This week was a busy one, as I had hearings on four different bills over the course of the week. I also officially chose my priority bill to be LB685 (Military Medicaid Waiver). I had originally planned for my priorities to be a combination of two of my smart contract and blockchain bills but I was informed there was not a likelihood that they would both get out of committee. The fact of the matter is that there is still a great deal of confusion over this technology (some confusion deliberately pushed by opponents) and it’s going to take some work to get that confusion cleared up. I feel this state needs legislation that will codify how digital ledger technology and everything that comes with it works and I’ll be bringing this issue back next session.

Having said that, LB685 is an important piece of legislation in its own right and I’ll be working hard to make sure that it gets across the goal line. LB 685 provides a funding priority for special-needs military dependents under the Developmental Disabilities Services Act. This would specifically add dependents of active duty military members who are severely developmentally disabled to the list of treatment priorities kept by the DHHS. In essence, this would allow prioritized treatment for those who need it most but are not covered by Tricare. We were very careful to make sure this isn’t coming at the detriment of others who also need services. I have talked to the Department of Health and Human services a number of times on this bill. The way it was explained to me, everyone starts at the bottom of the list of treatment priorities and then moves up the list depending on the services they require. This means that no one would “jump the line” under my bill, but they would have a better chance of getting the services they need.

We also had hearings on LB686  which is a Psychologist compact. This is much like my nurses compact in LB88 last year, though it applies to psychologists. This bill moves Nebraska forward in the areas of telemedicine. We also heard my drone bill. LB 693 regulates and creates criminal offenses regarding the use of unmanned aircraft systems. This is the drone bill you might have read about in numerous articles over the past couple of months. We’re looking to make sure that people are not using drones for criminal activity. This is a public safety bill and I would encourage you to read the document in its entirety. It’s another one that is technologically advanced and complicated, though most who have read it fully have come away understanding the need for it. We have been very careful to protect the livelihood of Nebraska’s professional drone pilots. Finally, the Government committee heard LB 682 which provides consumer protection and civil relief for service members, active duty military, and the National Guard. This bill would make it so that an active duty member of the military or National Guard that receives an order to move out of Nebraska may do so without having to worry about paying early termination fees on contracts for services like cable, phone or gym memberships. It’s only fair that if a service member has no choice in their deployment, he or she should not be held accountable for the decisions of their superiors. There is currently federal law that addresses much of this, but a loophole needed to be closed at the state level to be sure all are protected and the language catches up with current technology.

Next week is the final week of committee hearings and it is also when my final bill will be heard this year. LB 690 which adopts the Counterfeit Airbag Prevention Act is a bill that will make it a felony for repair shops to knowingly install counterfeit airbags into cars. The counterfeit industry is a $600 billion a year industry and it is thought to be more profitable than the sale of narcotics. This is a bigger problem than people realize around the country and we need to make sure the practice is stopped cold in Nebraska so we don’t have the sad case of having to name a future bill after a loved one who has been killed as a result of this practice.

On February 28, the Legislature begins having full-day debate so there is still plenty to do before we wrap up the Session in April. Monday will be the 33rd day of the session, so we have officially moved past the halfway point.

If you have any questions about my bills or any legislation in front of the legislature, please don’t hesitate to email or call my office at cblood@leg.ne.gov or 402-471-2627.

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There are currently many opportunities to serve on boards and commissions spanning a variety of open positions. This is a great chance to give back and be involved in our community. Application forms can be found and completed at https://governor.nebraska.gov/ under “Constituent Services.” If you feel so inclined and might be interested in serving, please review the opportunities that are available and consider sharing this message with others who might share this interest as well.
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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

Some of these links have documents that can be printed. If you would like a hard copy of one or more of these documents, please call my office at 402-471-2627 and we will be happy to place it in the mail to your home address.

This week was an interesting one because it signified the calm before another storm of bill hearings for me. While I didn’t have any of my bills scheduled for hearing, I spent the time getting ready for next week, when hearings for four bills will be taking place. Those bills include one that will be part of my priority bill: LB694.

LB694 prohibits cities, villages, and counties from taxing or regulating distributed ledger technology. This is one of two important blockchain technology bills. These bills combined makes sure that Nebraska will be an attractive landing spot for entrepreneurs and be yet another tool to address Nebraska’s brain drain. We need to be sure that these business professionals are not running into a maze of different regulations put in place by cities and counties. Blockchain is going to revolutionize how we do business because it is precise, saves money, saves time, is autonomous, transparent, versatile and extremely safe since the information is on a shared (distributed) ledger.

