Paul Hammel, Omaha World Herald
February 19, 2009

LINCOLN — Gov. Dave Heineman said Wednesday that he's "unlikely" to join some rebellious Republican governors in rejecting federal stimulus funds, though he wants to see the details before saying that for certain.

"It's unlikely, but I don't want to preclude any option until we understand the ramifications," he said in an interview.

Nebraska is projected to receive about $1.15 billion from the stimulus package.

A handful of GOP governors, led by South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, have said that they might refuse the money because of philosophical opposition to federal bailouts. Heineman said he didn't anticipate joining such a call, though it might be two weeks before state officials get exact details on the package.

"I hope there are not strings attached that would make it difficult to take that money," he said. "We are aggressively looking at the funding in this package. The challenge at the moment is we don't have any details."

Overall, he said, some portions of the package focus on job creation and others focus on "spending." Heineman cited one project in particular — a high-speed rail connection between Las Vegas and Disneyland — as wasteful.

Anticipating the bill's passage, Nebraska began advertising several weeks ago for highway construction bids. Seven bids, totaling about $32 million, will be awarded March 12.

"We've tried to get ahead of the game," Heineman said. "There's no question that the road infrastructure funding can create jobs."

He said the state planned to continue awarding contracts every 30 to 60 days until the stimulus money is exhausted.

Nebraska's amount has been a moving target. Under the latest preliminary estimate, the state would receive $235.6 million for road building — about $157 million for state projects and the rest for counties and cities. About $7 million would be for recreational trails.

"It's really kind of early. These numbers are guaranteed to change," said Steve Maraman, financial controller for the Nebraska Department of Roads.

A substantial increase is expected in Medicaid funding, which would free up state general funds for other purposes. The latest estimate, which some state budget officials think will drop further, was $273.8 million in additional Medicaid funds over two years.

That would cushion a brewing budget storm. State tax receipts are falling behind predictions, and the state tax forecasting board is expected to deliver a dismal forecast update Feb. 27 that could trigger the need for tens of millions of dollars in budget cuts.

The Legislature's Appropriations Committee has requested establishment of a temporary Web site to let the public track the stimulus funds.

Omaha Sens. Jeremy Nordquist and Heath Mello want separate public hearings on proposals to spend the stimulus money and a bill to contain those proposals.

"We need to open up the process," Nordquist said. "The public is going to be skeptical with this much money going through the hands of government."

Mello said the goal should be to ensure that the stimulus money creates jobs. The Obama administration has estimated that the money will create 23,000 jobs in Nebraska.

Heineman emphasized that it's too early to answer all stimulus questions.

"The president only signed this yesterday," he said. "You now have to give the federal agencies time to develop the instructions."