Appropriations Committee Approves Nearly $2.2 Million For A 2001 King Air

After being rejected by the same panel only a few days earlier, the Nebraska Legislature Appropriations Committee restored a $2.2 million line item in the state budget for the purchase of a 2001 Beech King Air currently owned by the Nebraska University Foundation.

The 5-3 vote sends the airplane purchase to the full legislature for debate.

While the committee had voted down the purchase on April 8th, the panel reconsidered the vote before passing the budget. The Journal Star newspaper reports that appropriations chairman Heath Mello said that the administration of Governor Dave Heineman had lobbied heavily for the purchase of the plane, and that the majority of the committee members had become convinced that its acquisition had become a priority. "We'll have the debate when it comes to the floor," Mello told the paper.

One of the senators who changed his vote was John Harms, who said he thinks it is important for the Governor to be able to fly to the western part of the state and back, and he had become convinced that owing the airplane would be less expensive to the state than chartering on an as-needed basis.

The $2.2 million would be a one-time transfer to the general fund from the state's cash reserve for the purchase. The State Department of Aeronautics calculates that the annual operating costs would be $198,900 assuming about 150 hours of flying each year. The state plans to recoup some of that revenue by making the King Air available to other agencies and state users at a cost of about $5 per mile, which would generate $179,250.

The state currently owns a 31-year-old Piper Cheyenne, which the Department of Aeronautics said is costing the state more each year in repairs and maintenance.

(King Air pictured in file photo)

FMI: http://nebraskalegislature.gov/