(253) stories found containing 'legislature'
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DeKay reflects on Legislative session
On April 18, the Legislature completed its work for this 60-day legislative session. Although the last day is typically reserved for veto overrides and closing remarks, the Legislature also took...
Special session talk abounds at the capitol
In 2021, the last special session of the Nebraska Legislature lasted 13 days and cost the state $105,436. Do the math, that's $8,076.92 per day. Then ask yourself, is a winner-take-all election...
Telecommunications, broadband top PSC workload
It has been a very busy and productive past several months at the Nebraska Public Service Commission. As spring arrives, I wanted to share another quarterly update on the work over the past three...
LB1402 draws debate, moves forward
Although the Legislature was only in session for three days this week, senators were productive in moving legislation to Final Reading. This year, there was not enough time to take up every bill that...
Six words seem to have a Legislative curse
"I believe I have the votes." Those six words have become the curse of the Nebraska Legislature. The buzzkill. The harbinger of failure. Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha learned that on Day 56 of the...
Legislature searches for property tax relief
The beginning of April brings us closer to the end of this year’s legislative session. There are many bills still left to debate and little time to consider all of the priority bills brought f...
Crunch time in Lincoln, it has even been thus
It's easy to understand but hard to remember that the one task of the Nebraska Legislature is to pass a balanced budget during the 90-day session and to make adjustments to and pass that budget again...
New Nebraska law will expand public records access for Nebraskans
Nebraska residents should have easier access to public records under a bill that, in effect, overrules a recent Nebraska Supreme Court decision allowing the state to charge high amounts for retrieving public records. Gov. Jim Pillen signed...
Nebraska Unicameral makes headlines for the wrong reason, again
"If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all." – Thumper "The tongue of the wise makes knowledge attractive, but the mouth of fools blurts out foolishness." Proverbs 15:2 CSB Nebraska's...
Budget, taxes dominate legislature last week
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,...
Legislature entering final three weeks
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...
How much power is too much
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely is a proverbial saying reportedly coined by the English nobleman Lord Acton in 1857. How much power should be given to the executive branch of...
Forecasting board adjusts outlook
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...
-Isms: Views on life in rural America
Typically, at the end of the legal notices that run in the paper, I add the phrase, "The public has the right to know." You do. The premise is etched into our statehouse's north wall, "The Salvation...
Medical care funding discussed in session
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...
Slama bowing out, Chambers launches comeback
There are a lot of ins and outs in party politics during an election year. Who's in the race and who's out? All eyes have been on the Legislature where the big surprise came from Republican Julie...
Legislature holds public hearings on bills
This week saw the Legislature in session for only three days to conclude public hearings on more than 600 bills and resolutions introduced this year. It is also at this point in the legislative...
Happy 157th birthday Nebraska, My how you've grown
Three of the four kids in my family were born on the same day in December over a span of 14 years. The "other" one was born on March 1. To appease her, my older sister and brother and I told the...
Kamler shares update on service commission
It has been just over one year since I was sworn in as the public service commissioner for the 31 counties of District 4. I wanted to share another quarterly update on the work over the past three...
Legislature hits halfway point, looks at priority bills
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...
Handing out property tax cuts? I'll take one
With the short session of the Nebraska Legislature slightly more than half over, repeat after me: When it comes to taxation, it's all about whose ox is getting gored. The governor wants a 40%...
In the mailbag
Ed. Note: Sen. Dorn’s letter to the editor is in regards to an editorial by J.L. Schmidt, statehouse correspondent for the Nebraska Press Association. A recent editorial in this publication showed no understanding of the constraints on city g...
Staying the course on broadband
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...
Wait, what? Governor reverses stand on aid for kids
Wait, what? Governor Jim Pillen has reversed his opposition to a federal summer grocery program that would aid around 150,000 children of low-income families. Pillen succumbed to a lot of outside...
Foreign-owned land part of priority bill
This week, I presented my priority bill for this year before members of the Agriculture Committee: LB1301. This bill would adopt the Foreign-owned Real Estate National Security Act and bring our...
