We enter the final three weeks of the 2013 legislative session with important state budget bill deadlines as well as crunch-time debate on individual, committee, and Speaker priority bills.

By legislative rule, we must finish our work on the state budget on May 20. This provides the Governor with the constitutionally permitted five days (excluding Sundays) [Nebraska Constitution – Article IV Sec. 15] to sign, veto, or line-item veto provisions of the two-year state budget package. We expect several line-item vetoes by the Governor on different spending items included in the budget bills and it is my hope that my colleagues join me in supporting the Governor’s efforts to hold the line on spending. Nebraska taxpayers work hard for their money and we must expend no more than is absolutely necessary to perform essential government functions.

Nebraska’s capital punishment statutes were subject to a meaningful debate last week. Senator Ernie Chambers of Omaha was the sponsor of LB 543, which would have changed the sentence for Class I felony convictions from death to life imprisonment without possibility of parole. Nebraska is one of 32 states which have capital punishment as part of their criminal sentencing laws.

Differing points of view were aired on how to address the protection and safety of the general public. We also discussed the need for the security of the persons we entrust to guard our state prison inmates, as well as the inmates themselves, from criminals who have no regard for the lives of others.

I support the death penalty as the ultimate possible penalty for those who may commit the most heinous of crimes. It is a decision that I made after very serious consideration. Protection of the public is our most important job as state legislators. Many of my colleagues agree that capital punishment must be among the options in our criminal penalty statutes.

LB 543 will likely not be brought back for discussion this year. Senator Chambers moved to cut off debate on his bill on May 14 and his motion was unsuccessful. When these motions are offered and fail, the Speaker of the Legislature does not re-schedule them for debate until all other priority bills have their opportunities to be heard.

One of the remaining priority bills that I am looking forward to debating is my bill, LB 224. This measure, prioritized by Senator Pete Pirsch of Omaha, would offer support to our state’s service-connected disabled veterans. Our state agencies contract for goods and services in a number of different areas. When these contracts are let, bidders have the opportunity to compete for these contracts. Our state law currently provides a preference for resident bidders over non-resident bidders. LB 224 would add a preference for service-connected disabled veterans in cases where all other factors are equal.

One of the best ways to reduce the unacceptably high unemployment rate for our Iraq and Afghanistan conflict veterans is to assist them in establishing their own businesses and creating new jobs for themselves and other Nebraskans. Winning a state contract can be a great launching point for new business owners. LB 224 does not increase the cost of any contract with the state. As veterans establish and grow new businesses in our state, LB 224 offers the opportunity for our state to partner with them to deliver necessary goods and services.

It was great to enjoy last Saturday’s Free Fishing and Park Entry Day. The state of Nebraska annually observes this tradition. Nebraska taxpayers contribute millions of General Fund dollars to the Game and Parks Commission for all of their activities, not including the millions of other dollars that we contribute through the payment of user fees. The opportunity to experience our parks and lakes without charge is a great way to showcase our parks and thank taxpayers for their investments.

Please continue to share your thoughts with me on issues before the Legislature. I can be reached at 402.471.2625 and cjanssen@leg.ne.gov.

The Legislature focused squarely on the two-year state budget last week. Rightfully so, as the Unicameral debated future expenditure of $7.8 billion in General Funds.

Aid to education and health care assistance make up a majority of the budget. Each area has experienced uncomfortable growth rates; especially health care outlays. With passage of the federal health care act, our state budget will experience even more costs.

Projections for increased enrollment will greatly expand the Medicaid program. Due to the upcoming insurance mandate from the federal government, we expect approximately 75,000 new enrollees.

Over one-half of these persons already have private insurance, but will drop it in order to receive Medicaid. This is a particularly objectionable consequence of the federal health care act.

The remaining portion of new Medicaid enrollees are currently eligible, but have chosen not to participate. Due to the federal insurance mandate and associated tax penalties, these persons are expected to sign up to avoid Internal Revenue Service sanctions.

One hundred seventy-two new state employees will be required to process applications and determine eligibility for the increased number of Medicaid recipients.

$7 million in state funds are required to establish the information technology systems needed to respond to the federal health care act.

All of these new costs made it a challenge to craft the budget since we had no say in the matter; the federal government dictated these costs.

Throughout the week, we debated amendments to the budget package submitted by the Appropriations Committee.

