We have been hearing, and having, a lot of discussions about property taxes over the past several years. Nebraska taxes real estate and improvements on those properties at a higher rate than our neighboring states. There are several reasons why that is the case, but I would like to examine why we tax real estate in the first place...

Things in Lincoln have slowed down considerably since the end of session last month. This week I would like to update you on a major renovation to your state capitol. Over the next eight or more years, the capitol will be under construction. We will be updating the old heating and cooling system with a new HVAC unit, as well as, repairing and fixing the windows. ...

On April 11th my priority bill, LB 1009, was passed by the Legislature. This bill authorizes the Nebraska Department of Transportation to increase highway speed limits. The speed limit can be increased by a maximum of 5 mph on two-lane highways, four-lane divided highways that are not part of the state highway system, expressways and freeways that are a part of the state highway system, and on portions of highways in Douglas, Lancaster and Dakota counties...

The legislature has adjourned Sine Die for the 105th Nebraska Legislature Second Session as of April 18th. This was the final year of my first term as a state senator. I enjoyed my first four years in the legislature serving the people of the 44th district. ...

As you all know the legislature has adjourned for the year. I am as disappointed as you, that we were unable to provide any tax relief. I have always stated that property taxes, especially agricultural and real estate taxes are way out of line. I was one of the thirteen senators who signed a letter to the secretary of state asking for a special session to deal with all property taxes. ...

This is the last week for this year’s legislative session as we will adjourn Sine Die on April 18th. My colleagues and I have worked hard these past few months on trying pass legislation that helps Nebraskans all across the state. I appreciate all the words of support you have given me during this session. ...

Over the past few weeks, the budget has been debated several times. I hope by the time you read this we have been able to pass all the budget bills through final reading and have them on the governor's desk. The budget can be a confusing topic to which a lot of questions can arise. One of the budget bills, LB 944, has been the focal point of a lot of controversy, debate and deadlock. This week I would like to explain some of the issues with this year’s budget...

Things are moving fast in the Legislature and we’re in the home stretch. With less than 10 days left this session, we have a lot to get done. Last week one of the Natural Resource Committee’s priority bills was heard on General File. LB 1008 is a “Christmas tree bill,” which means the committee has rolled multiple bills together into one. ...

Day forty-four was last Thursday and with only 16 working days left in this year’s short session there is still plenty to be discussed. Last week, we started late nights, debated the budget bills, and passed another one of my bills on to select file. I would also like to clear up some confusion with the amendment I added to LB 822...

The Legislature last week kept itself busy and productive. All the bills have had their hearings and early in the week the legislature began full day floor debates on Wednesday. The Natural Resources Committee will hold one more hearing before the end of session...

We are over halfway finished with the 2018 legislative session. Last Tuesday was the last day for senators to pick which bill they want to designate as their priority bill. I made Senator Murante of Gretna’s LB 1009 my priority bill. Last week my bill LB 761 was heard in the Natural Resources committee and early this week LB 759 was heard in Revenue. I would like to update everyone on each of these bills, and go into more depth on my priority bill, LB 1009...

Last week the Legislature moved two of my bills onto final reading. Both LB 758 and 275 were moved to the final stages of the process. If these bills receive twenty-five yes votes from my colleagues they will be sent to Governor Ricketts for his signature. Last week, the Executive Committee which I am a member of, held a hearing on a hot topic, LR 277. I would like to give an explanation of the resolution, as well as, an update on LB 1008, a bill heard in the Natural Resources Committee...

This past week N-CORPE was in the spotlight again. Senator Groene of North Platte introduced two bills that were heard in the Natural Resources Committee. LB 1123 and 1124 both deal with the N-CORPE project in Lincoln County but could also affect the Rock Creek Project in Dundy County. During the hearing, Senator Groene asked the committee to not take any action on LB 1124 because provisions in LB 758 address the concerns that led to LB 1124...

Last week in the Legislature, the Natural Resources Committee and myself had another busy schedule. We were successful in getting the committee priority bill, LB 758, advanced to Select File. After the full six hours of debate, the bill was advanced by a 47-0 vote. ...

Last Thursday was the final day to introduce bills for this legislative session. There were still plenty of bills being brought to the legislature up until the last day. We ended up with an additional 469 new bills being introduced, making the total 1136 for the 105th legislative session. ...

