I hope this past week found you enjoying the nice change in the weather. It has been nice to see the sun and watch the piles of snow melt away. I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day occurs every February 14th. Across the United States and in other places around the world, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. (“History of Valentine’s Day”. History.com. 19 January, 2024. https://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day-2) I hope you are able to share February 14th with family and loved ones.

Most of this week has been spent debating LB31–Require train crews of at least two individuals. This bill prohibits any train or light engine used in connection with the movement of freight from being operated unless it has a crew consisting of at least two individuals. Two-person crews can play a major role in helping to prevent potential accidents or derailments, as well as allowing potential problems to be addressed while an individual remains in the cab. This bill has been filed for the past 10 years. Nothing has changed since 2015. The largest Class I railroads operating in Nebraska (BNSF & Union Pacific) have collective bargaining agreements with their unions requiring them to operate with two people in the cab on their tracks. The crew size issue will be federally preempted by a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) regulation within the next few months. Nebraska is a state that is so appreciative of our railroads. We appreciate the companies and how they conduct business in our state. Any time there is a natural disaster–floods, blizzards, etc.–they are on the scene to keep goods moving across our country. We appreciate every railroad employer and employee.  I voted against this bill as I don’t think state government should interfere in negotiations between employer and employee.

Last week long hearings began in the two committees I serve on, Education and Revenue. We heard 13 bills in Education and 21 bills in Revenue. I want to focus on some of the bills that were eard in both committees last week.

Education Committee

• LB985 would adjust a portion of the Nebraska Recruitment and Retention Act. This bill requires that teachers endorsed to become certified in SPED, STEM, or Dual Credit must also contract to teach in their field of endorsement in order to receive the high-need retention grant.
• LB878 would limit when school bond elections may be held. This bill would prohibit schools and educational service units from conducting special elections for a bond issue, a property tax levy or exceeding a property tax levy limitation. Instead, such questions could appear on ballots only during statewide general elections in even-numbered years. (“Limits on school, ESU bond elections considered”. Unicameral Update. 31 January, 2024. http://update.legislature.ne.gov/?p=35178)
• LB1027 revises Section 79-1601 which covers requirements for exempt schools, which include private, denominational, parochial, group, and home schools. This section has not been significantly updated in almost 25 years. This bill would allow one parent or guardian to apply with the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) for their child to attend an exempt school. This aligns the requirements of exempt schools with those of public schools. It eliminates the annual renewal requirement for exempt schools in order to eliminate the significant delays, confusion, and burdensome workload placed upon parents and NDE. LB1027 will also make changes in order to harmonize the statute with current NDE practice by removing language regarding subject matter testing for employees of exempt schools, which had never been applied by NDE. Removes allowance for NDE visitation and inspection of exempt schools which has never been implemented. Remove allowance for NDE achievement testing of exempt school students, which has never been used.

Revenue Committee

I introduced LB1310 and LB1354 in the Revenue Committee on February 1st.

• LB1310 would eliminate the sales and use tax exemptions for the Nebraska Lottery and Games of Skill and add a sales tax rate of 20% on the sale of lottery tickets pursuant to the State Lottery Act and transactions involving a cash device as defined in section 77-3001 that are subject to sales tax.
• LB1354 will adopt the Advertising Services Tax Act. This bill will create a tax on the gross income or revenue from advertising services. This tax will be imposed on a person that is subject to the internal revenue code or a group of persons subject to the internal revenue code that are part of the same unitary group that are doing business in Nebraska and whose combined gross advertising income exceeds $1 billion dollars. Advertising revenue does NOT include web hosting services. News media entities, as defined within the act, are excluded from the program.

A few other bills heard in committee January 31-February 2 were:

• LB1241 introduces a levy limit based on the percentage increase in a political subdivision’s total taxable property valuation. An increase in property valuations must be offset by a reduction in the levy.
• LB1316 amends Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-3405 to remove a provision that allows school boards to override levy limits imposed with a seventy percent vote of the school board.
• LB1414 would adopt the Property Tax Growth Limitation Act that would place a cap on local political subdivisions other than school districts. This legislation requires a political subdivision’s property tax request authority to be an amount equal to the political subdivision’s property tax request from the prior year. Any amount approved by the voters and any amount needed to pay the principal and interest on approved bonds, and real growth would be excluded from this cap. Political subdivisions may bank up to 5% of unused budget authority if they do not choose to increase its property tax request.

As always, I invite you to let me know your thoughts, ideas, concerns, or suggestions by calling my office at (402) 471-2716 or emailing me at jalbrecht@leg.ne.gov.

