Happy New Year, District 1! 2019 brought the costliest natural disaster in Nebraska’s history, while 2020 brought an unprecedented pandemic. Let’s pray that 2021 provides reprieve and recovery for our region.

This column will be the first in a two-part series to preview the upcoming legislative session, which begins on January 6. We are at the start of a new Legislature, which means that, this year, we are in a long session that will last for 90 legislative days beginning in January and ending in June. 

The first day of every two-year session has a very busy schedule. New members are sworn in after the presentation of colors. Then, the Legislature must vote to adopt temporary rules for the session, which are the rules that the previous Legislature followed. These are the rules of the Legislature until new ones for 2021-2022 are debated and adopted after the first few days of floor debate.

Elections for permanent officers follow, such as the Clerk of the Legislature and the Chief Sergeant at Arms, and election for the Speaker of the Legislature. These officers will take an oath of office administered by the Chief Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court. 

The Legislature then elects Chairpersons and members of both the Committee on Committees and the Executive Board. The Committee on Committees appoints senators to the remaining vacancies in the standing committees, while the Executive Board supervises all legislative services and employees.

After electing the Executive Board, the Legislature elects the chairmen for each of the Legislature’s eleven standing committees. Finally, the Legislature elects the chairmen of Special and Select Committees, which includes the Rules, and Enrollment and Review Committees.

The first 10 days of session are focused primarily on bill introduction. During this time, senators submit their proposed bills, which will then be referenced to an applicable committee for a public hearing. After these 10 days, no new bills can be introduced.

This year is unique because it is a redistricting session. At the start of the new decade, the Executive Board appoints the members of the Redistricting Committee. This committee’s primary goal is to help the Legislature update their districts in response to the federal census numbers. The committee will adopt guidelines, and present them for the Legislature’s approval. They also will formulate redistricting plans for congressional and other districts. In layman’s terms, redistricting means that we re-draw the statewide political boundaries based on the new census population counts.

Next week, we will review how a bill becomes a law in the State of Nebraska.

As always, I welcome your input on issues important to you. Follow along on my Facebook and Twitter pages, both entitled “Senator Julie Slama” for more updates, or contact me directly at Senator Julie Slama, District 1 State Capitol, PO Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509-4604; telephone 402-471-2733; email: jslama@leg.ne.gov.

Merry Christmas, District 1! Although 2020 has been a challenging year for all of us, the holiday season is a wonderful time to celebrate in-person or virtually with family and friends. 

For those in the military, first responders, or essential workers and are unable to be with family and friends during this season, thank you for your service. This year, we have had the opportunity to gain a better appreciation of our essential workers, and we are thankful for your work.

There are those in Southeast Nebraska that are spending the holiday with an empty seat at their table, mourning the loss of a loved one. Our hearts go out to those that are struggling during this time. Last weekend, our state participated in a Weekend of Remembrance and Honor for Nebraskans lost to COVID-19. You can still visit a virtual memorial wall at www.neimpact.org to pay homage to loved ones that have been lost.  

The difficulties of this year might make it challenging to have holiday cheer, but there is still reason for celebration. We all have drawn closer to one another with the trials of 2020, and learned about ourselves in the process. When we have not been able to be together physically, we have found creative ways to interact over the phone or through video chats and social media. The true joy of Christmastime has never been the gifts around the tree, but rather, something far more valuable.  

“…[D]o not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:10-14).

Merry Christmas, District 1.

As always, I welcome your input on issues important to you. Follow along on my Facebook and Twitter pages, both entitled “Senator Julie Slama” for more updates, or contact me directly at Senator Julie Slama, District 1 State Capitol, PO Box 94604, Lincoln NE 68509-4604; telephone: 402-471-2733; email: jslama@leg.ne.gov.

For this week’s column, we are going to take some time to introduce the staff in our office. A Senator’s office generally consists of three people: the senator, a legislative aide, and an administrative assistant. The friendly staffers in our office are always happy to help with whatever issues you may be facing, or help you get access to the resources you need.

