Floor adds temporary tourism funding for Lewis & Clark visitor center and a marketing grant for volleyball tryouts

Senator Hallstrom introduced AM 25‑22 to address a funding gap at the Lewis & Clark visitor center in Nebraska City after federal support lapsed in 2025. Hallstrom said the amendment converts earlier legislation (LB10‑58) from a general‑fund appropriation to a cash‑fund transfer from the Visitors Promotional Cash Fund so that there is no general‑fund impact.

He described the visitor center as volunteer‑run but operationally dependent on roughly $150,000 in annual federal funding that lapsed; federal reversion language in the original conveyance could return the property to the Department of the Interior if operations cease. Hallstrom framed the cash‑fund transfer as a one‑year bridge while the federal delegation works to reinstate support.

The amendment also contains a $175,000 marketing grant component intended to bolster Omaha’s bid for an Olympic volleyball tryout event; proponents said that grant fills a shortfall in a previously awarded tourism commission grant so Omaha can be a serious applicant.

Senators asked clarifying questions about whether AM 25‑22 would create a general‑fund obligation; sponsors and fiscal staff explained the funding would come from existing cash funds and not the general fund. Supporters pointed to the center’s visitation and the risk of property reversion, while some members reiterated caution about repeated cash‑fund transfers amid a structural deficit.

The body discussed AM 25‑22 in the context of broader budget tradeoffs — cash‑fund shifts, funding for courts and Medicaid cuts — but recorded no final floor disposition for the amendment within the provided transcript segments.

Representative quote: "That is a fairly significant portion of their overall budget for operations... they had been receiving that $150,000 component from a federal grant... until 2025," Senator Hallstrom said when explaining the cash‑fund transfer.