I recently had a Nebraskan e-mail my office asking why the Unicameral adjourns every day at noon instead of staying in session through the entire day.

While I appreciate their frustration at the lack of progress being made on the floor, we adjourn at noon or 1:00 p.m. in order to hold committee hearings every afternoon at 1:30 p.m. These are important opportunities for Senators to take a close look at legislation and to get feedback not only from the introducer, but from Nebraskans who take the time to travel to Lincoln to testify in favor or opposition to a particular piece of legislation.

On Friday, February 10, my bill, LB 506 – the Compassion and Care for Medically Challenging Pregnancies Act – was heard by the Health and Human Services Committee. While it may seem like a small bill, it will mean a great deal for the families dealing with a devastating, life changing ordeal.

The purpose of LB 506 is to raise awareness of perinatal hospice care and provide readily available information to help women and their families through one of life’s most difficult stages.

As prenatal testing becomes increasingly routine and diagnostic methods have improved significantly over the last few decades, more lethal fetal anomalies such as anencephaly, sever heart defects and others are being detected. Just as the prevalence of prenatal diagnosis increase, so should the information available to parents.

Perinatal hospice and palliative care are innovative and compassionate models of support for families who find out a pregnancy has a life-limiting condition. This care begins at diagnosis and continues through the baby’s birth and death. Perinatal hospice is not a place, but it is a model of care and support that is incorporated into pregnancy and birth care.

When given a serious medical diagnosis, parents are sometimes given minimal options. Unfortunately, this may mean families are not aware of the compassionate care available to them through perinatal hospice services. Many parents faced with this horrible situation find themselves adrift without a life raft and having to find out for themselves what resources are available.

My bill asks the Department of Health and Human Services to host on their website information about perinatal hospice care and organizations which specifically specialize in and offer this care that medical professionals may share with these parents.

Over the last few months I have had wonderful, eye-opening and emotional conversations with experts, medical professionals, and families – and I want to thank them for the input as we put this legislation together.

In the most devastating and difficult circumstances, women and families deserve to know about the exceptional care and support they can receive for themselves and their child.

Friday was an emotional day, and I appreciated each and every “Warrior Mom” who testified in favor of my bill.

Shawna Hoffman, cofounder of HEALing Embrace in Omaha and the mother of a son who died in childbirth, shared with the committee her experience and her support for LB 506. She is one of the bravest women I have ever met, and her story touched us all. Now, we will wait to see if the Health and Human Services Committee votes to send the bill to the floor.

It has been an exciting, educational and slightly frustrating start to the session. I was warned that things move slowly at first, but I am surprised at the pace so far. Hopefully the Unicameral will be able to move on from debating updates to the rules that govern debate to substantive legislation soon.

But while the Unicameral floor may look like a glacier, the Committees which meet in the afternoons are charging full speed ahead.

The Business and Labor Committee, which I chair, meets on Mondays and it has been fascinating work so far.

I’m looking forward to a busy and productive year in the Business and Labor Committee and so far we have had just that. We have 32 bills under the Committee’s jurisdiction this year, and the issues and subjects span from bills requested by the Department of Labor, bills regarding workforce development, and bills dealing with wages and labor conditions to name just a few areas.

When I became Chair of the Committee, I expressed my commitment that every bill would receive a fair hearing and consideration by the Committee.

We’ve had two hearings so far. During those hearings we heard testimony regarding bills like LB 203 introduced by Senator John Kuehn, which dealt with benefits for employers leaving a job without good cause, LB 248 introduced by Senator Burke Harr which creates the Youth Opportunities in Learning and Occupations Act, and my bill, LB 264 which updates a section of the Boiler Inspection Act to account for changes in boiler inspection industry terminology and changes Nebraska’s language to match the industry’s standard language.

In the coming weeks, we will be hearing a bill which deals with the Family Medical Leave Act. We will also hear about a bill which provides protections for employees with family care responsibilities under the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act.

Following our hearings, committee members meet in what is known as an executive session, which allows us to discuss each bill further and in more depth, to make necessary amendments if needed, and to possibly advance a bill to the Unicameral floor for debate before the full body.

We have had one executive session so far and voted to move several bills, including LB 264 to the floor. Over the next few weeks, as we hear more bills in committee, it is my goal to work with my colleagues who have legislation before my committee to move the legislative process along in an efficient manner as possible. While I can’t guarantee a bill will have the support necessary to pass through my committee, each bill will get consideration.

Friday, January 27th marks the 17th day of our 90 day session.

Committee meetings are underway, the Legislature is currently debating the rules that will govern the chamber for the next two years, and some legislation is starting to make its way to the floor.

However, this legislative session was threatened to be hijacked due to the anger directed at a colleague, Senator Bill Kintner.