Heidi Borg is our Administrative Assistant and is from northeast Nebraska. She is the sixth generation on her family’s farm and is very active on it. Heidi recently graduated from the University of Nebraska Lincoln with an Agriculture Economics Public Policy degree. On her diversified family farm, they feed cattle, grow row crops, and raise chickens for the Costco project that came to Nebraska. Heidi has a strong passion for agriculture policy whether its advocating for the industry or at home working. She has also recently officially entered the cattle feeding industry and bought her first load of calves. Heidi understands how important the agriculture industry is to Nebraska and to District 1. She is generally the first person you hear when you call our office and is always willing to help with whatever you need. 

Kacy Meyer is our Legislative Aide. She was born and raised in Jenks, Oklahoma, and moved to Nebraska to attend Concordia University in Seward. There, she studied History and Communication Studies. She fell in love with Nebraska during college, and knew she wanted to stay and work here. After graduating in December 2019, Kacy worked as a policy analyst for the Department of Administrative Services (DAS). She had worked there part time during the summer before she graduated and her last semester at Concordia. While there, she assisted DAS’ Legislative Liaison by conducting research into different legislative proposals along with other research projects. She joined our team in September, and is very excited for session to start in January. Kacy is a very hard worker and will do her best to help us pass legislation that will help our district. She is also willing to help our district however she can, so don’t hesitate to give her a call if you need help with anything!

As you can see, our office is fully equipped with a qualified staff who are eager to help our district and communities. Feel free to contact our office with any questions, comments, or concerns that you may have. You will always have an ear to listen.

As always, I welcome your input on issues important to you. Follow along on my Facebook and Twitter pages, both entitled “Senator Julie Slama” for more updates, or contact me directly at Senator Julie Slama, District 1 State Capitol, PO Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509-4604; telephone 402-471-2733; email: jslama@leg.ne.gov.

Nearly everyone has been affected by the restrictions imposed by COVID-19. Whether it was having to work from home, having to quickly learn how to homeschool your children, or missing out on large gatherings with family and friends, we all have had to carry the burden of restrictions to help keep our neighbors safe and healthy.

Recently, Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, was seen attending a party at an upscale restaurant in Napa Valley. Newsom was not practicing social distancing, nor was he wearing a mask. While apologizing for his hypocrisy, the California governor went so far as to lie about the restaurant being outside. Newsom’s apology came a day after he announced further restrictions due to the increase of community spread COVID-19 cases in California.

In another example of COVID-related hypocrisy, Mayor Bowser of Washington D.C. attended Joe Biden’s political rally in Delaware on the Saturday after the election. A week before, Bowser ordered all people traveling from high-risk areas to quarantine for fourteen days after their arrival in Washington D.C. However, Bowser did not quarantine when she returned to her city, stating that going to a political rally was “essential travel.” 

Families all across the country are being forced to pick only ten people to attend weddings and funerals because of restrictions, while the politicians who implemented them endorse, and sometimes join thousands of people gathered in crowds to protest. In Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot joined in with a massive crowd of people celebrating Biden winning the presidency. When asked about the hypocrisy, Lightfoot stated “That crowd was gathered whether I was there or not.”

Even more recently, the mayor of Denver, Michael Hancock, visited his daughter in Mississippi over Thanksgiving, boarding a flight to Houston a day before the holiday. Thirty minutes before his flight took off, Hancock tweeted a reminder to the people of Colorado to stay home, and host virtual gatherings instead of meeting in person.

The “do as I say, not as I do” mentality among politicians who have implemented tougher COVID restrictions, then refused to follow the orders themselves, is sickening. This level of hypocrisy from politicians should concern everyone, regardless of your thoughts on the current pandemic. Please, expect better from your representatives. Hold them accountable for their actions at the ballot box.

As always, I welcome your input on issues important to you. Follow along on my Facebook and Twitter pages, both entitled “Senator Julie Slama” for more updates, or contact me directly at Senator Julie Slama, District 1 State Capitol, PO Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509-4604; telephone 402-471-2733; email: jslama@leg.ne.gov

There are 49 state senators in Nebraska, representing districts with an average population of 37,000 people each. Though the population numbers for each district are similar, each district has its own set of unique interests and legislative solutions. Many pundits focus on partisan divides in the Legislature, but little time is spent on what is often a far greater hurdle to progress: the urban-rural divide. With current district boundaries, 25 senators represent urban areas, while 24 senators represent rural areas. Those 24 senators representing rural Nebraska compose about 80% of the state’s square mileage.  As is true with any entity, our state has a limited amount of resources. Rural senators often advocate for those resources to be invested in rural Nebraska, while urban senators support investing the resources in our cities and suburbs.