This week the Unicameral agenda is starting to take its final shape. With today being the last day to introduce bills, we will have an idea of which bills the members of the legislature feel need to be addressed this session. This week two of my bills, LB 760, and LB 819, will be heard in different committees. The following is just a short explanation of each of these bills, as well as, an amendment I will be introducing to LB 758...

This year’s Legislative Session is now a week underway. As of last week, I have introduced ten new bills and a legislative resolution. Some of these bills will have a direct impact on the people of the 44th district. A couple of the important bills are LB 758, and LB 761. The Legislative Resolution, LR 266, will also directly impact Southwestern Nebraska...

The second session of the 105th Legislature started on Wednesday, Jan. 3 and will finish with our 60 working day on April 18. This was my fourth opening day and I am always reminded of a statement by a senior senator on my first opening day. “This is one of only two days each session we all like each other.” Of course, the other day is closing day. ...

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. A topic of debate recently has been Legislative Resolution 6. LR 6 will again be before the legislature this session. The resolution calls for Congress to hold a Convention of the States to propose amendments to the U.S. ...

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. As Christmas quickly approaches and the year comes to an end, there is still plenty to get done before the session starts. Over this past week, I have traveled across the state to McCook, Central City and Lincoln attending LR 176 hearings held by the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee. LR 176 is a study of rural broadband...

A couple of weeks ago, the members of the Natural Resources Committee were invited on a tour through central and southwest Nebraska. No senator on the committee lives west of Grand Island, except for me. I thought it would be beneficial for committee members to see firsthand some of the infrastructure, and visit with some of the people affected by the bills we hear in the Natural Resources Committee...

In my last article I discussed one proposal that is being championed as property tax relief for all property tax payers in Nebraska. That plan would rebate 50% of your property taxes paid to support your local K/12 school district. The price tag is approximately one billion dollars. ...

I have spent the entire summer traveling around the district going to county fairs and community celebrations, by far the most talked about issue is property taxes. With the next legislative session set to begin in January, I have no doubt this issue will be front and center on the minds of most of my colleagues in the legislature. I have visited with many of my fellow Senators and a majority of them are hearing the same thing. We need property tax relief!...

On Friday, September 22, the Natural Resources Committee heard LR 125, which is an interim study to examine public power in Nebraska. I introduced this study resolution as a follow-up to the bills that were introduced during this year’s session relating to public power and the electricity market. While the committee indefinitely postponed those bills, the committee assured the bills’ introducers that we would continue to look at the issues behind those bills...

I would like to welcome Grant Latimer to the District 44 office. Grant will be serving as my Administrative Assistant. He is completing his degree at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in Advertising and Public Relations with graduation in December. Grant is replacing Gera Carstenson who will be continuing her career in Florida. My staff and myself are excited to have Grant on board, and look forward to what he will bring to our office...

If you know of a hardworking young person who will be in college in the Lincoln area during the spring 2018 semester and who has an interest in government, policy, politics, or administration, the legislature is currently selecting for Legislative Page Positions. Pages must be high school graduates currently enrolled in a Nebraska college or trade school with a GPA of 2.5 or higher, and able to work 20 hours a week from January through May 2018...

Since my last article, I have received a few more questions about the R-Line and wanted to give some additional facts about the project, as well as further explain my position. There are two groups in the Sandhills, one is opposing wind development and the other is opposing the R-Line, both are small but enthusiastic...

I have heard from several people in the sandhills region who are concerned about the R-Project. Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) needs to construct a 345,000-volt transmission line from NPPD’s Gerald Gentleman Station near Sutherland to a new substation to be sited adjacent to NPPD’s existing substation east of Thedford...

By the time you are reading this the One Hundred Fifth Legislative Session will have concluded sini die. We completed our work early this year and adjourned on the eighty-sixth day. Most of the last few days of the session were spent trying to finish up a few pieces of legislation that had taken a little more time to complete. ...

Last week the legislature debated the 2017-2019 state budget bills and gave the final approval on May 9. LB 331 was one of the last three components of the state’s two-year budget, which would create/make funds transfer and lower the minimum cash reserve requirements from 3 to 2.5 percent for the current biennium. ...

