Gov. Pete Ricketts made a stop in Columbus on Wednesday afternoon for a town hall meeting with residents about the 2022 legislative session. Ricketts called the session 'incredibly historic'.

He spoke to residents on the accomplishments during the recent session. He based his speech on four main topics within the legislative session; a tax relief bill, law enforcement and public safety, investments around water infrastructure, and the state's use of American Rescue Plan Act funds.

The governor mentioned, “the fact that the legislature was able to pass all four of those efforts in a short 60-day session is truly remarkable and why I think this will go down as one of the Unicameral’s finest.”

Starting with the tax relief bill, LB 873, Ricketts mentioned that the first thing the bill did was “protect the tax relief we passed back in 2020 with LB 1107.”

LB 873, which he said is now known for being the ‘biggest tax relief package in Nebraska state history’, will deliver $3.4 billion of additional tax relief to Nebraskans through the tax year 2027, Ricketts stated. He said the bill will also provide 12 times more tax relief than any tax relief bill that was passed before Ricketts’ became governor. 

Another important topic Ricketts addressed was public safety and law enforcement in Nebraska.

The governor said, “at a time when other states and other communities are saying defund the police or county attorneys not prosecuting criminals and all this leads to a rise in crime.”

He took a shot at how California officials, particularly in San Francisco, are handling crime in their cities.

“In San Francisco, they won't prosecute you for shoplifting for anything under $950 dollars,” Ricketts said. “ They literally have people go to CVS and Walgreens with a calculator making sure they stay under that $950 dollars and walk out the store with those goods."

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee heard claims in 2021 that up to $200 million were stolen from some retail chains, though data from the FBI suggests that shoplifting dropped 18 percent between 2019 and 2020. Still, the governor strongly mentioned he doesn’t want to see such shoplifting instances become normal in Nebraska.

“We want to support law enforcement. We want to invest in public safety,” added Ricketts.

According to the governor's website, the 2022 legislative session “expands capacity to train cadets at the Nebraska law enforcement training center.”

There will also be upgrades to the Nebraska State Patrol crime lab with meeting the increased demand to process evidence when crimes are committed, Ricketts said.

His speech touched upon the progress made around investments in water infrastructure.

The recent session, “authorizes construction of a canal and reservoir system (Perkins County Canal) to protect Nebraska's legal entitlement to South Platte River water flowing into the state of Colorado .”

After speaking, the governor took some questions from audience members. A person asked about the draft leak within the Supreme Court on Roe v. Wade and the possibility of the governor calling a special session to focus on the topic of abortion.

Ricketts called the leak “unconscionable” and said he will wait for the final ruling.

The town hall was held at the Friedhof building in downtown Columbus.