Of course, this does not mean that urban senators are in direct opposition to legislation for rural areas or vice versa. Senators from urban and rural areas work hard to promote solutions to issues in their districts. It just happens that many of their solutions do not directly benefit our rural communities, and many of the solutions to our problems in rural areas do not directly benefit their urban districts. 

To break a filibuster in the Legislature, there needs to be 33 votes to stop debate and move forward. A 25-24 vote divide means legislation must draw support from both urban and rural senators to pass. 

The clearest example of the urban-rural divide and its impact on policy making is property tax relief debate of the 2020 session. Rural senators, including me, have stood firmly in support of property tax relief, while urban senators have leaned in favor of business incentives. Those two issues came to a head in 2020, when business incentives were set to expire and property taxes pushed rural communities to a breaking point.  

The stars aligned this year between urban and rural interests. LB1107 was passed, creating over $1 billion in new property tax relief over the next several years and initiating a new business incentives program. This session, I will continue to lead the charge with our rural senators to continue to work with our urban colleagues to achieve structural property tax relief.

I remain hopeful that we can come together and pass continued relief for Nebraskans whose bottom lines suffer due to high property taxes. Our homeowners, farmers, and small business owners are facing the most uncertain times in a generation. There is little that the Legislature can do to steady the ship of our national economy, but we can take a solid step in the right direction in Nebraska by focusing on property tax relief in the 2021 Legislature. I will continue to lead with rural senators to keep fighting to help our small communities thrive!

As always, I welcome your input on issues important to you. Follow along on my Facebook and Twitter pages, both entitled “Senator Julie Slama” for more updates, or contact me directly at Senator Julie Slama, District 1 State Capitol, PO Box 94604, Lincoln NE 68509-4604; telephone: 402-471-2733; email: jslama@leg.ne.gov. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is a wonderful time to visit with our close friends and family, eat plenty of food, and remember those things that we are thankful for in our lives. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to serve you, District 1.

We don’t need to waste time sugar-coating it- 2020 has been a difficult year for most Americans. COVID-19 and the economic devastation in its wake has touched nearly every part of our lives, causing serious illness, devastating our small businesses, and keeping us from visiting our loved ones. Even in the midst of our darkest moments as a country, we have united at this time of year for nearly two centuries to be thankful for what we are blessed to have.

We celebrated Veterans Day this month, providing a fresh reminder to be thankful for the freedoms that we have in our country and the courageous men and women who fight for the United States around the world. Every year on Thanksgiving, we are free to enjoy ourselves and celebrate the holiday in whatever way we want (even if that means figuring out how to cook a turducken). We are lucky to live in the greatest country in the history of mankind.

2020 has also brought a new level of gratitude to have our friends and family. There’s always a running joke about suffering through visits with extended family during the holidays, but this year, even a visit with Aunt Edna is a welcome reprieve from social isolation. Family members unable to join holiday celebrations in person can join via modern technology, like a Zoom video conference. The role of our loved ones in our lives is certainly something to be thankful for.

We can take a moment to be thankful a vaccine for COVID-19 has been successful and will be distributed over the next several months. We live in an era of unprecedented medical expertise and access to research, allowing us to defeat this pandemic in months rather than decades. Our healthcare workers also deserve our thanks. Their tireless service on the front lines has saved thousands of lives. The same goes for our other essential workers, as well.

Some of us may just be thankful to have 2020 in the rearview mirror. 2021 is just around the corner, which we can all be thankful for. 

As always, I welcome your input on issues important to you. Follow along on my Facebook and Twitter pages, both entitled “Senator Julie Slama” for more updates, or contact me directly at Senator Julie Slama, District 1 State Capitol, PO Box 94604, Lincoln NE 68509-4604; telephone: 402-471-2733; email: jslama@leg.ne.gov. 