Several senators, including me, sought to provide more tax relief as part of the budget.

An amendment was offered to reallocate more resources to the state’s Property Tax Credit Program. This program reduces the need for local property taxes by replacing those funds with state resources. The amount sought would have increased the program amount to $245 million.

Unfortunately, only 14 senators supported us on the amendment (it required 25 votes). Opponents said that any new tax relief should wait until the Tax Review Commission finishes a study. I disagreed and said that the time is always right to reduce Nebraska taxpayers’ property tax burden.

One amendment was agreed to that reduced state expenditures. A majority voted to remove a line-item that would have spent over $2 million to purchase an airplane from the University of Nebraska Foundation. While the supporters of the amendment recognized the need for appropriate air travel options for the Governor and other state officials, the Legislature was not comfortable expending these state taxpayer dollars until a thorough review was conducted to make sure the state is getting the best deal possible.

The budget package still has two more rounds of debate before passage into law. It is my hope that we can further reduce the level of spending before the final vote.

Please continue to share your thoughts with me on the state budget and other areas of interest to you. I can be reached at 402.471.2625 and cjanssen@leg.ne.gov.

The Appropriations Committee advanced its two-year state budget plan on May 1^st.

The committee received Governor Heineman’s budget proposal on January 17^th and has gone line-by-line through the proposal twice before advancing its budget package. Public hearings were held on all legislative bills requesting new appropriations and each of the seventy-eight state agency budgets.

Now the rest of the senators and the general public have the opportunity to review their recommendations. The budget calls for $7.8 billion in General Fund expenditures over the next two years. This is monumental amount of state taxpayer dollars and we must ensure that every dollar is spent wisely and efficiently. The month of May will be largely devoted to making sure that we balance necessary expenditures with limited taxpayer-funded resources.

Among the largest budget items are well over $2 billion in state aid to K-12 education, $1.5 billion for the state medical assistance program, and over $1 billion to the University of Nebraska. University leaders have pledged to freeze tuition for the next two years to acknowledge the billion dollar commitment the Appropriations Committee has made to the system.

Other significant appropriations in the budget package include $338 million over two years for the state’s Department of Corrections, $175 million for the courts, and $112 million for the Nebraska State Patrol.

Human services expenditures include $322 million for child welfare aid, $213 million for public assistance programs, and $236 million for aid to developmentally disabled Nebraskans.

Recommendations for our transportation system include $787 million from the Highway Cash Fund, Build Nebraska Act proceeds amounting to $115 million, and a significant increased commitment to public transit systems aid with $4.9 million in recommended appropriations.

We have to account for $56 million in mandated increased expenses due to the federal health care act. This was a particularly challenging area of the budget because we as state lawmakers had no say in these added costs.

The Appropriations Committee recognized the high burden of property taxes in Nebraska. The members included $230 million for the Property Tax Credit Fund and $147 million in the Homestead Exemption program to reduce local property taxes.

The committee also recommended funding replacement of the Central Nebraska Veterans Home as part of the budget package. The current facility, located in Grand Island, was originally constructed in 1887. The Governor and the committee both agreed that we must act sooner rather than later to provide better care and accommodations for our state’s veterans in central Nebraska. The committee included $47 million in state funds in their recommendation. If this amount is approved, Nebraska will be eligible for between $70 million and $100 million in federal funds to help with construction. In addition to Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney, and North Platte also expressed interest in hosting the new home. A competitive bidding process will commence if funding is provided.

I look forward to the upcoming budget debate and will continue to urge my colleagues to hold the line on spending. Any surplus tax dollars must be returned to the taxpayers of our state.

The committee’s report can be reviewed at: http://nebraskalegislature.gov/pdf/reports/fiscal/2013budget.pdf.

Please continue to share your thoughts with me about the state budget proposal and other issues of interest to you. I can be reached at 402.471.2625 and cjanssen@leg.ne.gov.

The Legislature undertook a complicated and important debate last week to revise our state aid to PK – 12 education funding formula.

The state of Nebraska provides over 1/3 of the total dollars that go into PK – 12 public education.

When all state funding sources are considered together, well over $1 billion is dedicated to the education of 290,000 students.

This is a remarkable figure and proof that Nebraska values education and supports our next generation of citizens. Aid to public education is by far the largest portion of our state budget.

