The Summerland Advocate-Messenger - Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community

Last week, the Legislature gave final round approval to the two mid-biennium budget adjustment bills: LB1412 and LB1413. The two bills will increase the state budget by 2.7% in this two-year period,...

This week, my personal priority bill, LB1301, was put before the Unicameral for the first stage of consideration. LB1301 would modernize our state’s existing laws relating to foreign land o...

The Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board met on Feb. 29, to review the forecast for the current fiscal year and the next fiscal year. The board increased the previous forecast for fiscal year...

We are now two-thirds of the way through the 60-day session and have completed public hearings for the year. Senators will now meet in full-day sessions for floor debate. Discussion will focus on...

This week marked the halfway point of the 2024 legislative session, meaning the remaining time will be spent on senator, committee and speaker priority bills. Given the time left in the session, I...

Much of this week’s activity focused on broadband and the Nebraska Department of Transportation, along with some controversy relating to education policy. The Transportation and Telecommunications C...

Chief Justice Michael Heavican delivered his annual State of the Judiciary address this past week. As part of a longtime tradition, I was selected to be a member of the committee to escort the Chief...

On Thursday of this past week, Governor Pillen delivered his State of the State address. The governor began his speech by thanking members of law enforcement, first responders and road crews who have...

This past week, senators commenced floor debate on possibly amending the rules adopted by the Legislature last year. Following a public hearing, the Rules Committee considered 34 rules proposals and...

Wednesday, Jan. 3 marked the first day of the 108th Legislature, Second Session. This session also marks the beginning of the second year that I am serving as the representative of the 40th Legislativ...

As the harvest finishes and we enter the upcoming holiday season, senators remain hard at work preparing for the looming legislative session in January. One such topic I am investigating is the future...

The Legislature adjourned shortly after Memorial Day, but my duties as your representative continue at a fast pace. In the interim between the adjournment of the previous session and the convening of...

The 108th Legislature, First Session, has adjourned sine die. This past year, lawmakers passed some important bills and failed to agree on other critical issues. Excluding A bills, of the 820 bills...

A legislative proposal to make various changes to Nebraska’s tax system received second-round approval this past week. LB 727 is a Revenue Committee omnibus package that contains provisions from nearl...

This week saw the Legislature continue to work late into the night to complete its business before adjourning in June. Although only a few bills have advanced thus far, a tremendous amount of work is...

The Legislature gave second-round approval to the budget bills this past week. This effort will allow the budget to be read on Final Reading next week, meeting the requirement to have it pass by the...

This week saw the Legislature debate the mainline state budget. The latest projections from the Economic Forecasting Board lowered revenue projections for the current fiscal year by $80 million to $6....

The Appropriations Committee advanced its finalized recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 biennial budget to the full Legislature. This proposal calls for an average increase of...

This week saw the Legislature pass the first four bills of the year. LB 376 would create a brand registration for the state Liquor Control Commission to accurately identify and track alcoholic...

Many major issues were debated this past week in the Legislature, with LB 626 and LB 574 being the two most highly-contested bills considered by senators. LB 626 would adopt the Nebraska Heartbeat...

This week saw the Legislature continue the discussion of the governor’s school finance and tax package. LB 243, as amended by the Revenue Committee, would make a series of changes aimed at easing t...

It is the last week of March and the Legislature has moved on to all-day debate. At this point in time in the prior 2021 90-day long session, the Legislature had passed 31 bills with 16 signed into...

The Legislature has completed Day 50 of this 90-day legislative session and is in the middle of debate on bills that have been designated as a priority by senators, committees and the speaker. This...

We are now past the one-third mark of this 90-day legislative session but still have a great deal of work to do. The various standing committees are busy holding public hearings on the 820 bills and...

This week saw the Legislature resume floor debate and consider several gubernatorial appointments and reappointments. The following people were confirmed this week: Jim Macy as director of the departm...