Senator introduces bill to sell state plane for property tax relief

Note: An earlier version stated that Gov. Jim Pillen was on the July 25 flight.

Nebraska State Sen. Jen Day introduced a bill during Friday’s special session that would force the sale of the state plane frequently used by Gov. Jim Pillen.

According to public flight logs, on July 25, the first day of the special session, the plane took three flights connecting Lincoln, Beatrice and Nebraska City. Pillen's office said the governor was not on the plane and that Thursday's activity represents test flights.

Day said selling the $3.6 million plane would provide additional money for the state’s general fund. That money, she said, could be put toward property tax relief or other purposes.

“If we're going to be cutting funds that contribute to the welfare of foster children, we should certainly first be looking at eliminating luxuries, like a state plane that costs millions of dollars," she said.

Day hopes other senators will support her bill, but she said she introduced the legislation primarily to express her frustration with the governor’s proposal to cut funds for child welfare.

“It's really, more or less, just to make a statement, because I think that there's some really dangerous cuts that are being made at the expense of some of the people in the state that that need government assistance the most, like foster kids," Day said.

Under Pillen's current favored plan, $200 million would be cut from Department of Health and Human Services programs, including services for foster kids.