We are entering an important and active portion of the session as we begin all-day floor debate on senator and committee priority bills.

There is an adage in the statehouse that we’re halfway through the legislative session, but have 90% of the work ahead of us before adjournment.

Committee hearings concluded on February 24th. We now will meet as a full Legislature for all-day debate on bills that advanced from committees. There are over 100 bills with priority status that will be competing for time during the next seven weeks. There are several other bills eligible for expedited review (termed “Consent Calendar”) that will fill our days. We also must review and modify the two-year state budget to make sure that we continue to match revenues with expenditures after adopting the original budget last May.

One of the priority bills that is well on its way to approval is a bill I mentioned in a previous column. LB 1118 would encourage the development of large data center projects in our state by providing strategic tax incentives. These businesses would house the necessary infrastructure for search engines, encrypted data storage, and other services in the field of electronic commerce.

Nebraska is particularly well-placed to take advantage of new data center opportunities. We are centrally located nationally, have abundant and affordable power, and an excellent workforce. Our universities and colleges have excellent programs that develop and enhance the skills necessary for this field of work.

Our Legislative District is in a very strong position to compete for new data centers with our new Technology Park, available infrastructure and utilities, and Metro Community College’s green data center management degree program. I am confident that Fremont will be in the running for every new data center project that is looking to locate in Nebraska.

LB 1118 was amended on Select File (2nd round of debate) to enhance our state’s competitiveness with other states for mid-sized data center projects. The bill will require a data center to employee at least 30 new employees and invest at least $200 million in qualified property to receive incentives. This change will increase the likelihood of Nebraska landing multiple new data center projects. I am exciting about the opportunities that this bill will create for Nebraska and Dodge County.

Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Laurie Smith Camp upheld most of Fremont’s citizen-initiative ordinance on illegal immigration enforcement and prevention. As most of us expected, Judge Smith Camp ruled that it was entirely appropriate that Fremont require employers to make sure potential employees were lawfully eligible for employment in the U.S. The U.S. Supreme Court made it clear last May in Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting that Fremont was permitted to do so. The judge also agreed that Fremont could require disclosure of legal residency when issuing rental occupancy licenses and those determined to be unlawfully present in the U.S. could be reported to the Department of Homeland Security – Immigration and Customs Enforcement. I’m certain Fremont’s victory has been noted in the U.S. Congress and I am hopeful that our nation’s federal representatives will take action to enforce our immigration laws.

It is nice to see that citizens truly can make a difference when their government representatives don’t listen. We may be seeing a similar development in the next few days in the Unicameral. My voter ID bill has received great support from across the state, but a small minority of senators appear to be determined to ignore Nebraskans’ opinions. A July 2010 Caltech/MIT study examining support for election reform in the United States reported that 79% of Nebraskans supported requiring ID. No other reform measure came even close. (Other categories: internet voting – 24%; vote by mail – 14%; automatic registration – 36%; election day registration – 37%; election day holiday – 50%; election day on the weekend – 38%). Responses were similar nationally with 75% of Americans supporting requiring ID. It is my sincere hope that my colleagues will take these results to heart when voting on my bill.

Please continue to share your thoughts with me on issues before the Unicameral. I can be reached at 402.471.2625, cjanssen@leg.ne.gov, or District 15, State Capitol, Lincoln, NE 68509.

As we enter the second half of the session, committee public hearings are concluding and all-day debate on the floor of the Legislature will begin. Most of our work up to this point has been focused on advancing noncontroversial bills.

In the first 29 working days of this session, we have considered bills in the order that they were sent out of committee. That will change on February 21st.

The Rules of the Legislature permit each senator to designate one bill as a priority bill. Standing committees are permitted to select two priority bills. The Speaker of the Legislature is able to designate up to 25 additional bills. These selections must be made prior to the 30th work day (February 21st). When all of these selections have been made, debate focuses almost exclusively on these bills.

I am pleased to report that two of my bills have been selected as senator priority bills.

Senator Schilz of Ogallala prioritized my voter ID bill (LB 239). This legislation would require voters to show photo ID at the polling place before receiving a ballot. This bill will protect against voter fraud, ensure the integrity of our election system, and instill confidence in our electoral process.

