special assistant to the state
tax commissioner.
Under Nelson’s plan, those same
people would receive a refundable
credit of $422, on average.
“The people at the lower incomes
really need the help,” Richmond said.
Those with yearly adjusted gross
incomes of more than $25,000 would
still receive the 25 percent nonre
fundable credit on their state taxes.
In a refundable credit, Richmond
said, if taxpayers owe less than the
government gives them in credit, the
state will pay taxpayers the differ
ence. With a non-refundable credit,
the difference is not refunded.
Adjusted gross income is a person’s
total income—wages, salary and tips
— minus personal exemptions, stan
dard deductions and itemizations.
In addition to increased tax cred
its, Nelson called for more efforts to
be made to decrease delinquent child
support payments.
“The state is faced with growing
costs because people aren’t paying
child support,” he said.
According to the Nebraska De
partment of Social Service statistics,
he said, Nebraska has 115,000 child
support cases. He said only $75 mil
lion in child support is collected an
nually, while an additional $268 mil
lion is delinquent.
Nelson said parents had both a
moral and legal responsibility to make
child care payments. He said four
initiatives to combat delinquency had
been proposed by a child-care com
mittee:
• suspending or revoking delin
quent parents’ driver’s and profes
sional licenses.
• placing liens on bank savings
and/or brokerage accounts of delin
quent parents.
• speeding resolutions of custody
problems for non-custodial parents.
• limiting the time during which
legal continuances could be filed.
Nelson said Maine had a program
that revoked licenses, and from Janu
ary to November 1994, that state col
lected an additional $18.3 million.
But, Nelson said, delinquent par
ents would have the chance to get
their licenses reinstated.
“These are not ruthless suspen
sions or revocations... (we’re) giving
them every opportunity to appeal it,”
Nelson said.
He said speeding resolution of cus
tody problems for non-custodial par
ents was important because non-cus
todial parents often stopped paying
child support if they couldn’t visit
their children.
The $5 million cost of Nelson’s
new plan will be included in the state
budget, which will be released
Wednesday.
Bill gives schools loan responsibility
By Matthew Waite
Senior Reporter
A bill designed to move responsi
bility for defaulted student loans from
the state to the individual schools
was put before the Legislature Jan. 5
by State Sen. Jerome Warner.
LB29, which was introduced at
the request of Gov. Ben Nelson, shifts
that responsibility one step further.
Underanew federal statute, the states
are now responsible for the defaulted
loans.
Under the bill, only Nebraska col
leges and universities that are in
volved in federal student loan pro
grams would be affected.
Each university would be respon
sible for its defaulted loans and would
be required to pay into a fund con
trolled by the Coordinating Commis
sion for Post Secondary Education.
The funds taken in by the coordi
nating commission would then pay
the federal government. The bill pro
vides that, if admissible by federal
law, as much as 10 percent of the
money taken in by the fund could be
used to pay for administrative costs
of the coordinating commission.
Warner, ofWaverly, said Monday
that the bill was designed so that the
money for the loan defaults would
not come from the state’s general
fund.
“I suspect the rationale is that the
state has little to do with the issuance
of the student loans,” he said. “I don’t
know if this affb^tjstCB^frits directly,
but it m ay n^alt^ tnose who issue
them (the loans) a little more care
ful.”
Warner said nationally students
had a high rate of default. Adminis
trative problems in the U.S. Depart
ment ofEducation, the federal agency
that records student loans, created
“I don't know if this
affects students directly,
but it may make those
who issue them (the
loans) a little more
~ careful. ”
■
JEROME WARNER
state senator
%*. mb*- mi**
part of that rate.
Also, Warner said he had read that
many private schools had amassed a
vast amountof defaulted student loans
“that had not been appropriately
granted in the first place.”
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Liberty joins Transcrypt
From Staff Reports
Stan Liberty, former dean of
the College of Engineering and
Technology, will serve as director
of advanced research and planning
in his venture with Transcrypt In
ternational.
Liberty agreed to take a posi
tion, which is part-time, with the
company located at Technology
Park following his December dis
missal as dean. Liberty’s position
will be part time, and he will as
sume his role in addition to fund
raising for the engineering col
lege.
Liberty will help Transcrypt
compete for grants and contracts,
as well as plan research and devel
opment programs. Transcrypt em
ploys 24 research and develop
ment engineers and is one of the
largest employers of engineers in
the state. The company produces
information security, mobile data
and specialized radio products.
After serving 13 years, Liberty
was asked to step down as dean
following a five-year review for
college deans. The University of
Nebraska-Lincoln is searching for
his permanent replacement.
Technology Park is a joint ven
ture between the University of
Nebraska and the city of Lincoln,
and is located at the Highlands in
Lincoln. I y
Phillips to be arraigned
on misdemeanor charges
From Pally Nebraskan
and Associated Press Reports
Nebraska running back Lawrence
Phillips is scheduled to be arraigned
Thursday in Lancaster County Court
on four misdemeanor charges stem
ming from an incident in March.
The charges include misdemeanor
assault, disturbing the peace and two
counts of vandalism, said City Pros
ecutor Norm Langemach.
Phillips was cited by police but
formal charges weren’t filed because
he entered a pretrial diversion pro
gram, Langemach said. Phillips led
the Comhuskers in rushing this sea
son, and was named to the All-Big
Eight team.
Attorney Hal Anderson of Lin
coln is representing Phillips.
Phillips failed to complete the re
quirements and was charged with the
misdemeanors on Nov. 18. He missed
a Dec. 23 arraignment, which was on
the day the football team left Ne
braska for the Orange Bowl.
Phillips, a sophomore business
major, is from West Covina, Calif.
He also is charged with failure to
appear in court, Langemach said,
which also is a misdemeanor.
The charges stem from an alleged
March 11 confrontation in Lincoln,
Langemach said.
A Doane College student told po
lice that he and several friends drove
up to an intersection that was blocked.
When they got out of their vehicles,
they were threatened and damage
was done to two of their vehicles,
Lincoln Police Sgt. Ann Heermann
said.
John Livingston, 21, a Nebraska
receiver, also was cited for disturb
ing the peace and vandalism in the
incident, but charges weren’t filed
because he completed a pretrial di
version program, Langemach said.
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