Kintner's behavior, reservist plates, budget cuts discussed in Legislature

Jan. 23, 2017, 5:24 a.m. ·

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Sen. Dan Watermeier discusses his bill for reservists plates (Photo by Fred Knapp, NET News)

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A new controversy erupted over state Sen. Bill Kintner’s behavior; the Legislature debated license plates honoring military reservists, and the Appropriations Committee moved toward recommending a package of cuts to the current fiscal year budget on Monday.

Last year, Sen. Bill Kintner was fined $1,000 by the Accountability and Disclosure Commission after admitting to having had a sexual encounter with a woman via Skype using his state laptop computer. Despite calls from the governor, some senators, and some of his constituents for him to resign, Kintner refused to do so. The issue has remained simmering so far this year, mostly because Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers has kept it alive. But the heat turned up Monday because of something Kintner retweeted on Twitter -- a photo of three women at the Women’s March in Washington holding defiant signs. Kintner retweeted the photo along with a Los Angeles radio host’s derogatory comment directed at their looks. Chambers condemned Kintner harshly. "He has no morality. He has no integrity. No respect for women, including his family," Chambers said.

Sen. Bob Krist, who as chairman of the Executive Board last year concluded there were not enough votes to punish Kintner, said the time has come to deal directly with the issue of Kintner’s behavior. "So, let’s do it. Let’s put a motion of censure or sanction or impeachment. Let’s talk about it. Let’s stop talking about talking about it and let’s just talk about it," Krist said.

And Sen. Matt Hansen made clear how he felt about the situation. "Based on the aforementioned tweet from Sen. Kintner mocking women protesting rape and sexual assault, I’ve gone back and forth between whether or not I was going to pop up on the microphone and grill him, asking to see if he understands rape culture, ask him to explain why he thinks that’s an appropriate thing to joke about," Hansen said. "But instead I just wanted to make sure people know that I do condemn those comments and look forward to an opportunity where we can have a fuller discussion on Sen. Kintner and his behavior in this Legislature."

Kintner did not speak during the debate, and declined several requests for comment. Monday afternoon, he issued a statement that said "By retweeting a message, I was not implying support for putting women in fear of their personal safety. I took down the retweet as soon as I became aware that it was being misconstrued."

The discussion occurred as the Legislature was debating a separate issue, whether or not to authorize specialty license plates honoring military reservists, similar to those already authorized for active-duty military members.

Krist said he supported the idea. But he said the way the bill was drafted, to include trusts that own motor vehicles, people who had not served could get the plates. "As passionate as I am about honoring people who want this plate and need this plate and should have this plate, I’m also very passionate to make sure that people who have never served, never put on a uniform, don’t qualify for this plate in any way," he said

Sen. Dan Watermeier, who introduced the bill, said the language on trusts makes sense. "If we take this out of it, this is what’s going to happen. I’ll give you an example: my father and mother have their assets in a trust. He’s a veteran – he’s passed away though, two years ago. But he would have not been able to go get a plate because his name is in the trust," Watermeier said.

With Watermeier agreeing to work on compromise language, senators adjourned without reaching a first round vote on the bill.

Meanwhile, the Appropriations Committee is moving ahead on considering Gov. Pete Ricketts proposal on cutting this year’s state budget. Appropriations Committee Chairman Sen. John Stinner was asked how the committee’s proposed cuts compare to the governor’s. "I think we’re pretty close," Stinner said. "The big variance obviously is the Supreme Court."

Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Heavican has said Ricketts’ proposed cuts would force the court system to roll back agreed-to reforms like increased use of probation and community corrections.

Stinner said the committee’s version of cuts would reduce the courts’ budget by about $4 million, compared to the $8 million proposed by the governor.