It is my intention to combine that bill with LB695, which authorizes and defines smart contracts and authorizes the use of distributed ledger technology as prescribed. Smart contracts use code and math to to be sure that conditions are met. The funds are then transferred automatically. With the dawn of self-driving delivery vehicles, governments looking to streamline efficiency and save costs, banks looking for safer ways to do business and industries like healthcare and insurance, smart contracts are a fast-moving reality in business, agriculture and government. At the moment, both bills are still in committee but I hope to get them out shortly after the hearing for LB694, which will be on February 21.

Things only pick up from there as the hearing for my third compact bill is on February 22. LB686 is a Psychologist compact. This is much like my nurses compact in LB88 last year, though it applies to psychologists. This bill moves Nebraska forward in the areas of telemedicine.

On February 23, the Judiciary Committee will hold its hearing on my drone bill. LB 693 regulates and creates criminal offenses regarding the use of unmanned aircraft systems. This is the drone bill you might have read about in numerous articles over the past couple of months. We’re looking to make sure that people are not using drones for criminal activity. This is a public safety bill and I would encourage you to read the document in its entirety. It’s another one that is technologically advanced and complicated, though most who have read it fully have come away understanding the need for it. We have been very careful to protect the livelihood of Nebraska’s professional drone pilots.

That same day, the Government committee will be hearing LB 682 which provides consumer protection and civil relief for service members, active duty military and the National Guard. This bill would make it so that an active duty member of the military or National Guard that receives order to move out of Nebraska may do so without having to worry about paying early termination fees on contracts for services like cable, phone or gym memberships. It’s only fair that if a service member has no choice in their deployment, he or she should not be held accountable for the decisions of their superiors. There is currently federal law that addresses much of this, but a loop hole needed to be closed at the state level to be sure all are protected.

Friday is a recess day and Monday is President’s day so I am spending my time back in my district meeting with various constituents. Tuesday will be the 29th day of the session, meaning we will have almost hit the halfway point.

If you have any questions about my bills or any legislation in front of the legislature, please don’t hesitate to email or call my office at cblood@leg.ne.gov or 402-471-2627.

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Senator Sue Crawford and I will be partnering together for the second year in a row to do a combined City Hall at the Bellevue Public Library on Saturday, February 17th at 10:00 a.m. We will discuss our bills and highlight legislation that may be of interest to our residents. It’s free to the public and all are welcome.

This past week was an important one for me, as one of the bills that I expect to make part of my final priority bill was heard. On Wednesdayafternoon, the judiciary committee had its hearing on LB695. LB695 has to deal with making sure the state is recognizing smart contracts, secured using digital ledger technology, in the same manner as it does other legally binding contracts. Before the hearing, I had a press conference as a way to raise awareness on how important this bill and my other Blockchain/Digital Ledger bill, LB694 , are going to be to the state. We had other senators, members of the business community and technology experts all come and speak.

LB695 is about keeping the state up to date in innovation. This bill allows for smart contracts to be accepted in the state as official documents. There are a growing number of people around the world who are using smart contracts because they are all online while being incredibly secure. Further, they execute automatically, without an inherent bias towards one party or another. When the terms of a contract are met, the people involved in that contract know they are going to be getting exactly what was agreed upon. There isn’t a concern of someone backing out of the deal or changing the terms at the last minute.

Thursday, I sat on the Government committee as we heard about Senator Murante’s voter ID bill, LB1066. While I certainly agree that we need to keep our elections safe and secure, I don’t believe we need to be spending over 3 million dollars during a time when our budget is in crisis. Senator Murante’s “solve” could disenfranchise voters all in the name of stopping a form of voter fraud that no one has been able to prove exists in the State of Nebraska. I have special concern for our senior citizens who no longer drive.  Nebraska has safeguards in place that have done very well and been quite effective. This is why we have such a low rate of fraud.  I listened intently during the hearing to both sides and came away confident this is a bill that we don’t need and would cause more problems than solutions.

Friday is a recess day so I am spending the day back in my district. We’re right back at it on Monday, which is the 25th day of the session. We’re moving ever closer to the halfway point of the session and there’s still lots to do.

If you have any questions about my bills or any legislation in front of the legislature, please don’t hesitate to email or call my office at cblood@leg.ne.gov or 402-471-2627.

