The final push begins for the bills I’ve introduced this year. Next Monday the hearing for my final two bills takes place.  Last week, we also had two committee hearings starting with my Meat Labeling bill, LB 594 in front of the Agriculture Committee.

This bill is all about truth in food advertising that refines Nebraska’s complaint-driven system for people who see something like a package of “BBQ shreds” that don’t have any meat in them who feel as though the labeling is misleading or confusing.

The original draft of the bill embraced only meat products. After meeting with the Attorney General’s office, we decided to bring an amendment that broadens the scope to all food packaging. We also removed the USDA definition of meat in the bill since it is already defined at the federal level. By doing this, I believe it will serve the consumers of this state without being too restrictive. As long as a company isn’t intentionally misleading consumers, they’ll never run afoul of this bill, should it eventually become law.

At the end of last week, a bill you may remember from our last session, LB9  was presented to the Government committee. Should it become law it would prohibit cities, counties, and villages from taxing or regulating distributed ledger technology. This is a technology that is usually associated with cryptocurrency but is used in a variety of transactions including banking, agriculture, insurance and real estate. My bill avoids potential piecemeal ordinances on the technology. It also sends a clear message that Nebraska is a place where companies that use DLT can feel comfortable doing business without unnecessary hurdles. There was no opposition to the bill and I expect it to get out of committee soon.

Next Monday, LB15 will go in front of the Banking and Insurance committee. The bill referred to as the Children of Nebraska Hearing Aid Act , would make it easier for parents to provide their children with hearing aids when needed by making it a requirement for health insurance companies to cover them in certain circumstances. I believe this is incredibly important for the children of the state of Nebraska. Hearing plays an important role in a child’s language development and learning. Early intervention is key to that child’s success.

While I expect these bills to get out of committee with very little problem, there are other bills that have already had their hearing and are headed towards passage and becoming a law. LB11, my interlocal agreement for nuisances bill was officially placed on Final Reading late last week. That means it needs just one more vote before it goes to the governor’s desk for his signature. LB115, my advanced enrollment for military dependents has also been placed on Final Reading. It’s my hope both will go through this final step at some point this week.

I was also happy to see LB13 advance out of the Revenue Committee so we can debate the bill on the floor. This bill will make sure that any woman who is in the process of breastfeeding their child, will be exempt from indecent exposure laws in Nebraska. While we already have breastfeeding laws in place, they do not specifically exempt women from indecent exposure. This bill would make sure breastfeeding mothers in Nebraska are completely protected and need not worry about who they offend while providing nutrition their child.

My bills will have all had hearings right around this time next week; however, hearings will be going on for a few more weeks. If there are any bills you see that are scheduled for a hearing in any committee, always remember you have a say in what decisions the committee may make and how legislature may vote on the bill.

APPLY FOR A BOARD OR COMMISSION
It’s that time of year again when there are all kinds of boards and commissions in the state that are looking for dedicated citizens to serve. These positions are appointed by the governor and range in topics from Juvenile Justice to Geology.

If this sounds like something you might be interested in, please visit to the Governor’s website You will be able to find a listing of every board that has an opening, as well as a brief synopsis of what is involved. Our state is a better place to live and raise our families when our citizens step up and get involved.

YOU ARE OUR SECOND HOUSE
Our office LOVES to see our District 3 residents come and testify on the bills they feel passionate about. We also understand that with work, weather and other responsibilities that testifying in person may not work out for everyone. We offer the following information to guide you, if you are new to the process. We cannot stress how important it is for you to use your voice, because you ARE Nebraska’s second house.

If you would like to send your information via email, be sure to send it to the senator who chairs the committee, include your name and address and ask within the body of the email that it be included in the official record. Feel free to copy our office on any emails.

If you are unable to attend, you may send a letter or email expressing support, opposition or neutral testimony to a committee during a bill’s public hearing. If you wish to send a written letter, address correspondence to the office of the senator who chairs the committee and allow enough time for the letter to arrive the day prior to the hearing. Be sure to include your name and address in the letter.

Remember to turn off your cell phones when you enter the hearing room to avoid any disruptions.

Be prepared to answer questions on your testimony. Committee members often request additional information or have questions on the testimony you have offered. Testifiers are not allowed to ask questions of committee members.

Most committees limit testimony to three to five minutes, and we encourage you to not repeat testimony that has already been offered by previous testifiers. If you are providing a written testimony, try to summarize your main points instead of reading your testimony verbatim. The Senators would like to hear what you have to say. However, in most cases, there are numerous people who will also testify.

Before testifying at a committee hearing, you must fill out the green sheet provided in the hearing room. Once you are seated at the testifier’s table, please identify yourself, spell your first and last name and say what organization you represent, if any. Always speak directly into the microphone to help out the committee transcribers who will type the transcripts of the hearing for public record.

If you are providing printed copies of your testimony to share with the committee, please bring enough copies for each committee member, plus three more for support staff. We encourage you to call ahead to see if the committee prefers electronic submissions.

If you follow my page “Senator Carol Blood” on Facebook, I do try to provide links to the hearings so you can watch them live on your computer or smart phone. If you have questions or concerns, please be sure to reach out to any of our District 3 Team Members.

MEET OUR TEAM
Dee Austin-Administrative Aide

Did you know that there is a long list of items available for free to the public relating to the Nebraska Legislature? Here is a list of only a few that you might find interesting. If you are receiving this email digitally, you should be able to link to the information from your newsletter.

1. Unicameral Update
2. About the Legislature
3. Unicam Kids
4. Inside Our Nation’s Only Unicameral
5. Poster of Nebraska Senators
6. Membership & Committees Card
7. Lines of Government

For hard copies of these documents, please call my office at 402-471-2627 and we will be happy to place one in the mail to your home address.