LINCOLN- Last Wednesday, in a move not often used by the Nebraska Legislature, state lawmakers voted to reconsider, and ultimately reject, a state agency appointment--the hiring of Jason Hayes as the new director of the Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Systems. Prior to being struck down by the Legislature, Hayes had been previously approved by the governing body of the agency, as well as Gov. Pillen and the Legislature's own Retirement Systems Committee.

Hayes currently works as a lobbyist for the Nebraska State Education Association, and was slated to replace Randy Gerke, who is retiring from the director position. Sen. Danielle Conrad, on Wednesday, asked that the vote on Hayes' hiring be reconsidered, believing that additional consideration and questioning were necessary to confirm Hayes due to the "compressed nature" of the 2023 legislative session, and because there were concerns arose about the confirmation last week.

Conrad's call for reconsideration prompted a drawn-out debate about the work experience and qualifications of Hayes, with Sen. Linehan, who had previously scrapped with the teachers union this year over school choice, raising questions about Hayes' ability to run the 56-employee public retirement agency. "I just don't like how quickly this came up," said Linehan. Sen. Mike McDonnell, chair of the Retirement Committee, defended Hayes. "I think the process was fair, and his qualification and experience are outstanding," he said, "We should not change our votes." Despite these pleas, the Legislature voted 20-14 to approve the confirmation, which was five votes short of the majority needed to advance it.

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