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Mark your calendars District 3 and District 45. Senator Sue Crawford and I will be partnering together for the second year in a row to do a combined City Hall at the Bellevue Public Library on Saturday, February 17th at 10:00 a.m. We will discuss our bills and highlight legislation that may be of interest to our residents. It’s free to the public and all are welcome.
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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

Some of these links have documents that can be printed. If you would like a hard copy of one or more of these documents, please call my office at 402-471-2627 and we will be happy to place it in the mail to your home address.

his has been yet another busy week in the legislature. I had just one bill in hearings this week, but my afternoon schedule is going to be getting even more jam-packed as we move towards the middle of the session. On Wednesday we had a hearing for the second of my three Interjurisdictional Compact Bills, LB681. The hearing, in front of the Health and Human Services committee, dealt with entering into the Physical Therapists Compact. 15 states have already enacted this compact. This makes it quite a bit different from my other two bills, since they still need additional states to pass legislation in order to activate the compacts.

LB681 enters us into a Physical Therapists compact which means if a PT from another compact state wanted to work in Nebraska they would be able to do it quite quickly. When it comes to these compacts, we’ve had a lot of questions about expanding the scope of practice on both of the compact bills that have been heard so far and I always tell the committee that the intention is to make sure that anyone who is in Nebraska is following Nebraska law. We’ve gone out of our way to make sure that kind of language is present in these bills.

Next week is a big week for my office because two of the bills that are going to make up my priority legislation will be heard. I am someone who always wants to make sure that the state is on the cutting edge of technology. I believe by doing this, we’re more attractive to companies looking for new places to set up shop. It makes it easier to keep companies in Nebraska as well. On Wednesday afternoon, the judiciary committee will hear LB691 and LB695.

LB691 came about because I have been looking at the way that people in Nebraska and the world are changing how they commit criminal, heinous acts like sex trafficking. The Internet has unfortunately made crimes such as this easier in a number of different ways. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are being used in the same way cold hard cash was changing hands just a few years ago. That means these cryptocurrencies are being laundered in order to hide the evil deeds for which they are really being used. LB691 would establish a cryptocurrency money laundering statute in Nebraska. Not only does this have the chance of stopping bad guys in their tracks but it also sends a strong message that the state does not tolerate sex traffickers and their ilk inside our borders.

In contrast, LB695 is about opening the state up to innovation. This bill allows for smart contracts to be accepted in the state as official documents. There are a growing number of people around the world who are using smart contracts because they are all online while being incredibly secure. Further, they execute automatically, without an inherent bias towards one party or another. When the terms of a contract are met, the people involved in that contract know they are going to be getting exactly what was agreed upon. There isn’t a concern of someone backing out of the deal, or changing the terms at the last minute.

I have one more bill that has to do with this subject in the Government committee, and once we have the hearing for that bill, I plan on combining all three into an omnibus bill and making it my priority for this session. The tech world moves fast and we have to stay ahead of it.

On Friday, I enjoyed spending the morning talking to Nebraska veterans about the seven pieces of legislation that make up my Military Initiative bills. This is the second year in a row I’ve had the opportunity to address this group in the historic Warner Chamber. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them on both occasions.

Speaking of history, I also attended an event for the  Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation where I was lucky enough to hold Jarvis J Offutt’s leather aviator’s helmet. If that name sounds familiar to you, he is indeed the man for which Offutt Airforce Base is named.

It was truly an honor to be able to have access to such an important part of our state’s history.

Friday also marked the 20th day of the legislative session. We’re already a third of the way through this year and there’s so much more to do!

If you have any questions about my bills, or any legislation in front of the legislature, don’t hesitate to email or call my office.
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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.

This has been yet another busy week in the legislature. The mornings had us dealing with important issues on the legislature floor and in the afternoon, my schedule was chock full of my bill hearings. This was a personal high for me, as I had five different bill hearings this week. On Monday I had my hearing on LB683, this bill provides a license fee exemption for service members and their spouses under the Nebraska Real Estate License Act: Like the compacts, this would allow a service member or their spouse, who are licensed realtors in another state, be able to be licensed in Nebraska and waive the licensing fee, expediting the process and helping to eliminate the burden of licensure.

This is just one of the bills I’ve brought forward in support of our military families when they are stationed in Nebraska. These families are a valuable part of our community and we need to remember that they also serve and often have little to say as to where they are assigned. We want them to feel welcome here and maybe even retire in our community when their military service is over.

On Wednesday, we presented LB689 in front of the Judiciary committee. This is a bill that codifies language in the state statutes that needs to be changed. When Nebraska changed its sex offender laws years ago, it accidentally made a loophole regarding juvenile sex offenders who were convicted of a minor crime outside the state. After moving into the state, these juveniles were mistakenly placed on the adult sex offender registry while juveniles convicted inside Nebraska were not put on the registry. This is not treating people equally under the law. A Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in August of 2017 said that Nebraska could no longer continue this discrepancy. My bill simply makes sure that the state is not violating the court. We are not giving any more rights to these juveniles than they are entitled to and we are not changing the adult sex offender laws, nor would I ever intend to.

