The 17th was the last day of the second regular session of the 100th Legislature.

At the beginning of this short session, I introduced 10 bills and had three bills that had carried over from last session. I would like to update you on what happened to each of these bills.

The first carry-over from 2007 was Legislative Bill 964. That bill was to examine the feasibility of a private-public partnership to increase parking near the capitol.

This specific study did not advance, but due to the state's purchase of property last year near the Capitol, money was appropriated for a more comprehensive parking study that includes the City of Lincoln, and the University. This comprehensive study will be reported to the Legislature some time during the interim.

My second carry-over bill, LB696, which would encourage Nebraska couples planning to get married to participate in marriage education courses prior to getting married, was held in the Judiciary Committee. I plan on revising the idea in the interim and introducing it next session.

LB700, the Human Cloning Prohibition Act, was my third carry-over bill from last year. The Judiciary Committee put this issue into LB606 with changes as a compromise to move the issue forward. Instead of a ban on all human cloning, in both public and private sectors, it applied only to public facilities and funds. The ban on public facilities and funds also included the destruction on human embryos for research. In addition, it setup a Stem Cell Advisory Council, with $500,000 of matching funds for non-embryonic stem cell research.

Moving to the bills I introduced this year, LB743 that would have repealed the ban on roadside trapping on county roads from 2007, advanced out of the Natural Resources Committee to General File and had a Speaker Priority, ran out of time this session to be debated. I will have to reintroduce this bill next year.

LB751 was a bill I introduce dealing with grant funds for vegetation removal to increase stream flow created in LB701. LB751 would have increased the distance from the stream bank by which these state funds could be used to remove invasive species and over growth. The Agriculture Committee decided that this issue could be taken up next year when the program was up for reauthorization; LB751 did not advance out of committee.

A bill that made it out of the Judiciary Committee, but failed to be considered on the floor of the Legislature, was LB826. I introduced this bill to allow certain Nebraska military personnel to be eligible for a Concealed Handgun Permit who are currently not eligible because of their tax and voting residence status. This issue will most likely be addressed next session in a bill being discussed that would address multiple concealed carry concerns.

LB949, which would have clarified that rural health clinics connected with a non-profit hospital are also tax exempt, was put off until next year. There was difficulty resolving terminology between the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Revenue regarding which clinics would be included in the exemption.

The issue of protecting water purchased for compacts or agreements from additional diversions down stream, stalled this session. My LB1041 did not make it out of committee, but it did provide an opportunity to call for a meeting. About mid-session, I gathered state and federal officials, and surface and ground water interests in the Republican River Basin to begin to find more common ground and understanding to address Nebraska's water needs. I think this can be a springboard by which we can move forward in greater cooperation.

LB1127 was introduced to be a vehicle for a solution to the farmers not being paid for water they leased last spring to the Natural Resources Districts. Working close with Sen. Carlson, we decided to use his LB1094 to resolve the non-payment issue.

LB1094 passed with very strong support with the funds to get the farmers paid, and requiring the NRDs to repay the funds. Irrigators should have been paid by the printing of this article.

Both of my bills, LB1131 and LB1132, dealt with clarifying the process of collecting the new occupation tax for the NRDs put in place last session by LB701. Both of these bills were folded into LB1094 as amendments. These changes should help county officials better understand the occupation tax procedures.

Finally, LR233 CA, which would have put on the 2008 ballot a question to change the Nebraska Constitution by stating that public entity to discriminate or give preferential treatment to people because of race, sex, and ethnicity. This subject became so controversial that it was beginning to effect support for the water issue, so I decided to withdraw the bill before the public hearing. This issue is still before the citizens of Nebraska in the form of an initiative drive gathering signatures for the general election ballot.

As I have said before, I appreciate the honor to represent the citizens of District 44 these last two sessions in the Unicameral. So far, it has been a great experience working with many of you to address the issues that are important to Southwest Nebraska.

If you have questions about any new laws from this session, or anything else, please do not hesitate to contact me.