So when we negotiate the elements that make up our aid to education formula, we must consider all the ramifications as they impact our 249 school districts. Communities across our state have a wide range of economic strengths, populations, and demographic characteristics.

Dodge County is a good microcosm of these different elements. Fremont, Nebraska’s 6^th largest city with 26,500 residents, has a diverse economy with strengths in manufacturing, education, health care, finance, logistics, and entertainment. There are many young residents and family incomes vary more than in some other parts of our state. The Fremont Public Schools system has 4,334 students. The property valuation per student is low relative to other school districts in the state.

Other parts of Dodge County have economies dominated by crop production, animal agriculture, and heavy equipment manufacturing. North Bend Central Public Schools has 563 students, Logan View Public Schools has 496 students, Scribner-Snyder Public Schools has 227 students, and Howells-Dodge has 218 students. These districts encompass a great deal of agricultural land.

With the large increase in agricultural land valuation recently, the school aid formula (“Needs” minus “Resources” equals “Aid”) impacts Fremont Public Schools differently than other districts. Residential and commercial property valuation has been flat over the past few years. This means that the formula recognizes a smaller increase in “resources” per student for Fremont relative to everyone else.

Several senators introduced proposals at the beginning of January to adjust certain elements of the school aid formula. Rural senators and urban senators offered bills that understandably impacted the distribution of aid differently depending on the characteristics of their districts. We as a 49-member Legislature had to debate a funding formula that was good policy for our state as a whole.

After an intense first day of debate on General File (first of three rounds of debate), the Speaker of the Legislature temporarily passed over the bill so that senators with pending amendments could negotiate a compromise before resuming debate. The parties involved were able to reach a consensus two days later and we debated and advanced the compromise on the last legislative day of last week.

The compromise appropriately recognizes the needs of both urban and rural districts while keeping some of the allowances and adjustments in the formula that originally were proposed to be repealed. Instructional time and teacher education credentials will continue to be recognized as a factor in funding distribution. Districts with high needs and special populations will continue to receive aid to recognize the increased attention that these students need.

Please continue to share your thoughts with me on issues before the Legislature. I can be reached at 402.471.2625 and cjanssen@leg.ne.gov.

I am pleased to report that the Legislature unanimously passed LB 55 last week. This bill resolves a long-running dispute between the state of Nebraska and Dodge County.

Our county is scheduled to assume the property valuation and assessment function from the state in July. The state’s Property Tax Administrator has done this duty in nine counties for several years. The state released itself from this duty and phased out the cost assumption over a four year period.

As part of this relinquishment, long-term software contracts entered into by the state appeared to be binding on the counties. Some of these contracts were for a 10-year period. Since the phaseout was only for four years, several counties objected to being locked into contracts without their consent. Dodge County independently determined that other software was more user-friendly and desirable.

LB 55 provides Dodge County with the opportunity to opt-out of the state software contract and sign a contract of our choice.

I was pleased to co-sponsor LB 55 to provide more local choice and local control. I’d like to thank the Dodge County Board of Supervisors for their strong advocacy on behalf of this proposal. Their presence at the Legislature at key moments was influential in achieving unanimous approval of LB 55 by my colleagues in the Unicameral.

The Legislature also undertook our annual Consent Calendar exercise last week. Once a session, the Legislature groups numerous noncontroversial bills into a single block to efficiently process these bills through the three stages of debate. The Speaker of the Legislature evaluates all bills submitted for Consent Calendar consideration and the rest of the members must approve his selections. Thirty-six bills were included in this year’s block.

My bill, LB 223, was one of the 36 bills included in the Consent Calendar.

The concept behind LB 223 was brought to me by an equipment dealer in our Legislative District. He sells utility-type vehicles (UTVs) to customers across the state and region. Some of the new models of UTVs were more advanced than previous offerings. These models have more passenger and cargo space.

Since our laws defined UTVs under the old dimensions, the new UTVs would not be street-legal. LB 223 rectifies this issue by increasing the permissible length of UTVs in our state laws.

I think it is very important that we not artificially restrict the ability of Nebraskans to purchase products of their choice as they become available on the market. From time to time, we must update our statutes to reflect these new opportunities. LB 223 had no opposition at its public hearing last month. I also contacted the Department of Motor Vehicles for their input and they expressed no objections or reservations to the new statutory language. LB 223 received unanimous first-round support during its Consent Calendar debate and it is well on its way to final passage.

