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

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 next session, senators remain hard at work serving on special and select committees, studying subjects of local importance and addressing issues brought forward by constituents.

During the session, I was appointed to serve on the LR178 Small Modular Nuclear Reactors Select Committee with six of my colleagues, under the direction of Natural Resources Committee chairperson Sen. Bostelman. This committee will examine the feasibility of constructing and operating small modular nuclear reactors to generate electric power in Nebraska. I anticipate LR178 will be one of the most impactful studies to be completed this biennium. As a member of the committee, I have had multiple meetings with Nebraska Public Power District and other public electric utilities during the interim regarding Nebraska's electricity needs.

I also continue to serve on the Statewide Tourism and Recreational Water Access and Resource Sustainability Committee, which was created last session. Earlier in June, I attended an open house hosted be the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission where plans for proposed improvements at Weigand Marina were unveiled. Later that month, I also met with officials with the NGPC and Knox County to get a progress report of the improvements at Lewis and Clark SRA and Niobrara State Park. Thus far, it appears the projects are on track and expected to break ground later this year or early next year.

Additionally, it was brought to my attention by several constituents that the 6th Judicial District was at risk of losing a judgeship with the retirement of Judge Luebe, who covered Cedar, Dixon and Thurston counties. When a judgeship is vacated, the Nebraska Judicial Resources Commission is tasked with determining whether there are too many judges staffed in areas that no longer need them. The Nebraska Administrative Office of the Courts and Probation had calculations which suggested the 6th Judicial District had excessive judges relative to caseload, meaning several alternatives were potentially on the table, including delaying the vote to fill the judgeship, redistricting judicial districts or implementing Zoom court proceedings. I wrote a letter of support in favor of declaring a judicial vacancy in the 6th Judicial District and testified in Lincoln before the Judicial Resources Commission at their scheduled meeting on June 16. I am pleased the Judicial Resources Commission declared a vacancy.e who submitted a letter or testified at the hearing to ensure there are sufficient judicial resources in northeast Nebraska.

I am also in contact with our Congressional delegation on federal issues affecting District 40. I worked with Senator Albrecht and other senators to draft a letter asking our delegation to sign on to federal legislation which would designate U.S. Highway 20 as the National Medal of Honor Highway, and I continue to visit with our delegation regarding efforts to get the Sage brothers and the other sailors of the USS Frank E. Evans on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. I also joined state senators in objecting to a federal Bureau of Land Management proposal to impose a moratorium or prohibition on coal mining on federal lands in Wyoming. Nebraska utilizes coal mined on such lands leased and operated in Wyoming for a significant part of Nebraska's electricity generation.

A quick list of some of the other meetings and activities I have been able to attend so far includes: meetings/calls with constituents, meetings on police training and rural EMS services, visiting with the governor during his stop in O'Neill, Neligh 150th celebration, carbon pipeline open house, O'Neill Chamber coffee, Antelope/Cedar/Dixon county fairs, Midwest Assistance Program, affordable housing project groundbreaking in Ewing, constitutional carry town hall in Emerson, Governor's Ag and Economic Development Summit in Kearney, and this week touring the Cedar County Courthouse in Hartington with members of the Nebraska Supreme Court.

Finally, the third phase of the State Capitol HVAC project is complete. All but six senators have moved down to their permanent offices on the first and second floors. My office has moved down from the 11th Floor to Room 1015 on the first floor of the northwest quadrant. Phase four of the project is now ongoing, meaning the northeast quadrant will be closed for construction through November 2024.

Contact me at any time; I always appreciate hearing from you. Call my Capitol office telephone number at 402-471-2801 or send email to [email protected]. My mailing address is: Senator Barry DeKay, District #40, P.O. Box 94604, State Capitol, Lincoln, NE 68509.