It has always surprised me that we are not asked to prove we are who we say we are before exercising our sacred right to vote. We are required to show photo ID for nearly every other important activity in our daily lives. By leaving our election system vulnerable to fraud and manipulation, we are not doing our due diligence to ensure fair and accurate elections.

Former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker recommended that states adopt voter photo ID laws nearly seven years ago in their report titled, “Building Confidence in U.S. Elections.” This bipartisan cooperative effort had an impact across the country. Fifteen states request or require voters to provide photo ID at the polls. An additional 16 require photo ID or some other form of identification. It is time for Nebraska to join them.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in the 2008 decision Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, ruled that Indiana’s voter photo ID law (considered one of the strictest in the country) was constitutional. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for the court that Indiana had a legitimate state interest in preventing voter fraud, modernizing elections, and safeguarding voter confidence.

I think it is clear that voter photo ID is not only constitutional, but highly recommended as well to ensure the integrity of our votes.

My job reference immunity bill (LB 959) was prioritized by Senator Colby Coash of Lincoln. This bill would encourage open communication between employers, employees, and prospective employers. Nebraska is among a minority of states who do not offer any protections in statute for employers who provide job references. Because of this situation, many employers have chosen blanket policies of providing little or no information on behalf of employees. This prevents good employees from receiving positive references. It also could jeopardize the safety of future co-workers who have no idea of the new employee’s potential violent or disagreeable behaviors.

I selected LB 209 as my personal priority bill this session. This bill protects cities in Dodge County and across the state from potential budgetary complications when sales tax refunds are made to entities that have achieved new employment and investment targets. Our state business tax incentive programs permit entities to claim incentives owed over a period of months. There have been situations where a company has made a claim that a city has not budgeted for. The local portion of the sales tax refund owed may create cash flow problems. With LB 209′s passage, the Department of Revenue would be permitted to give advance notice to cities that a claim is forthcoming within the next year. The Department would make the incentive payment to the company when it was owed and be reimbursed later. There is strong support for this bill across the state. At the public hearing, testifiers from South Sioux City, Sidney, Tecumseh, Ravenna, Lincoln, Omaha, and several other cities asked for its passage.

Please continue to share your thoughts with me on all issues before the Unicameral. I can be reached at 402.471.2625, cjanssen@leg.ne.gov, or District 15, State Capitol, Lincoln, NE 68509.

The Legislature received welcome news on February 10th that our state’s economy is performing very well. The tax receipts that accompany this strong economic performance exceeded projections by 8.3% last month.

In Nebraska we have a unique and highly regarded method to provide tax receipts forecasts. Nearly three decades ago, the Legislature established the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board to take politics out of the budget-writing process. The nine-member board, consisting of five legislative appointees and four gubernatorial appointees, provide advisory forecasts to the state to estimate General Fund receipts. These projections are used to develop the biennial budget.

The board is geographically diverse and includes experts in banking, real estate, manufacturing, economics, entrepreneurship, and agriculture. They meet each February and October, and in odd-numbered years in April, to forecast revenues. The Legislative Fiscal Office and the Department of Revenue provide information to the board members to assist them in developing their forecast.

The board has consistently made good projections for the Legislature’s use. We depend on their estimates to match revenues to expenditures when passing our balanced budget. When revenue receipts exceed predictions by 8.3%, it is a welcome sign that our economy is out-performing all expectations.

All of the major tax receipt categories were higher than the forecast. Individual income tax receipts were an impressive 11% above the forecast. Sales and use tax figures were nearly 6% above the forecast. Miscellaneous taxes, which include alcohol and cigarette tax receipts, were over 1% above the forecast. Corporate income tax receipts, historically the most volatile and difficult to project, were 22% above the forecast.

All these numbers are encouraging. We now have the opportunity to pass significant tax relief legislation this year. The above evidence, as well as other positive economic indicators, prove that we must seize this occasion to do so.

There are many proposals that are competing for the Appropriations Committee’s attention as we adjust the state budget. In addition to the several tax relief bills currently being deliberated in the Revenue Committee, the University of Nebraska has asked the Appropriations Committee for funds to undertake four new initiatives.

One of the proposals requests $50 million in state funds for the construction of a new $370 million cancer research facility at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). Private funds, University of Nebraska Foundation support, and patient revenues would supply the other $320 million. Senator John Nelson, sponsor of this request, said that the new public and private partnership would create new opportunities for collaboration that would benefit cancer patients in need of new and innovative treatments. He predicted that the project would create 1,200 new jobs and nearly $100 million in salaries and benefits.

