Sen. Linehan requests removal of Opportunity Scholarship Act repeal from November ballot

State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan requested that the referendum to repeal the Opportunity Scholarships Act be removed from the November election ballot.

In a letter to the Secretary of State’s office, Sen. Linehan said the Legislature is responsible for taxation in the Nebraska Constitution in Article VIII-1, which states: “The necessary revenue of the state and its governmental subdivisions shall be raised by taxation in such manner as the Legislature may direct.”

Sen. Linehan further stated that if the referendum were allowed on the ballot, “the ability to set revenue policy would be undermined.”

Under the Act passed last year, individuals and businesses that donate to scholarship granting organizations for private or parochial schools can receive a dollar-to-dollar tax credit. They can get up to $100,000 in tax credits every year, and the program is capped at $25 million each year for the first three years.

Support Our Schools led the petition drive to get the referendum to repeal the act on the ballot. They collected over 91,000 signatures.

In a statement released Tuesday, Jenni Benson with Support Our Schools Nebraska said they will not back down on this issue.

“Nebraskans have made it very clear they want to vote on whether to divert tax dollars to private schools,” she said. “The Secretary of State certified and has made clear that the Repeal LB753 referendum petition met all statutory and constitutional requirements to put this issue on the ballot for the voters to decide.”

Rebecca Firestone, the executive director of OpenSky Policy Institute, said in the statement: "Every year, elected officials ask voters to weigh in on revenue issues through bond elections, and it was the Legislature who gave voters the opportunity to override revenue caps that the state imposed on local school districts.”

Preventing voters from weighing in on state revenue policy undermines democracy, stifles public participation and removes a check on elected officials that is a hallmark of Nebraska’s unicameral system."

The Secretary of State’s office reached out to the petition sponsors for a response on the letter. The office hopes to make a decision “without delay.”