Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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The expansion of wind generation has been, and continues to be, a boon for rural development. Wind energy is one of the fastest-growing sources of electricity across the nation. Several Midwest states, including Nebraska, are leading the charge in its development, according to recent reports from the U.S. Department of Energy. In 2022, wind power accounted for 22% of new electricity capacity in the nation, representing a $12 billion investment. While it was considered a down year for installatio...
Governor Jim Pillen wants all state government employees at their desks in their assigned departments beginning next month. He said the pandemic-era remote is over, although both empirical and anecdotal evidence nationwide show a workplace change that was pandemic caused has become the new normal. Oh, and never mind the fact that some state agencies have remote and telework policies that have been in place for 15 years. And, of course, not every department has the physical space available for...
There has been no formal request, but speculation runs high that the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletic Department may ask for funds to help with the planned $450 million renovation of Memorial Stadium. Earlier this year the Legislature directed $30 million in state funds to Creighton University in Omaha, including millions to help the private school build new baseball and softball stadiums to accommodate needs for the annual College World Series. School officials said the baseball stadium...
It’s a case if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it. “And you’ll never get it back,” Summerland Superintendent Kyle Finke said while discussing the board’s decision to raise the district’s tax asking authority by up to 7%. The agenda action item is the result of the recent enactment of LB243, known as the School District Property Tax Limitation Act. For the upcoming fiscal year, the act limits growth at 3%. The act creates a default rule which caps the magnitude of a school district’s prop...
Agriculture, broadband connectivity and tax savings were key topics addressed during Gov. Jim Pillen's town hall meeting, June 28, in O'Neill. Pillen opened by telling the crowd of approximately 80 that his team strives to work for "all Nebraskans. "I can't stand politics. I can't stand politicians," the governor said. "The privilege I had in the first six months, it is unbelievable how many incredible public servants we have serving the state of Nebraska." One of Pillen's goals has been to...
The new governor says, jubilantly, the honeymoon cruise with the Nebraska Legislature was a huge success. Sorry governor, I'm seeing flags. Red flags. The cheering I hear is, "See you in court!" So, let's wait until the lawsuits are filed and the petition drives are all launched before we get too excited. In a "report card" from his office, Governor Jim Pillen said he was elected to office "with a clear mandate to make transformational change in the areas most important to our future: our kids;...
Seward County routinely seizes money from motorists on Interstate 80, keeps the cash – and never convicts the drivers of a crime. The county's sheriff's department and county attorney use this practice, known as civil asset forfeiture, so often that a third of all cases of this kind in Nebraska state courts come from Seward County, population 17,962, a Flatwater Free Press analysis of court records shows. The county has hauled in $7.5 million in forfeited cash in the past five years, some of i...
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 and 274 resolutions introduced this year, only 33 bills and one resolution actually received a final vote. However, the bills passed included many expansive Christmas tree packages, meaning the Legislature actually passed 291 bills in total, including A bills. This figure is comparable to the last...
With less than two weeks left in the session, the 108th Legislature is dragging an overburdened $12.975 billion budget to the finish line. Passing the budget is the only thing lawmakers are constitutionally required to accomplish. As introduced by the Appropriations Committee, the budget proposal would result in a projected ending balance of almost $715 million above the 3% required minimum reserve. This amount would be available to fund proposals pending before the Legislature this session....
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 $6.36 billion. The adjustment was based on anticipated decrease of $200 million in individual income, sales and use tax receipts, offset in part by projected increases of $120 million in corporate and miscellaneous tax receipts. Total projected revenue receipts for Fiscal Year 2023-24, however, were ra...
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 Act and restrict abortion to when a fetal heartbeat is first detected, thereby reducing the current 20-week abortion time window to about six weeks. This bill includes exceptions for rape, incest, sexual assault, medical emergencies (such as ectopic pregnancies and the removal of the remains of an...
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 the financial impact of increasing property tax valuations on Nebraska’s local property taxpayers. Among changes proposed, the measure would increase the minimum amount of relief granted under the Property Tax Credit Act to $388 million in tax year 2024 and $560 million by tax year 2029. This amo...
PROCEEDINGS VILLAGE OF EWING BOARD OF TRUSTEES The Ewing Village Board of Trustees convened in regular session on March 13, 2023, at 7 p.m., at the City Hall. Notice of the meeting was published March 8, 2023, in the "Summerland Advocate-Messenger." An agenda was kept current and on file at the village clerk’s office. Chairman James Ramold called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Notice was given to the posted location of the open meetings law. Board members present were Dustin Jorgensen, Dustin Wright, Kane Fry and James Ramold. Absent was K...