District 1- Election Day has passed. There will be no more mailers, no more TV ads, and no more political yard signs for a while, and that’s something we can all be grateful for. I’m grateful, as well, to have earned your support to continue serving our region in the Nebraska Legislature. This has been a fraught and unprecedented election cycle for Southeast Nebraska. Regardless of who you voted for and regardless of your political affiliation, let’s move forward, together, to support policies that best serve our region. 

The same is true for elections at all levels of government. We are truly blessed in District 1 to have more qualified candidates for local office than we have seats available. Some races were decided by just a few votes. Regardless of the outcome, if you were on the ballot in November, please stay involved. Whether it’s putting your full effort into your newly-elected office or making your voice heard in another way if your candidacy was not successful, your work is just beginning. Our communities thrive when their residents are involved. Thank you, as well, to our hard-working county clerks and election officials. COVID-19 made it more difficult to ensure our polling places were fully staffed, and you stepped up to the challenge. Thank you for your work.

On a national level, the vote-counting continues. Though the winner has been called by most media outlets, legal challenges still remain. We must ensure that every legal vote cast in this election is counted. When the count is completed and legal challenges exhausted, we must move forward with our lives. Win graciously and lose with dignity.

After this contentious campaign cycle, we should most of all remember that we are Americans, Nebraskans, and District 1 residents. Although we might not always agree on how to achieve our goals, we all want what is best for our families and our communities. We must be willing to work with each other to make our region the best that it can be. Thank you so much for your support, District 1.

Let’s get to work!

As always, I welcome your input on issues important to you. Follow along on my Facebook and Twitter pages, both entitled “Senator Julie Slama” for more updates, or contact me directly at Senator Julie Slama, District 1 State Capitol, PO Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509-4604; telephone 402-471-2733; email: jslama@leg.ne.gov 

Press deadlines can be fickle things. Weekly columns must be submitted to newspapers by noon Monday for print and distribution from Wednesday to Friday. I’m writing this week’s column about 36 hours before the Election Night results are revealed. There’s no crystal ball handy for me to make a prediction on how Tuesday will go, but I’ll give it my best shot.

Voter turnout looks like it will be the highest it has ever been. For the first time, over 150 million people will have their say in our country’s future by casting a vote. Regardless of your party affiliation, we can all agree that high voter participation is a good thing. 

There’s a chance that by the time you read this column in your local newspaper, we still won’t know the results of the election. National pundits are claiming that it could all come down to a count of mail-in ballots or recounts in Pennsylvania, Florida, or even Nebraska’s Second Congressional District. Those counts could take days or weeks and face several court challenges. The 2020 election cycle has been one without precedent and such a close result would pretty well reflect how this year has gone. I hope that the prayers of our election administrators are answered and the election’s outcome is definitively concluded on Election Night.

I also hope that predictions of widespread rioting and violence don’t materialize. 2020 has been hard enough on our main street businesses. Those who decide to riot and destroy private property in response to an election result are no better than toddlers throwing tantrums in the middle of a grocery store. Those actions do nothing to help heal our country and move it forward.

On a local level, dozens of District 1 residents have answered the call to serve their communities by placing their name on the ballot. It takes courage to run for any office, and those who ran should be proud of their efforts, regardless of the outcome. Those who voted in this election should take pride in that action, as well. Please, stay involved in government even after the red, white, and blue decorations have been cleared and replaced with Christmas decor. Carved into Nebraska’s Capitol is the phrase, “The salvation of the state is watchfulness in the citizen.” Let’s work together to make sure those are more than just idealistic words carved in limestone.

As always, I welcome your input on issues important to you. Follow along on my Facebook and Twitter pages, both entitled “Senator Julie Slama” for more updates, or contact me directly at Senator Julie Slama, District 1 State Capitol, PO Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509-4604; telephone 402-471-2733; email: jslama@leg.ne.gov.

Election Day 2020 is right around the corner. On November 3 (or some point before, if you’ve chosen to vote early), we Americans can have a direct say in the future of our nation by exercising our sacred civic duty to vote. 