On Thursday, I had two different bill hearings in two different committees. In front of the HHS Committee was LB685, which is the military Medicaid waiver bill. This would specifically add dependents of active duty military members who are severely developmentally disabled to the list of treatment priorities kept by the DHHS. In essence, this would allow prioritized treatment for those who need it most but are not covered by Tricare. We were very careful to make sure this isn’t coming at the detriment of others who also need services.

In front of the Judiciary Committee, I heard LB688, which is my school sunblock bill. This would allow for kids to bring sunscreen to school and allow teachers or school workers to help apply that sunscreen if needed, as long as there is a permission note from the parents, should the child be a person with a disability or need assistance. Further, it would protect the teachers or school employees from liability, unless there is criminal intent. This bill is more about making sure there is a standard and uniform policy across all school districts in the state than anything else. Melanoma is on the rise in Nebraska and we need to make sure we are doing everything we can to protect our children.

Finally, on Friday, we had the Beginning Veteran Farmer Tax Credit bill. LB684 would create an incentive for property owners to rent land or assets to beginning veteran farmers. The proposal would make asset owners eligible for an additional one percent tax credit for land or assets leased to a qualified beginning veteran farmer. This bill is especially important as we have a large percent of Veterans with PTSD in our rural communities. Research has shown that farming and agricultural-related opportunities have proven to be beneficial environments for those suffering from this sometimes crippling disability.

I believe that all of this week’s hearings went well and we can help Nebraska in a variety of ways should these bills pass.

Next week won’t be as busy for my personal bills, although Wednesday does bring the hearing for the Physical Therapists Compact bill. LB681 is going to be heard in front of the HHS committee on Wednesday, January 31. This is very similar to my nursing compact, LB88, from a year ago. It allows for physical therapists from compact states to come into Nebraska and practice here without applying for an entirely new license. Should it pass, this will be a beneficial tool for helping military spouses who are therapists get to work as soon possible, and others in this field who would like to expand their ability to work in our state or others participating in the compact.

Friday was the 16th day of the Legislative session. That means there are just 44 days left! This short session is underway and now moving rather quickly.

The third week of this short legislative session was a busy one for my office and the hard work has just begun. We had hearings on two of my bills this past week and I think both went well. The first bill was discussed in front of the Judiciary Committee and had to do with requiring the Nebraska Department of Corrections to do a comprehensive staffing analysis with an additional focus on mental health services staff.

LB692 follows through on recommendations made by the Legislature’s LR127 committee in their comprehensive report on the NDCS. I should point out that the Department has been asked to do a comprehensive staffing analysis several times but so far they have never completed it. Now the department believes it could cost  up to $150,000 because they would need to hire an outside consultant. I don’t believe this kind of thing needs to be done by an outside entity, I believe the department can and should do it themselves. Ongoing staffing analysis is one of the keys to any organization’s future success and it is standard that they are done in-house. They are done in house because who knows the workforce and their needs better than those who work in that environment every day? I’ll continue to fight to get this bill out of the Judiciary committee. This is about the safety of everyone, from the guards and staff at correctional facilities to the inmates to the general public. This is a decades old issue that needs to be corrected with common sense policy.

On Thursday, my APRN compact bill, LB687 went in front of the HHS committee. This, too, is going to be a bit of a fight, mainly because the opponents of the bill have managed to sew a great deal of confusion surrounding the language. To be clear, LB687 would make it so that an APRN from one compact state could practice in another compact state quickly and easily. They would still have to follow the laws of the state in which they are treating patients. This is about mobility and not about expanding what an APRN is allowed to do, which opponents have claimed. I am confident that as we continue to work to show members of the legislature what’s at the heart of this bill, we will be able to move it forward. It’s important to get this, and my other two compact bills passed this year. Interstate Compacts such as this APRN compact and others make it easier for military spouses who transfer to our state to hit the ground running and find employment in a more efficient manner in their field of expertise.

Speaking of military spouses and their families, next week is going to be another busy week. In total, we will have five bills going in front of committees. This includes LB683, the Military Spouse Realtor’s License bill on Monday, my Military Medicaid Waiver bill (LB685) on Thursday and my Military Veteran Beginning Farmer Tax Credit bill (LB684) next Friday. I will also be discussing LB688 in front of the Judiciary committee. This bill allows children to bring sunblock to school and allows teachers or employees to help children put the sunblock on. Currently, most schools don’t allow kids to bring sunblock to school unless they have a note from their doctor. Considering the scourge that is skin cancer these days, this is a bill that is relatively simple but can make a big change and possibly save lives.

