Fees could rise
to pay for Wheels
By Veronica Daehn
Staffwriter
The Association of Students of the
University of Nebraska added a new
program to its budget Nov. lOthat could
increase student fees.
The addition of NU on Wheels, a
safe-ride home program available to all
University of Nebraska-Lincoln stu
dents, will be paid for by student fees
that are a part of the ASUN budget.
But Committee for Fees Allocation
Chairman Jason Mashek said adding
NU on Wheels might not make a differ
ence.
“It very well could affect the
amount of money other student fee
users receive,” Mashek said. “It might
cause an increase in student fees, but it
doesn’t have to.”
ASUN adopted the safe-ride home
program last week when senators voted
unanimously to make NU on Wheels a
part of ASUN’s bylaws. — -
Student fees going to ASUN will
have to be raised, or money paying for
other ASUN programs will have to be
taken away to pay for NU on Wheels.
Programs that are under ASUN’s
budget include Student Legal Services,
the Government Liaison Committee
and Commuter Student Services.
Committee for Fees Allocation
member Grant Vicich said he is not sure
what will happen because committee
members have not yet discussed it, but
he said he thought student fees would
see an increase.
“Obviously, fees will go up,” Vicich
said. “But if students feel they won’t use
(NU on Wheels), they can get a refund
like they can now for the other (pro
grams).”
If students do not want to pay fees
for a program such as Student Legal
Services,, the University Program
Council or the Daily Nebraskan, they
can get a refund in exchange for the loss
of those services.
- ASUN Sen. Urrvano Gamez said
using student fees for the program
would be justified even if every student
does not use the program.
Most users ofNU on Wheels will be
students who don’t want to drive home
drunk, Gamez said. But he thinks other
students will use it to get back from
studying at the East Campus library.
“Not everyone (will use this ser
vice),” he said. “But it is beneficial for
ft
It might cause an
increase in student
fees, but it doesn I
have to.”
Jason Mashek
Committee for Fees Allocation
chairman
every student to get drunk drivers off the
road and have a higher safety level on
campus.”
CFA is in the process of hearing pre
sentations from every UNL fee user.
Mashek said presentations would
be completed by the end of this semes
ter, and fee users would come back with
their proposed budgets early next
semester.
Then CFA’s job is to approve or
reject the fee users’ budgets or to
request more student fees to pay for the
increased proposed budgets.
There are two types of fee users,
Mashek said.
Fund A fee users are student organi
zations such as ASUN, the Daily
Nebraskan and the University Program
Council.
Fund B users use a larger amount of
money and include organizations such
as the Nebraska Unions, the Campus
Recreation Center and the Health
Center.
Fund A fee users provide students
with the opportunity to get a refund.
CFA is responsible for recommend
ing a student-fee increase, but the final
decision is not up to them, Mashek said.
Once CFA recommends an increase
in Fund A fees, it must be approved by
the ASUN senate and then by UNL
Chancellor James Moeser. -
For Fund B student fees; the
increase must be approved by the NU
Board of Regents.
Mashek said it has been more than
15 years since the Board of Regents has
rejected an ASUN budget proposal.
Mashek and Vicich both said they
were unsure how NU on Wheels would
affect ASUN’s budget, but Mashek said
CFA would not approve a budget if
there were not enough money to do so.
“The only amount of money we’re
restricted by is the amount of student
fees we have,” he said.
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University Health Center
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•Wednesday, Nov. 24 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
•Thursday, Nov. 25 closed
•Friday, Nov. 26 closed
•Saturday, Nov. 27 10:30 a.m. p.m.
Call 472-5000 for an appointment.
Tobacco settlement payout nears
By Josh Knaub
Staff writer
Nebraska will receive the first
payment of its $ 1.165 billion tobac
co settlement before the end of the
month.
State Treasurer Dave Heineman
said he thought Nebraska’s first
payment of $ 14.3 million might
arrive before Thanksgiving but
would definitely be in state coffers
before the end of the month.
The money is Nebraska’s share
of a multistate deal with cigarette
makers.
Nebraska received notice
Friday that the first installment of
the settlement would arrive within
10 business days.
Steve Grasz, Nebraska chief
deputy attorney general, said the
initial payment would be followed
by a $38 million payment in
January and another payment in
April.
After the initial three payments,
Nebraska will receive money from
the settlement annually.
Grasz said the reason Nebraska
would receive the payments now
was related to another state’s settle
ment.
Eighty percent of the states
involved in the settlement had tc
agree to the terms gf the settlemenl
before any state would receive
money.
Virginia’s acceptance of the set
tlement in mid-November triggered
payments to all states involved
Grasz said.
Nebraska’s money is in ar
escrow account established by the
tobacco companies, Grasz said. Ii
has been in the account, and inac
cessible to the state, since Nebraska
accepted the settlement in 1998.
Heineman said the monej
would be sent to an accoun
Nebraska would use to fund health
care projects. He said the state
would not receive a check, rathei
the funds would be wire-transferrec
from the tobacco companies
escrow account to the state health
care fund.
Grasz said the state receivec
payments from other legal settle
ments, including one involving oi
prices, on a routine basis.
He said the tobacco settlement
was by far the largest.
“None come close to this much
money,” Grasz said.
Heineman said the state rou
tinely dealt with large wire trans
fers. He said monthly state payroll
expenses, many direct-deposited,
totaled more than $ 100 million.
Legislation sponsored by state
Sen. Jim Jensen of Omaha last year
established the fund tobacco settle
ment money will be transferred to.
Interest income from the fund
will be used to pay for tobacco
resistance education, school nurs
es, immunization, health education,
pregnancy testing, screening for
diseases, laboratory equipment and
: public health environmental ser
vices.
: The money will be distributed
• by a panel appointed by Gov. Mike
l Johanns.
Public health officials will be
able to apply for grants from the
fund starting in January.
1 The state may receive more or
less than the agreed $1,165 billion
1 if tobacco sales increase or
decrease in Nebraska.
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