THE NEBRASKA STATE FAIR begins celebrating its 150th anniversary in four days at Fonner Park in Grand Island. Held August 23-September 2 this year, the Fair attracts visitors and competitors from across Nebraska and from surrounding states. Those 4-H members and others who have worked hard all year long and have gained recognition at local county fairs compete at a new level at the State Fair. I am excited to see several emerge as “the Best of the Best”. There are some exciting changes in atmosphere and programming this year. There is no doubt that the sights, sounds, and feel of the Nebraska State Fair provide families with special moments and memories that last a lifetime. I’m looking forward to taking some time away from the farm to visit the exhibits and hopefully to hear U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, talk about Nebraska and Agriculture at his scheduled public town hall event on Friday, Aug. 23.

In case you missed it: FLOOD DAMAGE COVERAGE EXPANDED! At the Governor’s request, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has extended the incident period in which disaster-caused damage may be covered. The presidential disaster declaration, issued March 21, 2019, originally covered the period from March 9 to April 1. With the extension, additional uninsured damage sustained through July 14 may now be eligible for FEMA assistance and U.S. Small Business Administration low-interest loans.
If you have already registered with FEMA for disaster related damage that occurred between March 9, 2019, and April 1, 2019, AND your home received additional uninsured damage through July 14, 2019, you may be eligible for additional assistance. You do not need to reapply. You should submit an appeal in the form of a signed letter to FEMA requesting reassessment and explaining your reasons in writing. Appeal letters and supporting documents can be uploaded quickly to your account. A sample appeal letter, can be found at: https://nema.nebraska.gov/sites/nema.nebraska.gov/files/doc/appeal.pdf.
In District 17, homeowners, renters and businesses in Thurston County may also be eligible for low interest SBA loans under the expansion. Homeowners, renters, businesses and private nonprofits that have sustained new or additional uninsured or under-insured damages through July 14, can contact and apply for an SBA loan online at disasterloan.sba.gov/ela or by calling SBA’s customer service center at 800-659-2955. The deadline to register is Sept. 13, 2019.

HEARINGS ON INTERIM STUDIES requested by Senators in last session are beginning to fill committee calendars as we move into the fall. The Revenue, Judiciary, and Appropriations Committees have a number scheduled hearings to examine the plans for, effectiveness of, fiscal impact of, and/or funding streams on a number of issues being considered. You can find the hearing schedule calendar and topics at www.nebraskalegislature.gov/hearings. Most hearings can be seen live-streamed on NET TV, so if you have a particular area of interest, tune in to watch and listen.
As a reminder, your Legislature has the following standing committees to consider issues and legislation for Nebraskans:
Agriculture
Appropriations
Banking, Commerce, and Insurance,
Business and Labor
Education
General Affairs
Government, Military and Veterans Affairs
Health and Human Services
Judiciary
Natural Resources*
Nebraska Retirement Systems
Revenue
Transportation and Telecomm cations*
Urban Affairs

* I currently serve on the Natural Resource and Transportation and Telecommunications Committees in addition to the Special Committee on State-Tribal Relations.
As always, it is of great importance that I hear from my constituents to effectively do my job as your voice in the Legislature. I encourage you to contact me and I look forward to hearing from you. You can reach me by phone at 402-471-2716 or by email at jalbrecht@leg.ne.gov