Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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After a three-month break, the Legislature convened Wednesday, Jan. 5, to begin the 107th legislative session, second session. Senators were called into special session in September to complete the redistricting process, based on new census data. Legislative District #40 no longer contains Boyd or Rock counties. Rock and Boyd counties are now part of Legislative District #43, represented by Sen. Tom Brewer. Legislative District #40 also lost the southern portion of Dixon County, which will be...
Senator Tom Briese, of Albion, proposed constitutional amendment LR 268CA, on Thursday. The proposal would allow for the recall of state senators and governors. "We are a government of the people and our laws must reflect that. Currently, Nebraskans can recall local government officials. But currently, there is no way for voters in Nebraska to remove a state senator or governor from office if they misbehave, disregard the will of the people or promote harmful government policies. I think we...
DOUGLAS KRISTENSEN Chancellor University of Nebraska Kearney DR. JEFFREY GOLD Chancellor University of Nebraska Medical Center Our state’s rural areas have much to be proud of: low crime rate, outstanding community pride and neighbors willing to lend a hand are just a few. But it’s no secret that collectively, Nebraskans have watched our rural populations decline over the decades. With those decreases, we lose resources, services and schools, leaving communities disadvantaged in their fight for sustainability. Those of us who are also working h...
When my writing career started more than 30 years ago, I spent months establishing a freelance career. After long days of teaching and coaching, I stayed up late at night, crafting query letters and sending them via snail mail, hoping to get a bite from local publications ... or a big break with a national news outlet. It seems amazing, considering it was in the dark ages - er, I mean pre-internet times. It was hard work, but I was determined to form partnerships with trusted publications and...
With an allotment of 2021 state aid, public libraries across the state are deciding how to utilize these additional funds. “State aid is allocated to accredited libraries (with one exception – dollars for data), to help them provide enhanced services to their community,” said Sam Shaw, planning and data services coordinator for the Nebraska Library Commission. “It’s tied to the accreditation process so libraries have a financial incentive to become accredited.” In 2021, of the 177 libraries that received aid, 70 saw an increase in aid. Thirty...
Merton L. "Cap" Dierks spent years serving as an advocate for agriculture and rural Nebraska issues, including education, wind energy development and the right to life. The longtime Ewing resident and former Nebraska legislator, died Friday, Oct. 22, from complications following a stroke, at Arbor Care Center, in O'Neill. Dierks was 89. His love of rural Nebraska began at birth, at his family's ranch, comprising six sections near Goose Lake, in southeastern Holt County. The ranch included a sod...
The Legislature successfully concluded the special session called to enact legislation pertaining to redistricting on Thursday, Sept. 30. Based on the 2020 census data, new boundary lines were drawn for Congress, the Legislature, the Supreme Court, the Public Service Commission, the State Board of Education and the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. After a contentious start, senators agreed to compromise on redistricting maps for Congress and the Legislature. All six bills were given...
The special session of the Nebraska Legislature began Monday, Sept. 13, for the sole purpose of redistricting, along with various confirmations of gubernatorial appointments. The nine-member redistricting committee, of which I am a member, has been hard at work for several weeks prior to the session. The redistricting committee was tasked with drawing up several district maps, including, US Congress, Nebraska Legislature, State Supreme Court, Public Service Commission, University of Nebraska Boa...
Senators approved an increase in state spending on initiatives such as broadband, foster care reimbursement rates, pay for people who provide services under Medicaid and rail industrial parks during Nebraska’s 107th legislative session, which adjourned on May 27. Senators also focused on cutting taxes and designated a portion of the state’s FY 2021- 2022 $4.8 billion budget toward tax relief, according to the 2021 general fund budget summary. Sen. Dan Hughes of Venango said this session was different because there was more money to work wit...
Briese and Timothy Gragert, who represent Antelope and Holt counties, respectively, in the state legislature, joined 28 other senators, Thursday, urging the Nebraska Department of Education to reject proposed health standards. Statehouse officials urged local school boards to adopt a resolution in opposition to the proposed standards. According to the letter, “Nebraskans have spoken loud and clear - they do not want their children subjected to the health education standards proposed by the N...
I would consider the recently completed legislative session successful for Nebraska taxpayers. Among other items, we passed, and the governor signed into law, bills to provide a sales tax exemption on municipal water, tax relief for military retirement recipients, tax relief for social security recipients and income tax relief for corporate taxpayers. On the property tax front, we provided a valuation reduction for agland in the context of school bond repayment, we added additional dollars to...
JONATHAN HLADIK Policy director Center for Rural Affairs With a nearly-unanimous vote last month, the Nebraska Legislature retained and improved one of the only incentives available to businesses of five or fewer employees. After a year when many small businesses shuttered and others were forced to pause plans for future growth, the approval of Legislative Bill 366 also sends an important message to microentrepreneurs-the services they provide are a worthy and important part of our state's...
The speaker of the Legislature has announced that senators will complete their work a few days early, adjourning sine die on May 27 rather than June 10. This is partially due to the many late nights that were worked in order to complete our business and knowing we will be meeting again in a couple months. Every 10 years, the Legislature must complete the redistricting process to reflect population changes after the U.S. Census is complete. Due to the pandemic, states didn’t get the census d...