Senator Kintner’s actions have been well documented, and I feel he did the right thing this week when he announced his resignation. While in my heart I wish this situation could have been resolved earlier, by choosing to resign Senator Kintner has helped restore Nebraskans’ faith in our institution and will allow us to continue to do the work of the people.

I hope his action marks the end the divisive rhetoric that has entered our debates in recent days. But no matter what, it remains my goal to work with my colleagues to help District 17 and all of Nebraska thrive.

This week I introduced my first bill in the Agriculture Committee, LB 276, a bill to update that statute sections first adopted in 1937 relating to hybrid seed corn, specifically to include modern processes of producing hybrid seed corn.

The methods of hybrid breeding have evolved. Some of the methods listed in the current statute have fallen out of favor, while others have emerged. This legislation is the result of conversations between the Department of Agriculture, my colleagues and industry leaders on the best way to update the statutes.

The legislative process allows us to change and tweak bills both on the committee level and during floor debate. I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of my colleagues on various bills before the Business and Labor Committee which I chair and my own personal bills.

That is actually one of the great things about this process. It allows Senators the chance to engage in a fruitful discussion with our colleagues to make the best legislation possible and to come to an agreement on the best way forward.

This, to me, is one of the Nebraska legislature’s core strengths and I look forward to working with my colleagues this session.

I’m also proud to announce that I have recently been selected by my colleagues to serve on the Committee on State-Tribal Relations, which works to build a high-quality working relationship with the Native American Tribes in Nebraska.

My predecessor Sen. Dave Bloomfield served on this Committee, and I’m pleased that Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon and a member of the Sioux nation who grew up near Pine Ridge Reservation has been chosen as Chair.

District 17 Weekly Report
Tuesday, January 10, 2017

It has been an exciting few days here in Lincoln!

Since my election in November, I have been working diligently to prepare for the 105th Session of the Nebraska Legislature.

I have had a number of meetings with constituents in Legislative District 17, and I’ve been able to attend briefings by Attorney General Doug Peterson and the Nebraska Legislature’s Speaker Jim Scheer.

Through these meetings, it became clear to me that there are a number of challenges facing our state. I decided I wanted to do my part to confront these hurdles face on.

After many conversations with my colleagues and my family, I choose to run for Chair of the Business and Labor Committee. This wasn’t an effort that I took on lightly.

I will make sure the Committee works for the benefit of Nebraska businesses, as we grow our economy, both in urban and rural areas.

I’m going to take a fair, hard look at every bill which is referenced to our committee. The Business and Labor Committee oversees legislation relating to workers’ compensation, unemployment compensation, labor conditions, fair employment practices, health and safety regulations and claims against the state. We meet on Mondays, beginning January 23rd in Room 2102 in the Capitol Building in Lincoln.

Other Senators serving on my committee include Sens. Ernie Chambers (Omaha), Sue Crawford (Bellevue), Steve Halloran (Hastings), Matt Hansen (Lincoln), Sara Howard (Omaha), and John Lowe (Kearney). It is a good mixture of rural and urban Senators and we span the ideological spectrum.

Besides my chairmanship, I will be serving on the Agriculture Committee, chaired by my good friend Sen. Lydia Brasch, and the Natural Resources Committee, which is chaired by Sen. Dan Hughes. All three committees will be very active and I look forward to taking up the issues before each.

Committee hearings begin the week of January 17th, and will be streamed live by NET at the following address: http://netnebraska.org/basic-page/television/live-demand-state-government. Live coverage of the full session of the Unicameral is also available from that page.

The first week of session is reserved for leadership elections and procedural matters. Bills will begin appearing on the floor of the Unicameral once the committees have begun.

One of the major issues facing us this year is the nearly $900 million budget gap looming. Over the past several months, tax receipts have been lagging, and Governor Ricketts, in an unusual move, has unveiled his budget proposal earlier than normal. With only six months left in the fiscal year, the Legislature must act to put forth a responsible budget. This is a topic I will write more on in the future, but rest assured I will do everything I can to help put together a responsible budget package to the Governor this year.

Finally, I am here in Lincoln to represent you. I am blessed to have a wonderful, experienced staff helping me navigate my first session in the Unicameral.

Beverly Neel of Wayne, who has served Legislative District 17 for six years working with my predecessor Sen. Dave Bloomfield, will continue serving as my Administrative Assistant and Committee Clerk. She will handle my schedule and will usually be the first person constituents talk to when they call. Charles Isom has started as my Legislative Assistant and, having worked for Sens. Nicole Fox and John Murante, he brings a wealth of knowledge about the Unicameral and the legislative process. Finally, Meghan Chaffee has agreed to remain with the Business and Labor Committee as Legal Council, a roll she has had since 2015.

I want to encourage my constituents to reach out to me at 402-471-2716 or to write me at:

Sen. Joni Albrecht
PO Box 94604
Lincoln, NE 68509-4604

I look forward to hearing from you!