On top of all of this, we are still debating bills that were left over from the previous session on the legislature floor in the mornings. As state senators, we pack a ton of work into what is a relatively small window of time on these short (60 day) sessions.

Friday was the 11th day of this Legislative session. That means there are only 49 left to go. If you have any questions about my bills, or any legislation in front of the legislature, don’t hesitate to email or call my office.
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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.

We are in our second week of the 105th Legislative session and have hit the ground running. We have started to address the bills that made it to General File in the last session to get them off our plates before we move on to new legislation presented over the first ten days. I have two more bills that were voted out of committee last year sitting in General File and waiting for debate on the floor. It’s possible we’ll get to debate at least one of them next week.

The beginning of the legislature is also when Governor Ricketts gives his State of the State address. This year he focused heavily on making sure that Nebraska is open and welcoming to new business ventures. I believe I have brought several bills this year that underline exactly what he was talking about. I have three virtual currency bills that are aimed at making sure we are on the cutting edge when it comes to intersecting the technological and business worlds.

The Governor also talked about continuing the state’s push for removing red tape and allowing for people who want to work to get to work faster. I brought several of these types of bills last year and I’ve brought more this year as well. The Governor and I are in full agreement that if someone is truly qualified to work in their field of choice, the state shouldn’t be standing in the way.

Listed below are the new bills I have introduced in 2018 and links to the text. Please be sure to call my office at 402-471-2627 and speak with me or Oliver should you have any questions about the legislation:

LB 681-Adopt the Physical Therapy Licensure Compact: This is very similar to my nursing compact from a year ago. It allows physical therapists from compact states to come into Nebraska and practice here without applying for an entirely new license. Should it pass, this will be a good tool for helping military spouses who are therapists who want to get to work as soon possible.

LB 682-Provide consumer protection and civil relief for service members and provide a duty for active duty military and the National Guard: This bill would make it so that an active duty member of the military or National Guard that receives order to move out of Nebraska may do so without having to worry about paying early termination fees on contracts for services like cable, phone or gym memberships. It’s only fair that if a service member has no choice in their deployment, he or she should not be held accountable for the decisions of their superiors.

LB 683-Provide a license fee exemption for service members and their spouses under the Nebraska Real Estate License Act: Like the compacts, this would allow a service member or their spouse, who are licensed realtors in another state, to be able to be licensed in Nebraska right away without paying the licensing fee. We already have our hearing date for this bill, and it will be on January 22nd.

LB 684-Change the Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Act: This would create
an incentive for property owners to rent land or assets to beginning veteran farmers. The
proposal would make asset owners eligible for a one percent tax credit for land or assets leased
to a qualified beginning veteran farmer.

LB 685-Provide a funding priority for special-needs military dependents under the Developmental Disabilities Services Act. This would specifically add dependents of active duty military members who are severely developmentally disabled to the list of treatment priorities kept by the DHHS. In essence, this would allow prioritized treatment for those who need it most but are not covered by Tricare. We were very careful to make sure this isn’t coming at the detriment of others who also need services.

LB 686-Adopt the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact. This is much like my nurses compact in LB88 last year, though it applies to psychologists. This bill will also go the extra mile in moving Nebraska forward when it comes to telemedicine.

LB 687-Adopt the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Compact. Also like LB88, but with a different group of nurse licenses.

LB 688-Provide for the possession, use, and application of sunscreen for children and students and provide immunity. This would allow for kids to bring sunscreen to school and would allow teachers or school workers to help apply that sunscreen if needed, as long as there is a note from the parents and protect them from liability unless there is criminal intent.

LB 689-This is a bill that fixes some language in state statute that the courts have been having to work around. It would make it so that juveniles who are convicted for sexual offenses outside the state that then move into Nebraska are treated the same as those who are convicted inside the state. This is simply a fairness of law situation.

LB 690-Adopt the Counterfeit Airbag Prevention Act is a bill that will make it a felony for repair shops to knowingly install counterfeit airbags into cars. This is a bigger problem than people realize around the country and we need to make sure the practice is stopped cold in Nebraska so we don’t have the sad case of having to name a future bill after a loved one who has been killed as a result of this practice.

LB 691-Adopt the Nebraska Virtual Currency Money Laundering Act and define and redefine terms under the Nebraska Money Transmitters Act. Virtual currency and the technology that comes along with it is the wave of the present and the future. We need to make sure we have both our hands around it. This is one of three blockchain technology bills I’m bringing forward. This one lays out what happens when someone is committing illegal acts such as human trafficking and money laundering with virtual currency such as Bitcoin.

