LINCOLN- Two Lincoln state senators clashed Friday at a hearing over a governor-backed priority to reconsider what to do with Nebraska retirement plans once they are fully funded, starting with schools. The proposal in question, Legislative Bill 645 by State Sen. Beau Ballard of Lincoln, seeks to lower annual contribution rates to the statewide school retirement plan for eligible teachers and school employees, excluding those in the Omaha Public Schools, who have a separate retirement plan.

The initial bill, introduced at Gov. Jim Pillen’s request, had received broad condemnation from the Nebraska State Education Association and teachers statewide before the latest amendment that shifted the NSEA to neutral because it would lower employee payroll deductions, increasing take-home pay. State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, the current Legislature’s longest-serving lawmaker in her 11th year, repeatedly asked Ballard if lawmakers should pause given “great risk and significant economic volatility.”

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