Two requests ask for funds to address Nebraska’s nursing shortage. Senator Galen Hadley sponsored the $19 million request for the construction of a new facility for the Kearney Division of UNMC’s College of Nursing and the School of Allied Health Professionals. Senator Tony Fulton sponsored the $17 million request for the construction of a new facility for the Lincoln Division of UNMC’s College of Nursing.

Senator Tom Hansen sponsored the $5 million request for the planning and design of a new veterinary diagnostic laboratory facility at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. The present laboratory is in jeopardy of losing its accreditation and administrators believe that a replacement facility will be less expensive than rehabilitating the existing facility. Proponents said that disease surveillance and research is essential to protect our state’s livestock industry and public health in general.

The Economic Forecasting Board’s next meeting on February 24th will provide a better picture of the figures available for the Legislature’s use as we consider tax relief legislation and requests for new appropriations.

I will continue to urge my colleagues to make a tax relief package the first priority as we modify the state’s budget in response to the new numbers from the Forecasting Board.

Please continue to share your thoughts with me on issues before the Unicameral. I can be reached at 402.471.2625, cjanssen@leg.ne.gov, and District 15, State Capitol, Lincoln, NE 68509.

The Legislature paid particular attention to economic development opportunities in recent days. We also acted to protect our tourism industry and recreational areas.

The Revenue Committee had a public hearing on a proposal focused on attracting businesses that have great potential for creating good-paying, high-tech jobs.

LB 1118 would encourage the development of large data center projects in our state by providing strategic tax incentives. These businesses would house the necessary infrastructure for search engines, encrypted data storage, and other services in the field of electronic commerce.

The required investment for companies that want to qualify would be at least $300 million and the addition of at least 30 employees to the new project.

Nebraska is particularly well-placed to take advantage of new data center opportunities. We are a centralized location nationally. We have abundant and affordable power supplies. We have dedicated and hard-working people. We have educational institutions, including the campuses of the University of Nebraska and our community colleges, that have impressive programs to develop the skills needed to work in this industry.

Our Legislative District is in a strong position to compete for these new data centers. Fremont is far along in the development of a new Technology Park. It will have the latest fiber infrastructure needed for high-tech employers. We have our own power plant that provides reliable and affordable electricity. The Fremont campus of the Metropolitan Community College has a new green data center management degree program that is aimed squarely at these new businesses.

I am excited to see the progress on this legislation. It would add another option to our successful Nebraska Advantage program. I firmly believe that it will help attract new data centers and the good-paying jobs they will provide. It is estimated that 1,000 new data centers will be needed in the next decade. Landing even a small percentage of these centers throughout our state will have a great impact on Nebraska’s economy.

Last week the Legislature also took steps to protect our land and water from the harmful invasive species. LB 391, which would create the Nebraska Invasive Species Council, cleared the first round of debate.

Invasive species are non-native aquatic or land-based organisms that can spread rapidly and cause economic and biological harm.

A recent example of the damage that can be done by these organisms can be found in west Omaha, where Zorinsky Lake had to be completely emptied and rehabilitated to remove zebra mussels. These creatures ruin lakes and damage local ecosystems.

The Nebraska Invasive Species Council would bring together experts from the Department of Agriculture, the Game and Parks Commission, the Nebraska Forest Service, the Nebraska Weed Control Association, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, as well as other advisory members, to develop a coordinated adaptive management plan.

Coordination of local, state, federal, private, and non-governmental responses to prevent, control, and manage invasive species would be encouraged. Public outreach and education would also be promoted.

A contamination of the Fremont State Lakes, the Dead Timber State Recreation Area, or the numerous other lakes in Dodge County by invasive species would be costly and time-consuming to rehabilitate. It would also deny local residents and tourists the opportunity to enjoy our recreational areas and provide additional dollars to our local economy.

It is the Legislature’s hope that this initiative to create the Nebraska Invasive Species Council can make an important difference in the prevention of negative impacts from invasive species.

Please continue to share your thoughts with me on issues before the Unicameral. I can be reached at 402.471.2625, cjanssen@leg.ne.gov, or District 15, State Capitol, Lincoln, NE 68509.