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Nebraska Appleseed calls on Unicameral to set budget priorities

By Katie Knapp Schubert

Omaha, NE – A coalition of nonprofit organizations is calling on the Unicameral to craft a budget based on the state's values.

The Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest, Opportunity at Work and several other partner organizations released a "Statement of Principles" earlier this week. It calls on the Legislature to promote entrepreneurship, create good jobs and find cost savings in the budget.

Nebraska Appleseed Executive Director Becky Gould says the goal is a state budget based on smart choices. "This means making policy decisions that reflect our state's values, and take a balanced approach, including finding efficiencies in existing programs, maintaining key programs that build our workforce and create good jobs and support families, and finding ways to increase revenue."

The Statement of Principles was released as Speaker Mike Flood announced an Ad Hoc committee meeting on the state budget. That meeting, set for June 29th, is to begin identifying ways to deal with a projected $679 million budget shortfall for the next biennium.