How old is the Nebraska State Penitentiary?

It's not only seen two pandemics, it just missed out on the Civil War.

Now the future of a new $270 million state prison and key sentencing reforms—some aimed at keeping certain non-violent criminals from winding up behind bars—are heading for a showdown in the statehouse.

Both are tied to ending Nebraska’s, worst-in-the-nation, overcrowded prisons.

Gov. Pete Ricketts has made a new state penitentiary, replacing the 150-year-old Lincoln facility, one of his top priorities as he heads out of office nine months from now.

At the same time, according to published reports, Ricketts opposes key sentencing reforms which his critics say are a major must to end the overcrowding.

In recent days lawmakers argued the pros and cons of those reforms which include the release of some 100 elderly prisoners and a move to discourage the use of mandatory-minimum sentences for non-violent felonies.

State Sen. Steve Lathrop, Omaha (D): It would effectively flatten our rate of growth to almost zero in terms of our rate of growth and if we did that and built the new facility we would be out of an overcrowded emergency.

State Sen Wendy DeBoer, Omaha (D): I believe that sounds like the closest thing to a plan for getting out of an overcrowding emergency that I've heard since I've been in here.

But Ricketts’ opposition to those sentencing reforms sets up a key struggle.

Lathrop tells NCN that the sentencing changes are a must. “It’s the only thing that moves the needle when it comes to controlling overcrowding,” says the Omaha lawmaker who is not running for re-election arguing, among other things, that the Legislature has become less and less effective with fewer and fewer lawmakers willing to compromise.