Legislative session will be interesting

Gov. Dave Heineman has unveiled his plans for this legislative session, and most of his effort will go toward reducing taxes, through cutting spending, while not shifting the tax burden from the state to local property taxpayers.

That's a big job and will affect all of us if he is successful to any extent. But reducing the entire budget is too much for most of us to wrap our minds around.

Like the local board meeting where the multi-million dollar general fund budget is passed with nary a comment, but debate over the merits of relatively minor purchases are debated for hours, some issues are easier to grasp.

Such were some of the bills introduced in the Legislature on Friday.

Sen. Arnie Stuthman's LB66 would require all schools to include driver's ed in grades 10 through 12, but would not require students to take it. Many of us remember the days when driver's ed was a regular part of high school, but have had to shell out extra cash when our own children reached that stage.

Another bill, LB70, would allow all-terrain vehicles, built for off-road travel, to be operated on public highways when used for agricultural purposes, and also driven on highways inside city limits by city employees on the job. It would seem to legalize legitimate practical uses that are already commonplace.

A bill that might prove to be more popular than practical is LB72, like LB70, offered by Sen. Deb Fischer of Valentine, would mandate that the first day of classes not start until after Labor Day. She hopes to extend the vacation season for families, prompting them to spend more money in the state.

We wonder, however, how that plan would jibe with the kickoff of the fall football institution in the Cornhusker State.

Attorney General Jon Bruning's crime package includes an idea that appeals to those of us in the media, a requirement that public officials receive education on open meetings and public records laws. And another of his proposals would clarify what information remains secret in grand jury proceedings and what should be available to the public.

Sen. Bill Avery of Lincoln has offered LR4CA, which would allow office holders to be impeached for committing misdemeanors related to their elections. Greater Nebraska would have been spared some of the controversy surrounding Regent David Hergert's removal from office if that had been the law of the land at the time.

Those are only a sampling of the hundreds of bills that will be introduced in the next couple of weeks of this session of the Legislature.

We don't know which ones will gain traction, but judging from the ones we've seen so far, there should be interesting times in the state Capitol.