Christensen: Flouride just another unfunded mandate
A pending bill that would require fluoridation of city drinking water supplies is just another unfunded mandate that local taxpayers don't need, Sen. Mark Christensen told McCook Area Chamber of Commerce members on his weekly conference call today.
The bill, that advanced to select file Tuesday by 29 to 4, would require the fluoridation of the drinking water supply of any city or village with a population of 1,000 people or more.
Under the proposed bill, cities or villages could opt out of the requirement by having a special election where voters would decide what they wanted.
But special elections cost the counties money and some voters could become confused on the issue, he said.
In the long run, taxpayers have enough unfunded mandates to follow.
"It gets old ... the federal government gives us enough mandates, then we turn around as a state" to issue more, he said.
Costs have been estimated at $10,000 for the fluoridation of city wells.
The bill sounds good, he said, but not at the expense of local property taxes. Lawmakers have a delicate line to walk when deciding what good ideas to pursue and "what good ideas we can do without," he maintained.
He's also cautious about the long-range effects of another bill, which would allow mental injuries of first responders to be compensated.
LB1082, up for its second vote today, would allow Nebraska Workman' Compensation to cover mental injuries suffered by first responders who in their employment are witnesses or victims of a violent criminal act.
Currently, mental injuries allow compensation only when accompanied by a physical injury. First responders would include law enforcement officers, crime scene investigators, firefighters, paramedics or emergency medical technician.
Christensen said today that he's been lobbied hard by both sides of the issue. For him, the bill is the "fair and right thing to do," but that it could lead to subsequent bills next year that would become too broad and too expensive.
He pointed to a recently approved bill this year that passed by 47-0 that would allow financial assistance for convention or meeting centers that are both privately and publicly owned, to qualify for state assistance. The reason for its easy approval, Christensen believed, was a bill approved last year by the Legislature that tweaked the funding formula to include the Qwest Center in Omaha.
A different version of LB1082 could come back next year that would include anyone who witnessed a violent crime at a business could sue for coverage of mental injuries.
Although costs of the bill, at about $1 million-plus, isn't an issue for Christensen, the unintended consequences for the future had him troubled,
"If you don't do it (vote for the bill), you're saying that the person has to get the care himself," said Christensen, who believes first responders deserve to be compensated. Still, Christensen wasn't sure how he would vote this morning on the bill.
Christensen also called on teachers and administrators to contact the State Board of Education, if they are serious about retaining a current online testing system.
Lawmakers recently passed LB1057, that amended the Quality Education Accountability Act to establish a statewide system for the assessment of student learning, instead of using tests created locally by districts.
Although he said he was "not pushing" the online system, that it is currently used in 97 out of 254 schools "speaks volumes."
"We could end up with something not as good as we have now," he said and noted the on-line testing allows for teachers to review and compare subjects and pinpoint areas where students need help.