Please continue to share your thoughts with me on issues before the Legislature. I can be reached at 402.471.2625 and cjanssen@leg.ne.gov.

The Legislature spent the great majority of our time last week debating how to address a United States Supreme Court ruling from last summer.

We are called upon as senators to do so from time to time. Our system of government divides powers among the three branches of government. When courts rule that laws passed by legislatures are unconstitutional, legislatures must comply with these decisions. It is also possible, though rare, to change the constitution through amendment to, in effect, overrule the court.

On the final week of the court’s 2012 term, justices issued a closely divided opinion in the Miller v. Alabama case. The 5-4 majority ruled that mandatory sentences of life without the possibility of parole are unconstitutional for juvenile offenders under the 8^thAmendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, even for the most heinous crimes. This ruling directly challenged laws in 29 states across the country, including Nebraska, that permitted sentences of life without parole for criminals who commit the most egregious crimes, regardless of age at the time of the offense.

This opinion was frustrating because, as Chief Justice John Roberts pointed out, mandatory life sentences could not plausibly be described as unusual when a majority of states endorsed them. Unfortunately, five justices ruled otherwise, forcing Nebraska and 28 other states to change their laws to comply. If Nebraska would not, state judges would most likely change sentences in the absence of legislative action to acknowledge the decision.

The Judiciary Committee advanced their recommendation, contained in LB 44, to establish a sentence of 30 years to life for murders committed by juveniles. Many senators objected to such a low number. Floor debate was extensive on an amendment to raise the sentence to 60 years to life. Some of the crimes committed by currently incarcerated offenders were absolutely horrible. It was important to point these out while we debated the appropriate new sentencing law. The 60 years to life amendment eventually failed by four votes. A later amendment was adopted to set the sentence range at 40 years to life.

If the Legislature continues to advance the bill at this sentencing range, it is my hope that judges and the Parole Board will weigh the evidence heavily before giving light sentences. Life without parole is an appropriate sentence for juveniles who take the lives of others without remorse. Debate on LB 44 is a difficult and unpleasant task. I hope that justice will continue to be served if and when this policy change must be used in the future.

We also debated a bill last week that dealt with vacant and abandoned properties in Douglas and Sarpy counties.

LB 97 is a proposal that would establish land bank authority for cities in those two counties. Omaha has a stunning amount of vacant and abandoned properties within its city limits. Several Omaha senators offered a proposal to permit the creation of land banks to aggregate some of these properties and package them for resale and redevelopment. This is an interesting concept, but we must make sure that we protect private property rights and let the free market work to the greatest extent possible. I will continue to follow developments on this concept closely as LB 97 moves through our process.

Please continue to share your thoughts with me on issues before the Legislature. I can be reached at 402.471.2625 and cjanssen@leg.ne.gov.

The Legislature is in the heart of the priority bill debate portion of the session. While we meet for 90 legislative days this year (beginning on January 9^th and going until June), the legislative session can be broken into a series of smaller parts.

For the first half of the session, our mornings were spent debating fairly noncontroversial bills. Afternoons were spent hearing testimony from the public on all bills and constitutional amendments introduced this year (in 2013, that meant 655 bills and 6 constitutional amendments).

The end of March through the month of April see debate on individual senator and committee priority bills. Each of the 49 senators get to select one bill as their priority. Committees may select two bills. The Speaker may also select 25 bills.

These 100+ bills in practice have about 30 legislative days to advance through the three rounds of consideration before passage.

The remainder of the session is spent on the two-year state budget debate. Since the previous biennial budget spent over $7 billion of your state tax dollars, it is only appropriate that the budget receives an important portion of our time and attention.

Since the annual session is constructed as such, you can see that not every one of the priority bills will make it across the finish line before the Legislature adjourns for the year.

The 2013 session has additional hurdles due to the increasing number of filibusters that we have seen.

As a principled low taxes and less government representative, this is not always a bad thing in my view.

Many other states have much shorter annual session than our 90 legislative days. Our neighboring state of South Dakota meets for only 40 legislative days. Texas, Nevada, North Dakota, and Montana only meet every other year (Nebraska had the same schedule until a constitutional amendment was passed by the voters in 1970).

Since extended debates are occurring regularly, we have passed 72 laws to date. For perspective, in 2011, we passed nearly 100 laws by this point in the session. Again, not necessarily a bad thing, but you may be hearing and reading in the media that we are “behind schedule.” As long as we pass a balanced budget and meaningful tax relief this year, any additional measures are supplementary.