We hear campaign advertisements on TV and radio nearly every commercial break to promote races for Senate and Congress. By the time Election Day rolls around, I’m guessing we will all be able to list off Joni Ernst’s and Theresa Greenfield’s resumes and controversies by heart, thanks to our political ads overlapping with Iowa’s in the Omaha media market. Candidates for federal and statewide offices will be very familiar to you by the time you complete your ballot. However, can you name your candidates for school board? County commissioner? City council?

Many voters go to the ballot box knowing who they will vote for in federal and statewide races, but are taken aback by how many more local races are on the ballot that they had not studied. If you have not done so already, take some time to learn more about your community’s candidates for local elected office. Give the candidates a call or send them an email to see where they stand on issues important to you. 

Not only is it more likely that your vote could be the deciding one cast in a local race, it’s also far more probable that a local elected official’s decisions will have a direct impact on your life. Your local school board helps decide what you’ll pay in property taxes in a given year, your city council guides the future of your community, and your county commissioners play a pivotal role in your area’s infrastructure. Local elections have a lower profile than Presidential or Senate races, but the outcome of these local races will have a far greater direct impact on you, your family, and your community. Nebraska’s election dashboard, which contains handy information on candidates and other items on your ballot, can be found at this website: https://www.nebraska.gov/featured/elections-voting/. 

Regardless of who you vote for on November 3, let’s commit to working together for Southeast Nebraska on November 4, and every day thereafter. 

As always, I welcome your input on issues important to you. Follow along on my Facebook and Twitter pages, both entitled “Senator Julie Slama” for more updates, or contact me directly at Senator Julie Slama, District 1 State Capitol, PO Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509-4604; telephone 402-471-2733; email: jslama@leg.ne.gov 

Achieving structural property tax relief is my top priority in office. Although many legislators and candidates say they want property tax relief, few know how they want to achieve it. Below, you’ll find my plan on how to combat high property taxes on a structural level.

The key to structural property tax relief in Nebraska is to change how we fund K-12 education. I’ll preface by sharing that I wholeheartedly support our public schools, and any claims to the contrary are false. School districts are largely supported by a mix of state and local funding. 60-75% of a District 1 resident’s property tax bill goes towards funding your local K-12 school district. State aid for K-12 education is calculated through the 30-variable TEEOSA formula. In the 2020-2021 school year, 86% of the state’s equalization funding was provided to the 20 largest school districts in the state, leaving the remaining 224 rural school districts with a mere 14% of state equalization funding. This funding disparity puts rural property taxpayers, students, and school districts at a structural disadvantage. TEEOSA must be replaced with a simpler state funding system that provides fair funding for all school districts.

Another large part of creating structural property tax relief in Nebraska is to change how our state as a whole spends money. Spending caps are critical to prevent spending spikes by entities with the authority to levy property taxes. We must also cut unfunded state mandates on local entities and cut our state’s wasteful spending to help our local communities from having to raise property taxes to make ends meet. 

Finally, I will push to change our often unpredictable market-based valuation system on agricultural land to a production-based assessment, so you are paying for what comes out of your land, not simply for the land that you own.

Many people ask me, “what about the gambling initiative?” Claims the gambling legalization initiative would provide meaningful property tax relief are false. Even the most generous estimates provided by supporters place new revenue dedicated to property tax relief at a mere $50 million annually. Nebraskans pay around $5 billion annually in property taxes. At best, the current initiatives would only provide a 1% cut to your property tax bill. The gambling initiative will not provide meaningful property tax relief.

My record in office shows a strong commitment to property tax relief. LB 1107, paired with the 2019-2020 budget and 2020 budget adjustment, provides $650 million in annual property tax relief. LB 1107 is the largest property tax relief bill passed by the Legislature in decades. LB 512, which passed in 2019, provides property tax relief to landowners whose properties have been damaged by natural disasters. LB 103, also passed in 2019, requires that all property taxing authorities host a public hearing and vote before they raise your property taxes.

Addressing Nebraska’s property tax crisis is a major undertaking, and I have both the experience and knowledge necessary to lead the charge for District 1.

As always, I welcome your input on issues important to you. Follow along on my Facebook and Twitter pages, both entitled “Senator Julie Slama” for more updates, or contact me directly at Senator Julie Slama, District 1 State Capitol, PO Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509-4604; telephone 402-471-2733; email: jslama@leg.ne.gov