LB 692-Provide for a staffing analysis of the Department of Correctional Services. This would require the department to carry out a workforce analysis on the entire organization with a focus on mental health staffing services by the end of this year, and then every two years after.

LB 693-Regulate and create criminal offenses regarding the use of unmanned aircraft systems. This is the drone bill you might have read about in numerous articles over the past couple of months. We’re looking to make sure that people are not using drones for criminal activity. This is a public safety bill and I would encourage you to read the document in its entirety. It’s another one that is technologically advanced and complicated, though those who have read it fully have come away understanding the need for it.

LB 694-Prohibit cities and villages and counties from taxing or regulating distributed ledger technology. This is my second of three blockchain technology bills and makes sure that Nebraska will be an attractive landing spot for entrepreneurs. We need to be sure that these business people are not running into a maze of different regulations put in place by cities and counties. Blockchain is going to revolutionize how we do business because they are precise, save money, save time, are autonomous, transparent, versatile and are very safe since they are encrypted on a shared ledger.

LB 695-Authorize and define smart contracts and authorize the use of distributed ledger technology as prescribed. The third and final blockchain technology bill deals with smart contracts. Smart contracts use code and math to decide if contract conditions are met. The funds are then transferred automatically. With the dawn of self-driving delivery vehicles, governments looking to streamline efficiency and save costs, banks looking for safer ways to do business and industries like healthcare and insurance, smart contracts are a fast moving reality in both business and government.

LB 735-Provide for interlocal agreements regarding nuisances. Currently, municipalities have the authority to regulate and enforce nuisances within their borders. This would build on this legislative authority by allowing municipalities to enter interlocal agreements with a county to provide for cooperative action to remove or prevent nuisances. Interlocal agreements have always been a great way to save manpower and funds here in Sarpy County.

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.

While we are still in recess, it comes as no surprise that I’ve been almost as busy as when the legislature is in session. I’ve never been someone who wants to wait until the last minute, so in between conferences where I’ve learned a great deal about what other states are doing, I’ve been working on legislation that I plan to bring forward in the next session. July was an especially busy month and August looks like the action isn’t going to be slowing down.

Conference and more conferences

I started the month of July by attending the National Foundation for Women Legislators conference. As the name lays out, this is a conference that specifically highlights our women legislators from all over the country. This was a fantastic way to meet with peers who are working hard to serve the public and their constituents.

Later in the month, I attended my first CSG conference in neighboring Des Moines, Iowa. There were some great panels and exchanging of ideas with public officials from all over the United States and even Canada! I presented an early draft of my cryptocurrency bill as part of a round table discussion that I facilitated at the CSG event and received valuable feedback from participants. This also helped bring the issue of virtual currency and its use in various criminal enterprises to the forefront at the conference.

Upcoming Legislation
While we have other pieces of legislation in the works, bills that we’ve made significant progress on for next year deal with virtual currency, unmanned drones, and several military families bills. The virtual currency bill will be setting up safeguards when it comes people who want to use it in illegal acts such as human trafficking. While the bill is largely aimed at the illegal acts virtual currency can be used for, we also want to make sure we have this bill in place, to show blockchain and virtual currency companies that we understand the technology and welcome firms who want to come to Nebraska and utilize cryptocurrency for legitimate business ventures.

The unmanned drone bill will address issues that pertain to using drones to commit crimes. As this technology becomes more popular in the state of Nebraska, it’s important to note who can use it and how, as well as where. We want to make sure drones are being used safely and that no one is intentionally or inadvertently having their privacy infringed upon. The goal is not to over-regulate, but to provide statute that addresses public safety issues and drones such as voyeuism, flying over prison yards and harassing livestock or wild life.

Our military families bills will continue to remove hurdles for employment, much like my previous bill LB 88, as well as address other issues that are important to the well-being of service members and their families. I am working closely with USA 4 Military Families, which is an initiative of the Department of Defense State Liaison’s Office.

Making new friends

Recently, I had the opportunity to spend an evening networking and having interesting discussions with several public officials. A dinner party was thrown at Dr. Linda Ford’s house in order to welcome United Kingdom member of Parliament Suella Fernandes to the state. Fernandes is visiting Nebraska as part of the British American Parliamentary Group (BAPG).

Along with the MP, I had a great conversation with Offutt’s new 55th wing commander Colonel Michael H. Manion and his wife Shannon. I also discussed issues important to Nebraska with United States congressman Jeff Fortenberry. Fruitful discussions were had and I hope to keep in contact with all the attendees in order to make sure we’re doing everything we can to help the people of District 3 and Nebraska.