The consumption tax, or the transaction tax, or maybe it's the EPIC tax, has reared its ugly, shortsighted head again. Call it what you will, but elimination of the highly sustainable three-pronged tax system that has been on the books since 1976 and cost Governor Norbert Tieman his political future, is simply not a good idea. First introduced in the 1990s as the so-called brainchild of a McCook businessman, the "transaction tax" never got out of committee. A couple years ago it came back as...
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 22 substantive resolutions that were introduced in January. We have around four more weeks of hearings yet to go. Thus far, two of my bills have been presented before committees. The week began with Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Heavican delivering the State of the Judiciary address...
NORFOLK – One of the last bus drivers in Norfolk begins his day by taking Nancy Stehlik to work. Wrapped in a purple coat and earmuffs, Stehlik inches her walker onto the small bus’s wheelchair lift. Driver Neil Schlecht pushes a button and the lift whirs down, placing Stehlik outside of work. For the rest of the day, he takes seven people to clinics, church and the grocery store. He jokes with riders just as he’s long done as a driver for North Fork Area Transit, the bus service which, until recently, used 35 buses and vans to give as many...
This week saw the Legislature begin the first of two weeks of all-day committee hearings. Traditionally, senators would meet as a body in the morning and split into different committees in the afternoons. However, Speaker Arch wanted to try to front-load the session with hearings so there will be more time for debate later in the session. Therefore, senators will not have an opportunity for floor debate until the week of Feb. 13. Two of my bills are scheduled for a public hearing later this...
The Nebraska Department of Revenue, Property Assessment Division recently issued a reminder to property owners that the Nebraska Homestead Exemption Application, Form 458, must be filed with the county assessor after Feb. 1, and on or before June 30. The homestead exemption provides relief from property taxes by exempting all or a portion of the taxable value of the residence. The State of Nebraska reimburses counties and other governmental subdivisions for the property taxes lost due to homestead exemptions. In Nebraska, a homestead exemption...
A familiar face will chair the Antelope County Commissioners following a vote by the board, Jan. 10. Charlie Henery was elected to serve as the 2023 chairman, following a 4-0 vote. Keith Heithoff, of Elgin, was elected vice chairperson. Commissioners appointed Tom Nelson to serve as veterans service officer; Bryan Cornett, weed superintendent; Megan Wingate, zoning administrator; LaVern Schroeder, surveyor and Brian McDonald, highway superintendent. Committe appointments for the upcoming year...
For two years, processors and producers across rural Nebraska have fought hard to get a program to improve and expand Nebraska's meat processing capabilities approved and established. Their work, along with that of the Nebraska Legislature and staff at Nebraska Department of Agriculture, has paid off as grant applications for the Independent Processor Assistance Program are now being accepted. This development is not only good news to processors who've spent the last two years doing everything...
The public hearing process is now complete. A hearing was held on every bill that was introduced before the committee with jurisdiction over the subject matter. The Legislature began meeting in full-day sessions March 8. The following week, we will begin meeting into the evenings, in order to complete our work by April 20. On Monday of this past week, senators focused on consent calendar bills. Consent calendar is a process to allow noncontroversial bills, without priority status, to be debated...
The Legislature has passed the midway mark in this 60-day legislative session. The priority bill designation process is also complete. From this point on, generally only bills with priority status will be debated by the Legislature. Every senator gets to select one bill as their priority bill, every committee can pick two and the speaker is authorized to designate 25 bills as speaker priority bills. I selected LB 925 as my priority bill and it received first-round approval this past week on a...
The public hearing on LB 1023 was held Thursday, Feb. 10 before the Natural Resources Committee. It reflects the work of the Statewide Tourism and Recreational Water Access and Resource Sustainability Special Committee and proposes to adopt the Lake Development Act and the Water Recreation Enhancement Act. I was appointed to serve on the STAR WARS Committee, stemming from the passage of LB 406, last year. In addition to recommendations to construct a 3,600-acre lake in or near Sarpy County and...
Just more than 600 bills and constitutional amendments were introduced during the 10-day bill introductory period for this legislative session. Currently, various committees are in the process of holding public hearings on every bill introduced. Senators gave second-round approval to LR14 this past week. This resolution would serve as Nebraska’s application for a convention of the states, authorized under Article V of the U.S. Constitution, to limit the power of the federal government, impose f...
Last week, I received a survey from the Husker athletic office, asking questions about Memorial Stadium upgrades and potential structural changes that could be coming in the future. Questions ranged from seating arrangements, tiers and costs of various seating arrangements, food and beverage sales, legalized gaming, parking and tailgating. Another section asked about the development of a membership-only dinner club. Little did I realize, during the 15 minutes it took to complete the survey, I wo...