One of the priority bills that in all likelihood will make it across the finish line is LB 55.

A coalition of four senators, including me, from across the state introduced this bill to provide additional flexibility for counties that are reassuming property assessment duties. Dodge County is one of those counties.

LB 55 will permit Dodge County to utilize an existing state software contract or allow our county to select different software that better fits our needs. I have heard from several constituents who would like to see Dodge County go with the latter.

I’d like to thank Dodge County Supervisor Terry Synovec for being at the State Capitol during General File debate on this bill. He was helpful in personally answering questions from other state senators on the need for this bill. I’d also like to thank Supervisor Bob Missel for his testimony on LB 55 during its public hearing.

Our supervisors have been valuable resources for the Legislature to get a better understanding of our county’s needs.

Please continue to share your thoughts with me on issues before the Legislature. I can be reached at 402.471.2625 and cjanssen@leg.ne.gov.

The Legislature debated and advanced the Wildfire Control Act of 2013 (LB 634) on March 25^th. This legislation was brought forward to better prepare for wildfire seasons in Nebraska.

During floor debate on the bill, the introducer stated that 2012 was the worst land wildfire year in Nebraska’s history. News outlets pointed out all of last summer the spread of megafires along the Niobrara River Valley and other parts of Nebraska. The cities of Chadron and Valentine have both been threatened by fast-moving fires several times in the past decade. The spread of Eastern Red Cedar trees in Nebraska has only fueled these fast-acting fires in our state. LB 634 contains a multifaceted plan to mitigate future impacts of fire seasons.

LB 634 includes six elements to address wildfire containment.

First, the Nebraska Forest Service (NFS) would contract with private aviation companies to place two single engine air tankers near Chadron and Valentine for use in fighting wildfires.

Second, NFS would thin forests to reduce forest fuel loads in order to substantially reduce wildfire risk, intensity, and the rate of the spreading of wildfires.

Third, NFS would expand training programs for volunteer firefighters, private landowners, and communities in fire suppression tactics of wildfires in order to increase suppression effectiveness and safety.

Fourth, NFS would serve as a comprehensive resource to augment and help manage large wildfire operations.

Fifth, NFS would expand the federal excess property programs sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Defense and managed by NFS.

Finally, NFS would oversee the rehabilitation of forest lands that have been destroyed by wildfires.

These strategies increase the likelihood that future fires will not turn into out-of-control megafires. The potential for long-term drought conditions makes it incumbent upon us to better prepare and respond to outbreaks. The response time to fires is critically important. Better coordination can greatly mitigate the damage and costs of fires. LB 634 advanced to Select File on a 36-0 vote.

Last week, high school students and teachers from across the state, including Howells-Dodge, participated in the Capitol Forum on America’s Future. The forum provided our young men and women with the opportunity to study and discuss global issues and foreign policy. This year’s focus included international trade, immigration, terrorism, nuclear weapons acquisition, and human rights. I commend all the attendees for their hard work and impressive discussion of these very complex issues.

Please continue to share your thoughts with me on issues before the Legislature. I can be reached at 402.471.2625 andcjanssen@leg.ne.gov.

Public hearings concluded for thirteen of the fourteen standing committees last Thursday.

The Appropriations Committee will conclude the public hearings portion of their work after two additional legislative days. The committee allocated extra time to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) agency budget as well as bills requesting new funds by individual senators that would add to the DHHS budget if the Legislature approved the new expenditures. DHHS is a complex agency with six major divisions and thousands of state employees.

The extra time for DHHS-related budget discussions is helpful to ensure that citizens have the opportunity to provide their input to the committee. The Medicaid program, one of many of the programs included in the DHHS budget, by itself is the second largest line-item state expenditure. It and several other DHHS programs are growing at a far greater rate than other areas of the state budget. The committee must identify areas for reform and begin to bend cost curves. Public input on how to do so is important and appreciated.

Last week, the Judiciary Committee heard testimony for two consecutive days on nine firearms-related measures. One of my bills, the Nebraska Gun Rights Act, was heard on the first day. LB 451 was introduced to protect the constitutional rights of responsible gun owners in Nebraska from overreaching federal government mandates. Our country has a long, storied history debating and defining the appropriate scope of powers and proper roles for the federal government and state governments. When constitutional rights are infringed upon, states must declare their objections. I’d like to thank the numerous testifiers that came to the State Capitol to express their support for the 2^nd Amendment and LB 451.