I was also honored to be invited to a ribbon cutting at a Bellevue area Hy-Vee. The event was used to unveil a new upscale restaurant and bar that is right inside the grocery store. Hy-Vee is really becoming a one-stop place to shop and spend the day. I was impressed with how nice it looked and how excited those who work there were to show it off to the public. This was a real labor of love.

It was a treat to meet with a panel of Japanese officials who were visiting the Omaha-metro area and Offutt AFB to learn more about how the community interactions with the military in the US is generally a positive experience. It appears there are some tensions between civilians and troops at one particular military base in Japan and they are interested in problem-solving the issue through learning from other communities. These men were all very polite and really wanted to learn the minute details of how we coexist with our military neighbors. It was an interesting exchange of ideas.

People helping people

I also recently met and talked with the Coalition for a Strong Nebraska. This is a large group of non-profits who are looking to make sure this state is on firm footing when it comes to legislation that pertains to the various member organizations. These groups tend to be the ones who pick up the slack when no one else can and they simply aren’t recognized enough for their hard work on a daily basis.

I also attended and spoke at the Nebraska Victim Assistance Academy (NEVAA) graduation ceremony. This is a group of people who go through an intensive, week long training session at Creighton University in order to learn how to be better advocates for the victims who come to them for help. These people come from all over the state in order to go through this course and it does a great service for victims and survivors in Nebraska.

July Symposium

Finally, I closed out the month of July by hosting my “Can Nebraska go Green?” symposium. We had six experts come speak to a large audience about the kinds of things that need to happen in order to truly become an environmentally healthy state. I have thoroughly enjoyed both of the symposiums we’ve hosted at Bellevue University this year and believe they have opened some eyes, educated area residents on important issues and helped point us in the right direction for future legislation and other action.
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Did you know that the following publications are available at no charge and can be ordered via the Unicameral Information Office?

Inside Our Nation’s Only Unicameral: The Nebraska Legislature
22 X 28″ Color Poster: Featuring Contact Information & Photos of Each Senator
Unicam Kids: Illustrated book for gradeschoolers
Membership & Committees Cards: Reference card listing Senator contact information and membership of the Legislative Committees.
Public Hearing Testimony: A brochure about the committee hearing process
Lines of Government: A booklet depicting boundaries for Nebraska’s Legislative, Supreme Court & Congressional Districts, as well as districts for other lines of Nebraska Government.
Unicameral Update: Online news source produced by the Clerk of the Legislature’s Office. Weekly print or email subscriptions available.

The session has officially come to an end but that doesn’t mean my work is done. My staff and I will be spending the interim working on and researching legislation for the 2018 session. We also plan to be out and about in the district finding out what we can do to help those who need it most. As always don’t hesitate to contact myself or my office by calling 402-471-2627 or through email at cblood@leg.ne.gov with your comments, questions, and concerns. Because the session is over, the need for weekly updates isn’t nearly as prevalent. Over the interim, I’m anticipating only needing to put out the newsletter on a monthly basis.

Sine Die Festivities

As part of the events marking the end of the legislative session Governor Ricketts came and spoke to the Senators highlighting our progress as a body. In particular, he talked about bills he supported that were presented this year that worked to remove red tape from a variety professions. Among the group, he talked about was my LB88 which will help military spouses be able to do the jobs they love faster after they transfer here. They will now be able to get a temporary license while they wait for their permanent license to be approved after moving to the state of Nebraska.

After Governor Ricketts spoke, Speaker Scheer gave a nice speech recognizing the work we have done as a body. He also took the time to recognize all the people who work behind the scenes in order to make the legislature run smoothly, such as the Clerk’s office, the bill drafter’s office, and the transcriber’s office. The transcribers work to make sure all of our hearings and debates on the floor are recorded and then a transcript is created for permanent record.

Business is done for the year

With the legislature officially adjourned until next January, the final tallies are out as far as what we, as a body accomplished. In total, 170 bills were passed by the Legislature this year. While I didn’t agree with, or support every piece of legislation that became law this year, it’s clear that when it came time to buckle down and do the business of the people, we did so as a unified body. There are still 143 bills sitting on General File and nine on Select File and those are just some of the subjects we’ll be taking up when we’re back in session in 2018.

