Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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On Saturday, July 4, we will celebrate Independence Day. This day celebrates the foundational principles outlined in the Declaration of Independence, specifically, that all people have fundamental, unalienable rights to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” Notably this day will also mark the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding. When the United States declared its independence in 1776, it established a radical new system of government whose experiment in self-governance revol...
Summer is right around the corner, so this week, I would like to provide a reminder of two important deadlines that occur on Tuesday, June 30. First, June 30 is the last day for individuals to file for a Homestead Exemption for property tax relief. The Homestead Exemption is a state-funded program that lowers or eliminates property taxes on a primary residence. Applications (known as Form 458) must be filed with the local county assessor between Feb. 2 and June 30 each year. Homeowners can...
Monday, May 25 was Memorial Day, a day we pay our respects to all those men and women who gave their lives for our country while serving in the armed forces. So many have given their lives in defense of our country so that we could grow up and live in the greatest nation in history. In addition to remembering those who lost their lives, we should also use the day to thank all those who served who came home from their service with a permanent disability, whether mental or physical. These...
This past week, senators debated LB669, a bill introduced by Sen. Storer, which would update Nebraska’s informed consent laws to require women be screened for coercion and abuse when they go in for an abortion appointment. This measure was introduced with the intent of combatting domestic violence and human trafficking. In debate, senators presented contrasting information on the potential impacts of this measure. Senator Storer and other supporters of the bill argued it was necessary to give v...
This past week, the Legislature concluded bill introduction for the year and began the committee hearing process. In Nebraska, all bills and constitutional amendment resolutions are referred to a legislative committee for a public hearing. Senators will continue to meet in the mornings for floor debate and attend committee hearings in the afternoons until the end of February. Full-day floor debate is tentatively scheduled to begin on March 3. So far this year, I introduced 15 bills and one...
In the past few months, I outlined six initiative petitions that have been filed with the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office and are currently in circulation for the 2026 General Election. Since then, two additional initiative petitions have been submitted to the Secretary of State: (1) the Winner Take All Electors Constitutional Amendment and (2) the Hand Count Ballots for Elections Constitutional Amendment. Both initiatives were brought by the group Advocates for All Nebraskans. Although I p...
This past week, the Executive Board held a public hearing on LR198 to study whether to make changes to the structure of standing committees in the Legislature. Specifically, the resolution proposes to create a Technology Committee as a new standing committee and combine the Agriculture Committee and the Natural Resources Committee. In the past, the Legislature has at various times considered merging the Agriculture Committee and the Natural Resources Committee. Such proposals have been brought...
This past week, the Agriculture Committee held a public hearing for LR280 introduced by the Agriculture Committee. The hearing was held at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. LR280 was introduced to examine a number of questions surrounding the Brand Law, including issues surrounding the continued value and utility of mandatory brand inspection. In recent years, the Legislature has considered legislation that would fundamentally change how brand inspection is implemented, including...
This past week marked the transition from summer to fall, and as such, harvest season is almost here. Please be careful on the roads since more tractors, combines, and semi-trucks will be on the roads in the coming weeks. Activity at the Capitol is also picking up. Many committees hold public hearings related to study resolutions in the fall. The Agriculture Committee, of which I am the chairman, will be holding two interim public hearings this year. The first hearing will be on Tuesday, Oct. 7...
This past week, the Natural Resources Committee held an interim hearing to review current laws that relate to the approval process, personnel involved, and costs associated with controlled burn permits. Controlled burns are planned fires intentionally set to manage ecosystems or prevent future larger, uncontrolled wildfires. These planned burns help reduce hazardous fuels like dead vegetation, promote the growth of native species, and help control problematic species like the eastern redcedar tr...
This past week marked the final full week of the 109th Legislature’s first session. Since the beginning of April, senators have been spending four days a week in session and also having debate go into the evening three days a week. Late-night debate can take its toll on senators who spend many hours trying to pass legislation or stop bills from reaching the governor’s desk. One such example occurred during Select File debate on LB306, a bill which would create the School Financing Review Commiss...
The Legislature passed the budget bills this past week containing its recommendations for the fiscal year 2025-2026 & fiscal year 2026-2027 biennial budget. Now, it will be up to the governor whether he signs the legislation as is or uses his line-item veto authority. When the Legislature convened in January, senators initially faced an estimated $432 million shortfall for the next two years, a number that soon grew. A large part of the increased deficit, but not all, came because the state’s ec...
The Legislature gave first-round approval this past week to a $10.8 billion biennial budget for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027. It consisted of five bills advanced to the floor by the Appropriations Committee. Going into debate, senators faced a nearly $262 million projected budget deficit over the next two years due to federal rate changes for Medicaid and a late report by the Economic Forecasting Advisory Board. In developing the budget proposal, the Appropriations Committee had used Feb...