The Transportation and Telecommunications Committee also heard a bill last week that I introduced to expand the market opportunities for utility-type vehicles (UTVs) in Nebraska. LB 223 changes the definition of a UTV so that it includes newer models with larger passenger capacities available for sale. I’d like to thank one of our community’s equipment dealers for bringing this to my attention and working with me on this legislation. The committee unanimously supported the measure and I hope the full Legislature quickly passes the bill. It’s important for the Legislature to make sure our laws recognize and promote new consumer options.

Last Thursday, the Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee advanced my bill to establish a preference for service-connected disabled veterans in Nebraska when public contracts are bid. LB 224 indicates Nebraska’s support of our honorable veterans for their service to our country. The service-connected disabled veteran would have to be one of the lowest responsible bidders in order to utilize the bill. It’s important to provide our veterans with encouragement to bid on public contracts and LB 224 provides an incentive to do so. One of the best ways to reduce the unacceptably high unemployment rate for our Iraq and Afghanistan conflict veterans is to assist them in establishing their own businesses and creating new jobs for themselves and other Nebraskans. Our state can benefit greatly from their unique skills and abilities. Winning a state contract can be a great launching point for new business owners. LB 224 was declared a priority for the 103^rd Legislature and I look forward to the upcoming debate on the bill.

Please continue to share your thoughts with me on issues before the Legislature. I can be reached at 402.471.2625 and cjanssen@leg.ne.gov.

All individual senator and legislative committee priority bills were designated by March 15^th. There are a range of topics among the 79 bills selected.

They include the state aid to K-12 education funding formula, juvenile justice system operations, state parks entry fees, motorcycle helmet mandates, child care assistance programs, educational savings plans, numerous parts of the Medicaid program, water quality and sustainability programs, child custody, elections, insurance coverage, internships, fire control, power transmission, business incentives, government employee retirement systems, criminal sentencing procedures, and state tax policy.

I designated LB 75 as my senator priority bill for the 2013 legislative session. LB 75 would exempt military retirement benefits from state income taxation. I introduced this legislation in January to encourage the retention of military retirees after the terms of service have concluded. Many of these retirees are in their 40s and 50s. They are highly skilled and trained. They have many years ahead of them to establish second careers and launch and grow businesses. Many have been stationed at several locations in the U.S. and internationally during their military career. They can go anywhere when they retire. I want to make sure that Nebraska is the destination of choice.

Nebraska offers no income tax incentive for military retirees to remain or settle in Nebraska. Nebraska has many great things to offer, but military retirement tax policy is holding us back in the competition for retired servicemen and servicewomen.

Twenty-three states do not tax military retirement pay. Seven of them have no state income tax. Of our bordering states, South Dakota and Wyoming have no income tax. Kansas fully exempts military retirement benefits. Missouri is phasing out taxation of military pensions. Colorado and Iowa do not tax a portion of retirement income after a certain age. Nebraska needs to recognize this competitive disadvantage and make progress in this area.

I am pleased that Senator Pete Pirsch of Omaha designated one of my other bills as his priority bill for this session. LB 224 would acknowledge the service and sacrifice of our disabled veterans by providing a preference for resident disabled veterans who bid on state contracts. The disabled veteran would have to be one of the lowest responsible bidders for the preference to be utilized.

I introduced LB 224 to provide our honorable disabled veterans with encouragement to bid on public contracts. Our nation’s veterans have unique and exceptional skill sets. They are highly motivated and goal-driven. They are accountable and deliver in pressure situations. They have much to offer the state of Nebraska.

LB 224 indicates our state’s support for our disabled veterans and provides them the opportunity to secure certain public contracts in recognition for their abilities and their service. I applaud Senator Pirsch for joining me in making this a priority for the Legislature.

It is my pleasure to continue to commend the remarkable student achievements by our area’s high school students. Congratulations to the Howells-Dodge Jaguars for winning the 2013 Class D-1 Boys’ State Basketball Championship. What a great way to cap an undefeated season by winning it all at the Devaney Center.

Please continue to share your thoughts with me on issues before the Legislature. I can be reached at 402.471.2625 and cjanssen@leg.ne.gov.