Sen. Heath Mello
Sen. Heath Mello
District 05

May 28, 2009 Update

May 28th, 2009

Neighbors,

Over the last two weeks, a number of important legislative bills have been passed by your Nebraska Legislature. I would like to give you a quick update on a few:

  • LB 16 — I co-sponsored Senator Tom White’s Taxpayer Transparency Act, which requires the state to develop a website that provides data on the state budget, public contracts, and tax incentives. This will allow Nebraskans to easily see how their tax dollars are spent and will encourage transparency and efficiency in our state government.
  • LB 63 — This wide-sweeping crime bill modernizes penalties on those who have committed certain criminal activities, including gang and graffiti-related crimes. A co-sponsor of this important legislation, I worked with Senator Ashford to find seed funding for the Office of Violence Prevention, which will provide community funding for anti-violence and crime prevention programs.
  • LB 555 — My priority bill this year, LB 555, increases the research tax credit provided by the Nebraska Advantage Research and Development Act. In order to qualify for the credit, the research must be performed at a college or university-owned facility in Nebraska. This “Innovation Economy” bill provides an opportunity to create high-wage, high-skilled jobs right here in Omaha and Bellevue.
  • LB 603 — I was pleased to work with a small group of Senators to develop a compromise on the issues brought to light by the Safe Haven situation last year. LB 603 provides additional funding for children’s mental health services and increases the access for health insurance for Nebraska’s most vulnerable children. While LB 603 offers more services to those families battling the behavioral health bureaucracy in our state, I firmly believe this is only a first step in helping families who are placed in these difficult situations. I will continue to work with my colleagues and community members to find solutions to the problems brought to light last year.

While this has been a difficult session due to the unique budget circumstances, I believe these key pieces of legislation are just a few of the new laws that will help make South Omaha and Bellevue safer and stronger. I appreciate hearing from you; please feel free to contact me with your thoughts on these or any of the issues facing our state.

Working for you,

Senator Heath Mello

Posted in Column |

Senators seek Budget Reform through Interim Task Force

May 19th, 2009

State Senator Heath Mello introduces LR 224 creating the Budget Reform Task Force

LINCOLN, NE – State Senator Heath Mello (District 5) introduced a legislative resolution yesterday, co-sponsored by 35 Senators, focused on reforming Nebraska’s budget process.

“The Budget Reform Task Force will encourage the Legislature to take a long, hard look at our budgeting process,” Mello said. “This Task Force will provide recommendations to ensure Nebraska’s budgeting process is efficient, effective and transparent.”

The Budget Reform Task Force, created by LR 224, would consist of 11 members from all areas of the Legislature including the Chair or a representative from the Executive Board, Appropriations, Revenue, Education and Planning Committees, as well as 2 additional members from the Appropriations and Revenue Committees and 3 members from the body at large.

The Budget Reform Task Force will look into areas of budget reform, including but not limited to zero-based budgeting, performance measurements, oversight of public contracts, an evaluation of existing programs and agencies, an evaluation of the fiscal note process, and how strategic planning can relate to the budgeting process.

“As a freshman Senator on the Appropriations Committee going through our state’s budgeting process for the first time; I was struck by the lack of performance measurements and cost-benefit analyses used to construct our budget process,” said Mello. “Our state has had a long-standing honorable tradition of balancing the budget, but the creation of this task force looks to go a step further by strengthening the accountability and transparency within our state government.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 19, 2009

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Senator Heath Mello
(402) 471-2710
hmello@leg.ne.gov

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Posted in Press Releases |