This past week, the Legislature made some progress in breaking through the logjam of bills currently sitting on the agenda. Senators are trying to find ways to move their bills since time for debate on non-budget bills is growing short. The budget is scheduled to be advanced to the full Legislature on April 29, and Speaker Arch announced that debate on budget bills will begin on May 6. One measure advanced to Final Reading this past week was Sen. Hallstrom’s LB80. This bill builds upon legislati...
Now that the Legislature is over two thirds of the way through this year’s 90-day regular long session, progress on the floor is beginning to slow down. More bills are being filibustered, delaying debate on other bills further down on the agenda. One measure considered was LB632 by Sen. Hansen. LB632 would require health-care facilities to dispose of fetal tissue following an elective abortion via cremation, interment by burial, or as directed by the Board of Health. Approximately 15 states c...
The Legislature is now two-thirds of the way through this year’s 90-day legislative session. One prominent topic of discussion this week was winner-take-all. Earlier this year, Sen. Lippincott introduced LB3 to reinstate the winner-take-all system for electing a presidential candidate. This system would award all of Nebraska’s votes to the candidate who received the highest number of votes throughout the state. Today, only two states, Maine and Nebraska, allocate votes for a presidential can...
This past week, my bill LB246 was debated on General File. Under LB246, the commercial sale and distribution of cultured protein products would be banned in Nebraska. Such products, also known as lab-grown meat or synthetic meat, are made by combining animal stem cells and other ingredients in bioreactors. However, LB246 would not impact the sale and distribution of plant-based protein alternative products. My intent with this bill is to address public safety concerns and help preserve Nebraska...
March 28th marked the 52nd day of this 90-day legislative session and the final day of daily committee hearings. Full day debate will begin March 31. Senators are now focused on the budget as well as bills that have been designated as a priority either by a senator, a committee or the Speaker of the Legislature. One of the final bills heard by the Judiciary Committee this year was my bill LB395. LB395 was brought on behalf of the Nebraska Supreme Court’s Administrative Office of the Courts a...
This past week, senators and committees began designating their priority bills for the year. Each senator may designate one bill as their personal priority. Standing committees may designate up to two bills as their committee priorities. Additionally, the Speaker of the Legislature may designate up to 25 bills as Speaker priorities. In total, this means a total of 107 bills can be designated as priority bills in each regular legislative session. I designated LB437 as my personal priority bill....
The Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board met on Feb. 28 and voted to increase revenue projections for the upcoming 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 fiscal years. The board forecasted, in October of last year, that the state was facing a budget shortfall of $432 million. With the latest forecast, Nebraska is projected to receive up to $165 million in potential new revenue, reducing the state’s budget shortfall to about $198 million. Revenue projections for the current fiscal year were raised b...
This past week, the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee held an interim hearing to discuss the status of highways and broadband in Nebraska. The Committee first heard from Director Vicki Kramer of the Nebraska Department of Transportation who testified that the impact of inflation is presenting challenges to fulfill future highway construction and maintenance projects. Nebraska’s current highway needs for the next 20 years currently sit at $16.9 billion, but when inflation is a...
In the past three weeks, I outlined all six ballot initiatives and referendum measures that will be on this year’s general election ballot. This editorial is dedicated to my personal perspective on two ballot measures: Initiative Measures 434 (Protect Women and Children) and 439 (Protect Our Rights) relating to abortion. In my mind, we should strive to do the most good and preserve human life. This is why I am encouraging pro-life voters in Nebraska to consider voting for Initiative Measure 4...
This week, I will be discussing Initiative Measure 437 and Initiative Measure 438. Both of these initiatives revolve around the issue of cannabis and propose a framework to legalize medical cannabis in the state. Should these two ballot initiatives pass, the Legislature will likely play a role in shaping some of the finer details of implementing medical cannabis in this state, much akin to the implementation of casino gambling in 2021-22. Initiative Measure 437 proposes to create a new law...
I would first like to express my gratitude to the first responders who quickly handled the explosion and fire at St. Patrick’s Parish in O’Neill earlier this week. I am thankful that there were no catastrophic injuries or loss of life and am hopeful that the parish, Avera St. Anthony’s Hospital and St. Mary’s School can quickly recover. I have been in contact with other state officials to help coordinate state resources to ease the recovery of Avera St. Anthony’s, which sustained damage. I...
The Legislature concluded the special session that was called to relieve property taxes on Aug. 20. After a contentious start, senators agreed to compromise on legislation that will frontload the Nebraska Property Tax Incentive Act credits from LB1107 (2020) directly onto taxpayer’s property tax statements, trim and adjust the state budget by $185 million and tighten existing property tax levy caps for counties, cities and villages to the greater of inflation or 0%. Of the 81 bills and 24 r...