On May 2, we debated LB 461 which was the Governor’s and Revenue Committee’s comprehensive tax plan. After six hours of debate it fell short of the needed votes to pass. In its original form I did not support LB 461 but after several hours of negotiating with multiple senators we came up with an amendment that would have provided significant property tax relief, as well as, income tax relief that would have been triggered based on revenue growth of the State of Nebraska in future years. ...

April 25 the Legislature kicked off debate on the state’s $8.9 billion budget package. The state’s budget is structured on a two-year basis, with the budget passed during legislative sessions held in odd-numbered years. The committee’s budget package contains seven bills, four of those had already been advanced to select file as of last week. ...

We are two-thirds of the way through the legislative session and Sen. Chambers has officially been seated as the senator from District 11. Last Thursday, the Legislature accepted the recommendation provided by the special committee appointed to review the residency challenge. ...

LB 72 is designed to enhance access to capital markets for governmental entities by providing that general obligation bonds, notes, and other financing obligations of governmental entities have a statutory lien on bond pledged revenue sources. More simply put, this would create a statutory lien on government issued bonds to ensure that bondholders are paid first if the issuing government entity goes bankrupt...

The appropriations committee is wrapping up their preliminary budget for the 2017-19 fiscal years, they will give the legislature the final budget on Day 69 which is April 21st. They have a very difficult task. Nebraska’s economy is still growing but only at a 1 percent increase. ...

We have started all-day debate and even though this session got off to a slow start we’re starting to get a lot of bills moving. This past week my bill LB 182 was debated on the floor of the Legislature. This bill would clarify the qualifications for a program that provides financial assistance to cities and rural water districts to build safe drinking water projects. ...

Last week, I was grateful to have the 44th Legislative District represented by the Chaplain of the day, Preacher Wayne Vogel from McCook. I am honored to have members of the clergy be willing to make the trip all the way to Lincoln to give the opening prayer before the start of the legislative day. ...

On March 2, I will introduce LB 537 in front of the Health and Human Services Committee. LB 537 would allow the Department of Health and Human Services to screen any applicant for and recipient of cash assistance benefits if they have reasonable suspicion that a person is using illegal drugs...

Last week Sen. Groene of North Platte introduced LB 218 and LB 488 in the Natural Resources Committee. LB 218 would change the way N-CORPE, the "Nebraska Cooperative Republican Platte Enhancement," project operates going forward. It would separate the groundwater rights from the surface rights and require those acres to be sold in order to pay down the bond debts. ...

As you would expect activity is picking up in the Legislature. This past week we passed LB 22 from the first round of debate, which is General File on to the second round which is Select File. Hopefully by the time you are reading this we will have passed it from Select File on to Final Reading. LB 22 is the budget bill that we need to pass in order to close the revenue short fall that must be met between now and June 30th, 2017...

Sen. Bill Kintner of Papillion held a morning press conference on Jan. 25 to announce that he has resigned from the Legislature. He specified that he had handed in his letter of resignation to Speaker Jim Scheer stating that his resignation would be effective at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 30. This has been a pressing issue in the Legislature this session and I am glad that we are now able to put this issue behind us. I and many others had been encouraging Kintner to resign since this last summer...

Wednesday, Jan. 18 was the last day to introduce legislation. There were 667 bills and eighteen Constitutional Amendment's introduced this year. I introduced 11 bills on various topics related to District 44. The entire list of introduced bills are on the Legislature's website (www.nebraskalegislature.gov). ...

Things are beginning to pick up here in the legislature. There has been a lot of discussion regarding changes to the rules, appointment of senators to special committees, and additional bill introductions. As of last Friday, 430 bills and three legislative resolutions have been introduced by senators. I am anticipating many additional bills will be introduced during the last two days of bill introduction. Committee hearings will begin next week...

By the time you read this, the Legislature will have begun its One Hundred and Fifth Session. In the first few days, committee chairs will be elected, rules will be proposed and adopted, and bills will begin being introduced. Senators will have until the tenth day, which this year is January 18th, to introduce new bills. ...

In the November election, along with voting for candidates, the people of Nebraska voted with a substantial majority- to support the return of the death penalty to our legal system. Since that time, the Governor's office, Attorney General, and the Department of Corrections have started in motion some steps to streamline the process. ...

