Governor Jim Pillen has issued his second veto of the 2025 legislative session, swatting down a bill which aimed to help Omaha Housing Authority (OHA) residents address long-standing bedbug infestations and other living condition issues.
Legislative Bill 287 would have required OHA to inspect complaints over bed bugs within 10 days and treat infestations within 21 days using a pest control professional. The agency would be on the hook for the inspection and remediation costs. The bill would have also required unit inspections before renting and the disclosure of active infestations in adjacent units. OHA would also be prohibited from renting or showing units it knows or suspects are infested.
Terrell McKinney. District 11. Nebraska Legislature. November 9, 2020. Photo by Craig Chandler / University Communication
Omaha city officials would also be given a more active role in monitoring these complaints. The City would be allowed — but not required — to regulate OHA in areas such as pest control, inspections, and code violations. OHA would also be obligated to submit semiannual reports to the city and Urban Affairs Committee.
The bill, championed by North Omaha Senator Terrell McKinney, passed last week on a 34–15 vote and became law immediately… until Pillen returned the bill to the Unicameral without his signature on Wednesday, May 21.
In his veto letter, Pillen said the bill expanded and created “needless duplicative government mandates and regulatory bureaucracy where none is needed.”
“I believe that local governments should possess the authority to enforce basic sanitation and anti-infestation standards for dwellings within their jurisdiction. Our communities, including the City of Omaha, already possess this authority,” he wrote.
While Pillen points toward the federally funded U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Department as an appropriate entity for oversight, McKinney says HUD and local officials are lacking accountability.
Following the veto, McKinney quickly filed a motion for LB287 to become law notwithstanding the objections of Pillen.
Speaking on the floor, Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha noted this as the second veto issued by Pillen against a bill sponsored by a Black lawmaker.
Last week, Pillen vetoed a bill from Sen. Victor Rountree of Bellevue which sought to lift the lifetime ban on individuals with three or more felony convictions for drug use or distribution from accessing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Rountree also filed to override the Governor, but seven republicans who had previously voted for the bill changed their support and voted to sustain the veto.