Dear Huskers for Higher Education Friends-
The following legislative update is being sent to you as part of our network of interested Huskers for Higher Education volunteers. The 5M funding request for the Vet Diagnostic Center specifically deals with the Lincoln campus.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact one of us (see contact information below).
Vi Schroeder
Huskers for Higher Education Coordinator
Nebraska Alumni Association
888.353.1874
402.472.3390
vschroeder@huskeralum.org
Michelle Waite
Assistant to the Chancellor For Community Relations
201 Canfield Administration Building
Lincoln, NE 68588-0419
402.472.2116February 7, 2012
Dear University Supporter,
The Legislature’s Appropriations Committee met last Thursday, Feb. 2, to hear testimony on the University of Nebraska’s
“Building a Healthier Nebraska” legislative package. As you recall, this initiative seeks state support for four capital projects that would expand the University’s capacity in nursing and allied health education, cancer care and research, and veterinary diagnostics.
You can read President Milliken’s full testimony to the Committee here. He was joined by more than 30 University, legislative, business, agricultural and community leaders who testified in support of Building a Healthier Nebraska. No opposing testimony was presented. We are especially pleased that the package is supported by the Lincoln, Omaha, Kearney and state chambers of commerce as well as the Nebraska Bankers Association – an indication that private sector leaders are excited about the potential our proposal has to create jobs and grow Nebraska’s economy.
There have been some questions recently, including from the Governor, about the timing of this initiative and how it should be funded. Let me briefly address those.
There is some urgency to our request. The process of building new facilities in Lincoln and Kearney and expanding or establishing academic programs there is projected to take about 1 ½ to 2 years, and each year we wait puts us further behind in addressing critical gaps in Nebraska’s healthcare workforce. The cancer center is a major economic development initiative that hinges in part on a commitment from the state, and the veterinary diagnostic center has a limited window of time in which to maintain its accreditation.
Moreover, we think that the state is in a strong position now to make one-time investments from the cash reserve fund. Even if legislators draw $91 million from the cash reserve to fund our capital requests, it’s projected that the reserve would still stand at $323 million at the end of this biennium – which, at 8.5 percent of state revenues, would be well above the historical average of 5.6 percent.
And that investment would be leveraged many times over – helping the University secure private and business support for the remaining $320 million cost of the cancer center, and ultimately putting hundreds of millions of dollars back into the state’s economy. An economic impact analysis for Building a Healthier Nebraska, conducted by Jerry Deichert, director of the Center for Public Affairs Research at UNO, found that the construction phase alone would create the equivalent of more than 2,600 jobs annually and $730 million in total economic activity. On an ongoing basis, the projects would support more than 4,500 jobs.
Detailed information on the economic impact of Building a Healthier Nebraska is
here.
You might also be interested in an analysis of the Department of Economic Development program that provides tax incentives to private companies that are considering building facilities and adding jobs in Nebraska. If the formulas used by DED were applied only to the cancer center project, our $370 million investment would be eligible for more than $81 million in sales tax credits, as well as additional tax incentives, over the next 10 years. So, our $50 million request to the state represents only 60% of the $81 million of state tax credits a private sector employer would be eligible to receive.
Another question that has come up concerns the use of Foundation funds for our capital request. While we expect private funds to pay for a significant amount of the cancer center project, it’s important to remember that about 99 percent of funds gifted to the University of Nebraska Foundation are designated toward a specific purpose by the donor. Cancer is one of the overarching priorities of our ongoing capital campaign, and we will work closely with our partners at the Foundation to raise the necessary funds for the cancer center – but we do not have the authority to override the wishes of our donors.
I hope this addresses some of the concerns that have been raised. If you have not yet contacted members of the Appropriations Committee in support of Building a Healthier Nebraska, I encourage you to do so now, before the committee advances its budget bills next month. I also urge you to write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper in support of this legislation.
As the session goes on, I will continue to update you on the status of our proposal and to ask for your help in communicating with legislators. Upcoming important dates include the state’s Forecasting Board meeting on Feb. 24 and the budget bill’s anticipated arrival on the legislative floor on March 7. In the meantime, if you have any questions or comments, please let me know.
Thank you for your continued support of the University of Nebraska.
Ron Withem
Director of Governmental Relations, University of Nebraska
3835 Holdrege Street
Lincoln, NE 68583-0745
rwithem@nebraska.edu Appropriations Committee Members
Senator Danielle Conrad
District 46 471-2720
Senator Tony Fulton
District 29 471-2734
Senator Thomas Hansen
District 42 471-2729
Senator John Harms
District 48 471-2802
Senator Lavon Heidemann
District 1 471-2733
Senator Heath Mello
District 5 471-2710
Senator John Nelson
District 6 471-2714
Senator Jeremy Nordquist
District 7 471-2721
Senator John Wightman
District 36 471-2642
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For additional information about your Senator, please visit the website for the
Nebraska Legislature