Nebraska Gov. Heineman signs wind-energy bill
Neb. Gov. Heineman approves wind-energy bill to prevent Omaha from raising local sales taxes
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman has signed a wind-energy bill that he opposes to prevent the city of Omaha from increasing its local option sales tax.
The Republican governor approved the measure on Tuesday.
The bill is designed to stimulate wind-energy production in Nebraska by offering sales tax breaks to companies that invest at least $20 million in a renewable energy project. Heineman opposed the measure as a tax giveaway to out-of-state companies, but he supported another part of the bill that will rescind Omaha's ability to ask voters for a half-cent sales tax increase.
Heineman says he would have used a line-item veto to strike the wind-energy portions of the bill, but he can only use that power with budget bills.