Since the election, we have been looking at the internal workings of the Legislature, and there are important discussions regarding committee chairmanships and committee assignments taking place. The Legislature is divided into three caucuses, each consisting of 16 or 17 senators and roughly following the geographic lines of the state's congressional districts, and it is within the caucus that the makeup of committees are determined...

Issues relating to Nebraska's correctional systems are showing up in the news more frequently this year than ever before. Whether it is assaults on guards, riots, assaults on other inmates, or another problem, it can almost all be traced back to overcrowding and understaffing...

Two weeks ago, the Legislative Council met in Omaha. Many people have not heard of this body of the Nebraska Legislature, but it serves an important function. The Legislative Council consists of all members of the Legislature, and serves as an investigative body during the interim. ...

As you read this, the election is over. Hopefully, the dust has settled, although I doubt the smoke has cleared. We now have an idea of what the future may hold for our government, be it at the national or state level. Whether your candidate won or lost, it won't be as good as you hoped nor as bad as you feared. ...

Election Day in Nebraska is less than a week away. For those of you who will be voting in person on Tuesday, you will be deciding on Referendum Number 426: whether or not to repeal LB 268, which abolished the death penalty in Nebraska. The wording on the ballot can be confusing, so I would like to clarify that voting to repeal will undo what the Legislature did, and return the death penalty to Nebraska. ...

Property taxes are high on the mind of everyone in the state of Nebraska right now, especially our agricultural producers. With the collapse in commodities markets, many agricultural producers are concerned about their viability to stay in business next year. ...

I am sure many of you have heard that the Executive Board sent a letter to Senator Kintner asking him to resign, and giving him a deadline to do so. Of course that deadline passed, and Senator Kintner has responded with a letter which said that he will not resign. ...

The thing that has captured the most attention in Lincoln lately is the "Kintner Issue." As I am sure most of you are aware Senator Kintner has been fined $1000 by the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission for using his state-owned laptop computer to have cybersex with a woman he friended on Facebook. ...

Recently, a number of news outlets reported that over $15.6 million was spent in the state of Nebraska on lobbying in 2015. Many sources responsibly explained how that money was spent, and detailed the compensation of lobbyists. However, some comments could be construed to imply that this figure represents money that in some way is going into the pockets of senators. ...

This is the time of year in which school boards, cities, and counties are working on their budgets. They all have public hearings, which you can attend and provide input on where money is being spent, and voice your concerns. As a former school board member myself, I can assure you that the input of taxpayers and voters carries great weight in the budget-making process. ...

This is the time of year in which school boards, cities, and counties are working on their budgets. They all have public hearings, which you can attend and provide input on where money is being spent, and voice your concerns. As a former school board member myself, I can assure you that the input of taxpayers and voters carries great weight in the budget-making process. ...

The Legislature will not convene again until January, but that doesn't mean that work for the people of Nebraska is not being done. One hundred and eleven interim studies were introduced on a wide variety of issues. Some of these studies will help the Legislature to understand how to best address topics by understanding the issue in depth, and learning how other states have succeeded or failed in similar endeavors. ...

The offices of every senator in the State Capitol received more letters, emails, and phone calls about LB 947 than on almost any other bill this session. After it was vetoed by Governor Ricketts on the 15th, it was debated once more on the legislative floor on April 20th. The bill was advanced on a vote of 31 to 13 with five not voting. I was "present, not voting" on the override of the governor's veto...

Wednesday saved for vetoes Last week was the beginning of the end of the 104th session of the Nebraska Legislature. Tuesday and Wednesday were the 58th and 59th days of this 60 day session, and Wednesday the 20th is the 60th day -- reserved for voting on veto overrides after the office of the governor is given the required 5 days, excluding Sundays. Several bills had a lot of attention on them in that short week...

One of the most hotly-debated bills of the past week was LB 947. LB 947 would allow those who were brought to this country illegally as children to obtain certifications, and to work to earn money for themselves. Many have framed this bill as "amnesty" or as special treatment for illegal immigrants. ...

After several weeks, the legislature arrived this past week on the topic which many have worried about and looked forward to: property tax relief. Specifically, we spent many hours debating LB 958 and LB 959, the bills introduced at the request of the Governor. ...

