LINCOLN, Neb. —

It's a gaping pit that only seems to grow: Nebraska lawmakers must close a now-projected $471 million budget deficit in the coming legislative session.

"It is a big number," Sen. Robert Clements, the chair of the Appropriations Committee, said. "I was hoping for a smaller number to start with."

Clements said they'll have a number of tools to select, be it pulling from cash funds, limiting appropriations through cuts, or making changes to tax policy and boosting revenue.

"We have to monitor our spending, and we have to be fiscally conservative, or else it could go a bad direction," Sen. Brad von Gillern, the chair of the Revenue Committee, said.

Gov. Jim Pillen floated a proposal this summer to cut $500 million from the state budget. That drew a mix of praise and critic

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