107TH LEGISLATURE INTERIM 

I am looking forward to celebrations throughout the nation honoring the brave men and women who have sacrificed to keep America the home of the free and the land of the brave. I would like to personally extend my gratitude to those of you who have served in the military to uphold the freedoms and liberties we enjoy everyday. I also want to recognize the families who have paid the ultimate sacrifice and lost a loved one for the sake of this great nation. The theme for the year’s Veterans Day is “Honoring All Who Served.” I hope each young person will sit down and visit with a Veteran. Get to know their story and where they served. Let a Veteran know how much they are appreciated and we will always honor their service. 

NEBRASKA STATE COLLEGES ENTERTAIN POLICY CHANGE

The Board of Trustees for the Nebraska State College System, which governs Wayne State, Chadron State, and Peru State, is scheduled to vote on ideologically driven gender identity policies during their November 11th board meeting.

Wayne State College in District 17, is the reason I joined Senator Julie Slama who represents District 1, with Peru State College, and Senator Tom Brewer who represents District 43 with Chadron State College, in writing a letter to Chancellor Turman and the Board of Trustees for the Nebraska State College System imploring them to reject the proposed gender identity policies.

The proposed revisions to Board Policy 5007 (Anti-Harassment/Discrimination Policy) and New Board Policy 5012 (Chosen Name and Gender Identity) that incorporate gender identity ideology present many of the same issues from the Nebraska Department of Education’s proposed Health Education Standards, which drew opposition from the majority of state senators in the Nebraska Legislature and thousands of concerned parents and taxpayers. 

The policies would force employees—including professors, staff and students—to adopt a person’s preferred pronouns, even if doing so would violate the sincerely held moral and/or religious views of the employee. Failure to do so could constitute workplace harassment and result in disciplinary action by the State College System. Board Policy 5007 also infringes on the privacy and safety rights of women on campus by allowing biological males who identify as female. 

I have a growing concern about such controversial policies being introduced by the education systems across the state this year. It is a vital time for all Nebraskans to stay informed and let your voice be heard for the sake of the next generations. The State College Board of Trustees meeting will be at Wayne State College on November 11th at 3:30pm in the Niobrara Room in the Kanter Student Center. You can find all of the information at the NSCS website.

I find it very interesting that the University of Nebraska also came out with a memorandum last March, the same month that the Nebraska Department of Education published the first draft of their Health Education Standards. Memorandum #40 is the University’s Policy on Chosen Name and Gender Identity. During a time when thousands of parents gathered at public hearings to express their concerns about similar ideologies, the University was putting very similar policies in place. It seems to me like a lack of transparency. It should be recognized that it is often the parents who finance the college their children attend. In visiting with Chancellor Turman and asked this question, “Has there been any related issues to these policies at this time?” He assured me there was not. It makes me wonder why they feel they need to adopt these policies? Nebraskans need to wake up and pay attention. The next generation doesn’t have to stay in Nebraska to be educated. Students and parents have many choices where they can be educated, and I hope they choose to stay in Nebraska.

REVENUE COMMITTEE SPECIAL MEETING

As a member of the Legislative Revenue Committee, I was part of a joint meeting with the Appropriations Committee this week to hear a presentation of the 2021 Nebraska Tax Expenditure Annual Report from the Nebraska Department of Revenue. 

The Revenue Committee stood together and held a press conference to discuss the Lincoln Journal Star article entitled Property Tax Rate is Lower, but Lincoln Homeowners Could Still Pay More. The article states “The average assessed valuation of homes in Lancaster County jumped a record 11% — an increase sparked by a limited supply of homes for sale and huge demand that led to buyers competing and driving up sale prices. That means the owner of an average home in Lincoln — $226,341 this year — will pay $4,511 in property taxes. Thirteen governmental subdivisions make up a Lincoln homeowner’s tax bill. The biggest by far is Lincoln Public Schools, which comprises 62%. The city of Lincoln makes up 16% and the county 14%. The city’s 31.793-cent tax levy means the owner of that same home will pay $720 to support city services. The county’s 26.4076-cent levy means that homeowners will pay $598 to support county services, an amount which doesn’t include the amount levied by the Railroad Transportation Safety District.” 

I know this may not seem like it relates to District 17, but It is disheartening to work so hard as a Legislator to reduce property taxes and see local decisions like this erase the relief for their residents. 30% of a Lincolnite’s tax payment will go toward property taxes. This is a local issue. It is important to take a look where our taxes are being spent and rise up and pay attention to where your money is going. If we aren’t careful in Nebraska, we will be taxing people out of their homes or out of our state. 

VACCINE MANDATES

Many of Nebraska’s leaders are standing together to fight the government overreach of forced vaccine mandates. Earlier this month I joined 27 of my Legislative Colleagues requesting that Governor Ricketts call a Special Session to address the mandates. In his wisdom, Governor Ricketts said he would gladly call a Special Session if at least 33 Senators were in support. The Governor wanted to see 33 votes not only because a Special Session would cost Nebraska thousands of dollars, but also because it might possibly take 2-3 weeks of everyone’s  time only to fail by not having 33 votes. The Attorney General and Governor Ricketts are taking bold stands joining their colleagues across the county to fight the Biden Administration’s overreach. The 21 Senators who did NOT sign on in support of the Special Session to fight vaccine mandates were: Ray Aguilar, Carol Blood, Eliot Bostar, John Cavannaugh, Machaela Cavanaugh, Jen Day, Wendy DeBoer, Matt Hansen, Robert Hilkemann, Meagan Hunt, Mark Kolterman, Steve Lathrop, John McCollister, Terrell McKinney, Adam Morfeld, Patty Pansing Brooks, John Stinner, Tony Vargas, Lynne Walz, Justin Wayne, and Anna Wishart. I look for legislation to be created for the 2022 legislative session. 

I always enjoy hearing from you. If you have any comments or concerns, please contact me at 402-471-2716 or jalbrecht@leg.ne.gov.