Pillen vetoes five bills; senators sustain all on final session day

Gov. Jim Pillen issued five vetoes April 16 as the Nebraska Legislature prepared to conclude its 2026 session, rejecting bills involving affordable housing, parental leave, university transparency, emergency management and Medicaid coverage.

All five vetoes were sustained when senators returned for the final day Friday. Four of the five bills had passed with 31 or more votes, more than the 30 needed to override a veto, making their defeat uncommon in legislative procedure.

Legislative Bill 1256, which would have expanded the definition of "emergency management" to include snow and ice removal and flood management, passed 49-0 but faced a property tax concern from the governor. Pillen argued the measure could cost Nebraska taxpayers $40 million annually by allowing local governments to circumvent existing property tax caps. The override attempt failed 23-22, the closest vote.

Two bills addressing state employee benefits met similar fates. LB 878, which would have provided six weeks of paid parental leave to all permanent state employees, passed 41-7 but Pillen said the benefit should be negotiated through collective bargaining. The override failed 21-27. LB 929, involving Medicaid managed care organizations, passed 31-18 but Pillen called it "do-nothing legislation" that sends the wrong message to the health system. The override failed 22-26.

LB 839, dealing with accessible housing requirements for people with disabilities, passed 34-15. Pillen argued the bill would add expensive regulatory requirements that could deter affordable housing development. The override failed 19-28.

LB 1029, which would have excluded compensation and wages from university reporting requirements for foreign adversary contracts, passed 29-20. Pillen said exempting such information would make Nebraska "an outlier and a soft target" for infiltration by foreign adversaries, particularly China.

Earlier, Pillen allowed LB 1237, the Capitol security bill that passed 45-4, to become law without his signature, citing Second Amendment concerns while respecting the overwhelming legislative support.