Two major pieces of legislation that would have provided property tax relief were defeated this past week. Generally, I am supportive of proposals that attempt to lower property taxes. LR 11, introduced by Bayard Senator Steve Erdman, is a constitutional amendment proposing to replace all taxation with a consumption tax on the purchase of services and new goods. Nebraska residents would no longer pay property taxes, income taxes, sales and use taxes, inheritance taxes, or estate taxes. LR 11...
The Legislature continues to work through the stack of priority bills, sometimes working into the evening and adjourning between 8 and 10 p.m. Since my last column, we’ve debated a couple of bills related to property tax relief. The first, Senator Wayne’s LB 24, provides a sales tax exemption for municipal water bills. I had hoped that this would be packaged with my LB 2, which provides a reduction in agland valuations for school bonds approved after the effective date of the act. One would pro...
Governor Ricketts signed the budget bills this past week with no line-item vetoes. He praised the Legislature for passing a budget that limited spending growth and placed an emphasis on increased funding for property tax relief measures. The Legislature gave first-round approval to LB 64, which addresses the taxation of social security benefits. LB 64 was introduced by Omaha Senator Brett Lindstrom and prioritized by Seward Senator Mark Kolterman. Only 13 states tax social security benefits....
Nebraska will retain three congressional seats, based on official 2020 U.S. Census data released Monday for purposes of congressional apportionment. The state’s population grew by 7.4%, with 1,961,504 people residing in the Cornhusker State. That number is up from 1,826,341 from the 2010 census. Landing as the 37th largest state, Nebraska’s growth rate was on track with national trends. The U.S. Census Bureau announced the 2020 Census shows resident population of the United States on April 1,...
The Legislature passed the budget bills this past week. Governor Ricketts has five days (not counting Sunday) to decide whether to sign the legislation. The governor has the authority to line-item veto specific items on budget bills, without vetoing the entire bill. Once the budget bills have been passed, other legislation that appropriates General Funds or results in the reduction of revenue to the General Fund, and all other tax expenditure bills, can be read on final reading. LB 2,...
The Legislature debated several of my bills last week. On Tuesday afternoon, we debated my amendment to my LB 561, a bill to further define and implement the voter-approved initiative on casino gaming at racetracks. As 70% of the tax revenue derived from these casinos is dedicated to property tax relief, it is important to get this done right. Gambling is a divisive issue in our Legislature and the debate reflected that. After the question was divided on the issue of electronic keno, we spent a...
Gov. Pete Ricketts signed a two-year state budget promoting tax relief and controlling state spending, into law, Monday. Budget growth was limited to 1.7% and set at $9.7 billion for the two-year period ending June 30, 2023. The newly-signed budget leaves $206 million available, although that total could change after April 29, when revenue forecasts will be updated. Ricketts said, "The budget I have signed controls state spending and significantly increases direct property tax relief for the peo...
SEN. TIM GRAGERT The Legislature gave the budget bills second-round approval this past week, making only minor adjustments. After the budget is passed, the speaker plans to schedule taxation and spending measures. The session is more than two-thirds complete, but we still have many significant issues to discuss. As introduced, LB 406 focused on flood-control infrastructure projects along the lower Platte River. Senator Mike McDonnell, the primary sponsor of LB 406, has offered an amendment to...
NATHAN BEACOM Senior policy associate Center for Rural Affairs Legislative Bill 108, a bill to fix a flaw known as the "cliff effect" in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, received first round approval in the Nebraska Legislature last week. Right now, if a family makes more than 130% of the federal poverty level, they lose their assistance. Most households, however, won't make enough at that level to replace the benefits they lose, which can lead people to turn down career advances in order to keep their benefits. This is...
BROOKE WRAGE Nebraska News Service A school safety reporting system was approved in the Nebraska Legislature on April 6, in the second round after a long debate. Sen. Matt Williams of Gothenburg said he introduced LB 322 to reduce violent incidents in all K-12 schools in Nebraska by having a trained crisis team on staff 24/7. The reporting line, Safe2HelpNE, would allow students, school staff, parents and community members to anonymously share information about concerning behavior by phone,...
The Appropriations Committee advanced their finalized recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2021-22 and 2022-23 biennial budget to the full Legislature. First-round debate took place this past week and all bills were advanced unanimously except LB383, dealing with capital construction. Under the $9.7 billion biennial budget proposal, the two-year average estimated revenue growth is 3.0%, whereas the two-year average growth in spending is just 1.6%. The committee was able to control the growth of spending due to a higher federal match for...
MADLEINE GRANT Nebraska News Service A bill that would provide financial aid for low-income students advanced to the next round of debate in the Nebraska Legislature on March 24. Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont introduced LB529, which would set the distribution of lottery dollars for education programs from 2021-2022 through 2025-2026. Every five years, the Nebraska Legislature’s Education Committee reevaluates the use of lottery funds and decides which education programs will receive funding. Since a previous version of the bill (LB920) failed t...
