Legislative UpdateGood morning, Nebraska!

This week, we began floor debate in earnest and took up three of my bills with LB14 my personal priority bill this session, the Audiologist and Speech Pathologist Compact bill, first up on Tuesday morning. That bill ended up advancing to Select File with a very bipartisan 43-0 vote. I look forward to it continue moving forward and becoming law.

Another bill that advanced to select file with overwhelming support was LB476. This bill establishes the stroke system of care act to provide Nebraska patients with the highest quality of care and to ensure a seamless transition with all medical personnel involved in the care of those patients. Some find it surprising to learn that strokes are the fourth leading cause of death in our state and it is the leading cause of disability in the United States. This is also about people’s health but it’s also about rising insurance costs that will be spread amongst everyone.

As part of this plan, the Department of Health and Human Services will maintain a statewide stroke data registry that utilizes the American Heart Association’s ‘Get with the Guidelines’ initiative. I’m hopeful this can make a real difference in detecting and dealing with strokes in Nebraska.

Finally, my military retirement fix, LB6 was amended into the broader military retirement bill, LB387. LB6 was originally meant to fix an unintended oversight with last year’s military retirement bill, LB153 but will also apply to this year’s. Right now, there is a population of military retirees in Nebraska who receive their 1099’s from the office of Personnel Management rather than the Department of Defense, because they first retired from the military and then worked on the civilian side, though still for the federal government. That means that the exemption in these military retirement bills do not apply to them. The language from LB 6 would make military retirees eligible for the benefits, ensuring no one is left behind and that everyone is treated fairly. Finally, it will help to further support Governor Ricketts’s goals by helping to retain and attract veterans to Nebraska.

For a full list and additional information about all the bills I’ve introduced and cosponsored, you can click the link here.

Conversation with Leonard Lawrence Elementary
Earlier this week I had the very real pleasure of visiting with a class from Leonard Lawrence Elementary. We got to visit over zoom and I was so encouraged and energized by the interest and intelligence these young people showed. I don’t get to do something fun like this as much as I’d like because of my busy schedule but this was time very well spent. I thought you might like to read some of the comments from those students.”Thank you for that zoom. It was nice that you did it. I enjoyed every second of it. I thought you said what you did very well. You also were very inspiring about how you wanted to be a senator when you were young. I thought being a senator would be boring but you made me now think that it’s fun.” – Henry

“Thank you for teaching me about you being a senator and what it’s like. It was interesting hearing about how many bills you have passed and the bills you are working on right now. I think it was pretty cool that you wanted to be a senator ever since you were in 4th grade.  I am so happy that you took time out of your day to teach us about your job and what you do and maybe I will grow up and become a senator.  I will be a leader at my school by doing random acts of kindness like holding the door and giving someone a compliment.” -Paige

There were many more wonderful comments from so many of the children. I am so thankful I was able to participate in this online meeting and I hope to do more in the future. I’m especially looking forward to a time when we can do this sort of thing in person again.

COVID-19 Vaccine Update
The Sarpy/Cass County Health Department recently issued an update on the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine.

While still in Phase 1B they have been able to lower the age requirements for those who can schedule an appointment for a vaccination.

Sarpy/Cass residents born in 1956 or before are eligible to schedule an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccination. Any K-12 educator is also now eligible to be vaccinated.

You do not need the Sarpy/Cass Health Department to schedule this appointment for you. Please visit this website to view all the vaccine clinic options in our communities. Select the clinic that works best for you, and click or call that individual clinic to schedule your appointment.

Please keep in mind that scheduling at this time is limited to those residents 65 or older, or those who are K-12 educators.

If you do have any questions there is a number you can call to get assistance. 402-339-4334 and press option 1.

In preparation for your name being called to get vaccinated, the state does offer a website where you can register to be notified when it’s your turn. You can sign up at this link.

A Little Luck of the Irish
Members of the Bellevue Community Foundation gathered Wednesday evening to participate in the annual painting of a giant Shamrock in recognition of St. Patrick’s Day. The large shamrock is right in the middle of Olde Towne at the intersection of Mission Avenue and Franklin Street.

This year the Shamrock is dedicated and painted in honor of Frank Kumor and Al Sullivan who were two longtime Bellevue residents and business owners who unfortunately passed away recently. Both were dedicated to serving their communities and will be missed.

Bellevue Little Theater Back In Action
Perhaps as a sign of our community beginning to return to normal, the Bellevue Little Theater kicked off its 2021 season with a production of “Dial M For Murder.”

While I’ve heard the production is very good, and you can read a review in the Omaha World-Herald here, I’m mostly just delighted that this important piece of Bellevue Culture is still going strong.

These particular performances started on March 5 and will run through March 21.

March OPPD Efficiency Tip
Every month, OPPD offers a couple of helpful tips to be more energy-efficient and lower your electricity bill. This month, This month, the focus is on furnace filters. Some may believe these aren’t that important in the broader scheme, but in fact, they protect the internal compacts of your HVAC system and keep it running smoothly.

Furnace filters, like many other things, have ratings that tell you a filter’s ability to capture and hold particles and pollutants. Most furnace filters have a MERV rating (3M has MPR and The Home Depot has FPR, but have equivalents to the MERV rating). The higher the MERV rating, the smaller the particles that can be trapped when the system is running.

OPPD suggests you get a furnace filter that has a MERV rating of between 8 and 11.
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cblood@leg.ne.govCommittee Assignments
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