I spoke on the floor against a bill, LB 894, which would have required every juvenile charged with a crime in the state of Nebraska to have an attorney appointed to him or her immediately. It is extremely important that each and every person who engages with the legal system has the representation he or she desires. ...

Last week, things at the Unicameral shifted gears somewhat. Almost all of the committees finished up their hearings for the session, and we transitioned to all-day debate on bills on the legislative floor. Despite now devoting more time to bills on the floor, progress wasn't what it could have been, due to extended debate on several bills -- filibusters. We also began work on the budget last week, with several issues now being discussed and worked on...

A bill which took up a large amount of time this week was LB 745, which would increase available funds for Nebraska's Game and Parks Department, by allowing the department to charge more for some types of permits. Nebraska long ago decided on responsible fiscal policy toward our natural resources by working to ensure that much of the operations of Game and Parks would be funded by fees collected by the department...

Several important and noteworthy bills were advanced or stopped this past week. I am glad that LB 710, the bill which I introduced to protect younger Nebraskans from hazing, was advanced unanimously by the Legislature from General to Select File. LR 378 CA, a resolution by Sen. John Kuehn of Heartwell, would place a question on this November's ballot to add an amendment to the Nebraska state constitution recognizing and protecting our right to farm...

It was another busy week in Lincoln. A couple of high-profile bills were front and center last week. LB 188, introduced by Senator Watermeier, would have clarified some language in Nebraska law relating to "innocent third parties" injured or killed as a result of police action, specifically in regard to car chases. ...

This session, several bills have been introduced by different senators to address Tax Increment Financing --or TIF-- including a proposed constitutional amendment introduced by me: LR 394 CA. The Nebraska Department of Economic Development describes TIF as "a method of financing the public costs associated with a private development project ... ...

Last week I introduced, to the Judiciary Committee, a central piece of legislation for 2016 and my work for District 44. LB 710, as you may remember from my column a few weeks ago, would expand the criminal repercussions for hazing to beyond post-secondary students...

During my time campaigning, and now serving in the Legislature, one of the concerns I heard most often was how property taxes have increased dramatically. Your concerns haven't fallen on deaf ears, and there have been several bills introduced this year to ease the property tax burden. ...

The time between when the legislature adjourns for the year and when we start again in January is called the interim. During this time, legislative committees will hold hearings on interim study resolutions. The resolutions authorize a committee to study an issue following the adjournment of a legislative session. The chairperson may hold some of the hearings outside of the Capitol, if it has a greater effect on a particular part of the state...

The Nebraska Legislature has entered the final stretch of the session. We still have quite a few bills that we would like to get through. The budget passed the second round of debate. There will be one more round of debate and then it will go to the Governor...

The preliminary budget created by the Legislature's Appropriations Committee will be released to the legislature April 28 and it looks like they will recommend a growth in spending of 3.1%. The total budget will be in the $8.6 billion dollar range. The main problem the legislature will face is the Nebraska Forecasting Advisory Board, which predicts our future tax revenues, isn't set to meet until April 30. ...

We are a quarter of the way through the 104th Legislature First Session. We have 23 bills on General File (1st round of debate), 28 on Select File (2nd round of debate) and 9 are on Final Reading (3rd round of debate). So we are starting to make some good progress. I'm happy to announce that last week my bill LB 269 was heard on General File and it advanced on a 36-0 vote...

One of the committees that I sit on is the General Affairs Committee. On January 26th, we heard 8 bills in Committee, they were: LB 17 -- Would increase the annual transfer from the Charitable Gaming Operations Fund to the Gamblers Assistance Fund from $50,000 to $250, 000. The introducer of the bill, asked the General Affairs Committee to kill his bill, he said the Governor has in his budget bill money for the fund...

The 104th Legislature, First Session, convened on Wednesday, January 7th. This is the "long session," which is set by the Nebraska Constitution. The Constitution requires sixty day sessions in even-numbered years and ninety day sessions in odd-numbered years. The reason why we have a 90 days session, is to set the budget for the upcoming biennium (2-years). Legislative days are working days and not calendar days. We are scheduled to adjourn on June 5th...