The Interim

One thing we are going to be working on over the interim is a resolution I brought forward in January. LR4 is a request for an interim study to explore if the development of a more comprehensive water quality study is needed. The catch is that unlike bills that are brought during the session, Interim Resolutions are not guaranteed to get a hearing. At this point, we’ll have to see if the Natural Resources Committee, the committee this LR was assigned to, believes this is a topic that deserves a hearing. The hearing, should it be set, can be scheduled at any point between now and January, so for now, we wait.

The session is almost at an end. We have just one more day before we officially adjourn Sine Die which means the legislature will be out of session until next January. That doesn’t mean my work is done though. My staff and I will be spending the interim working on and researching legislation for the 2018 session. We also plan to be out and about in the district finding out what we can do to help those who need it most. As always don’t hesitate to contact myself or my office by calling 402-471-2627 or through email at cblood@leg.ne.gov with your comments, questions, and complaints.

Bridge Bill Signed

The final bill of mine this session to be passed has officially become law. LB86 went through final reading last week and was then signed by the governor. LB86 eliminates the requirement for
county clerks to open all bids for the letting of contracts that pertain to highways and bridge
repairs in the presence of the county board. This is largely a procedural issue but it will still benefit counties when they are going through the process saving them time and effort.

May is Mental Health Month

As you may know, May is Mental Health Month and here at the capital, there are a number of displays drawing attention to this important topic. NABHO (Nebraska Association of Behavioral Health Organizations) has put together an extensive display complete with statistics and graphs that show the impact of problems like deep depression and suicide can have on people and families.

For anyone who is in Lincoln in the next few days, I’d invite you to stop by the Capital and check out this display.

#Saveourcraft

On  Wednesday night I was honored to be recognized by the Nebraska Brewing Company. They were celebrating our fight to make LB632 a better bill that would still protect Craft Brewers and better regulate (and hopefully stomp out) Bottle Clubs. The original version of the bill would have put undue pressures on the craft brewing industry. I brought an amendment that removed that pressure while leaving the great parts of the bill intact. The Nebraska Brewing Company even honored me by naming a new beer after me! The Blood Orange Infinite Wit is quite tasty. Obviously, LB632 helps more than just Nebraska Brewing Company. It helps all the craft brewers in the state who are making a go in this important business. When we talk about local success stories and entrepreneurs, we can look directly at the burgeoning craft brewery industry in Nebraska.

Department of Roads New Project 

The Department of Roads is beginning a new resurfacing project in the spring of 2018, and this project is set to be completed by the summer of 2019. The construction is starting near the Schramm State Park entrance at mile marker 5.37, and extending north to MM 11.50, the south junction of N-31 and U.S. Highway 6. While it’s never a ton of fun to try and get around these construction projects, this stretch of road badly needs some work and repairs. Thanks to the early announcement, we all have some time to get ready plan accordingly for next spring. To read the entire announcement and more about their plans for this part of the roadway, check out their release here.

National Foundation for Women Student Scholarships

This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the NFWL/NRA Student Scholarship Program and I’d love to see Sarpy county area teens get involved and apply for this program. The contest is open to high school junior and senior girls (Class of 2017 and 2018) from around the country. Applicants are required to write a 400-600 word essay, allowing applicants to address a wide array of pertinent constitutional issues regarding women. In addition to the essay, applicants must complete the application form and obtain two letters of recommendation, one of which must be from an elected woman in their state so if you know someone who would be interested in doing this, please don’t hesitate to contact my office by calling 402-471-2627 or emailing cblood@leg.ne.gov

The contest’s six winners will each receive a $3,000 college scholarship and an all-expenses-paid trip to NFWL’s Annual Conference November 14-18 in Minneapolis, Minnesota where they will network with, be mentored by, and speak to hundreds of women lawmakers from across the United States.

The deadline for entering this contest is July 10 by 5pm EST and all application materials will be due via the online application portal. On September 15, 2017, the winners will be announced and informed. I truly hope area students will take advantage of this opportunity.

Military Spouses Luncheon

Last Friday, Senator Crawford and I joined various public servants as they served and celebrated area military spouses. The event, held at Bellevue University, included lunch, entertainment, and words of thanks to the spouses from the public servants in attendance.

These military spouses have little say over where and when they move but 77 percent of them say they want to or feel they need to find work. This is the reason I brought LB88 this year. I wanted to make sure those military spouses who wanted to work, would be able to do so, without having to go through a lengthy waiting period while they got their professional licenses approved.

Now that LB88 is law, it should aid military spouses but also come to the aid of the surrounding community. A recent study by the Military times showed the underemployment and unemployment of Military spouses ends up costing the US economy anywhere between $710 and $1 billion a year. With Offutt in our backyard, we feel the effects more directly than other communities in the state.