LINCOLN — Nebraska lawmakers went toe-to-toe with Gov. Pete Ricketts on Wednesday over three veto override motions and prevailed on all three. As a result, the state will take over the management, but not the liabilities, of the Omaha Public Schools retirement plan and more Nebraskans will be able to qualify for food aid and heating assistance.

Only a few senators changed their votes on any of the three bills, despite pressure from Ricketts for the vetoes to be sustained. His efforts include a video posted to Twitter Monday, in which he said he had vetoed “three bad bills.” He urged Nebraskans to contact state senators and ask them to back his vetoes.

Instead, lawmakers voted 31-18 to override the governor’s veto of Legislative Bill 147. The measure, introduced by State Sen. Mark Kolterman of Seward, puts the Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Systems in charge of managing the troubled OPS pension system, starting in 2024.

Earlier in the afternoon, lawmakers overrode the veto of LB 108 on a 30-19 vote. That measure, introduced by Sen. John McCollister of Omaha, increases income limits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to 165% of the federal poverty level, up from 130%, for two years.

The third measure, LB 306, was passed over the governor’s veto on a 32-15 vote. The bill, introduced by Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth, will provide federally funded heating and cooling assistance to more Nebraskans.

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