This past week committee public hearings began on those bills introduced this session. There were 597 bills introduced this session and, when added to those introduced last session, brought us up to a total of 1,417 bills for the biennium. Due to a shorter session, there are more bills heard in a committee hearing than during a 90-day session. I serve on the Education and Revenue Committees. The Education Committee meets on Mondays and Tuesdays while the Revenue Committee meets on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. The Education Committee has 82 bills to hear and 14 Gubernatorial appointments to approve in 7 hearing days. The Revenue Committee has 87 bills and 3 Gubernatorial appointments to approve in 18 hearing days. As you can see there is much work to be done in a short amount of time.

On Thursday, January 25th, we heard the State of the Judiciary address from Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Heavican. He talked about the excellent judicial branch judges and support staff, problem-solving courts, probation, language interpreter services, the Office of Public Guardian, and their much needed technology upgrades. There are 100 vacancies statewide out of over 1,600 employees, but they now exceed pre-pandemic staffing levels. The turnover rate has dropped to just over 5% and the vacancy rate branch-wide is less than 8%. These are significant improvements as he noted the Legislature’s recent partnership to help address workforce shortages by funding salary increases for judicial branch staff. He talked about how Nebraska Probation and Problem-Solving Courts are the taxpayers’ friend as it saves the taxpayer money. The average cost of incarceration in Nebraska is $41,000 per person per year while the average cost of probation is $3,500 per person per year and the annual average cost of participants involved in a problem-solving court is approximately $4,400. He then talked about the Office of Public Guardian. The Legislature created the Office of Public Guardian and placed it in the Judicial Branch in 2015 because of the lack of guardians in Nebraska to serve vulnerable, incapacitated adults. These are mostly elderly, mentally ill and medically fragile individuals who lack cognitive capacity and are susceptible to financial exploitation and neglect. The Office of Public Guardian was created to serve as guardian of last resort for individuals when no one else is available. The demand for assistant public guardians far exceeds the current capacity to respond The Office of Public Guardian has had a waiting list since 2018. He finished his address by noting the need for self-contained IT infrastructure for the judicial branch to assist people who are hard of hearing and to address potential security threats. He mentioned the cyberattack that compromised sensitive personal information in the Kansas court system. “Kansas serves as a warning for the rest of us,” Heavican said. “If the Kansas Supreme Court fell victim to a sophisticated foreign cyberattack, without needed upgrades, we must consider ourselves equally vulnerable.” (Portions of this taken from: “Chief justice highlights judicial branch progress, challenges”. Unicameral Update. January 25, 2024. http://update.legislature.ne.gov/?p=35087)

Governor Jim Pillen was in South Sioux City on Tuesday, January 23rd to host a town hall. He did share that he is focused on kids, taxes, agriculture and values in 2024. The main topic he covered was addressing property taxes. He has heard complaints from people about not being able to afford to stay in their homes because of the state’s high property tax rate. Governor Pillen is pushing a plan to reduce property taxes in Nebraska by 40 percent. I continue to work on the Governor’s Property Tax plan to help meet this goal. Many bills were introduced to help address this issue. We will look at all of them and come up with the best way to help all Nebraskans. (Portions of this taken from: McNett, Jared. “Pillen: ‘We have to fix property tax’”. Sioux City Journal. 25, January, 2024. https://shorturl.at/jsxV8)

The Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) and GROW Nebraska Announce Statewide Availability of the Nebraska Small Business Assistance Act Program, Invite Pre-Applications for Program Benefits. The DED, in collaboration with GROW Nebraska Foundation, is pleased to announce the statewide availability of the Nebraska Small Business Assistance Act (NSBAA) Program. The purpose of this program is to support individuals looking to start a small business or seeking to expand a small business they opened within the past 5 years. Under the program, a small business is defined as a business with no more than five full-time equivalent employees based on hours worked (not including the business owner). The NSBAA Program provides two benefits to qualified individuals:

1. Funding to access professional services: These include services such as strategic planning, accounting and budgeting, tax return preparation, payroll processes, website development, or assistance setting up an LLC.
2. Grants for both new businesses and existing businesses: Grant funding can be used for eligible business purposes including, but not limited to: startup costs working capital, franchise fees, equipment, inventory, or purchase/renovation of a place of business

                a. Applicants for a new business grant could receive up to a $25,000 grant.
                b. Applicants for an existing business grant could receive up to a $12,500 grant.

Given strong interest in the program, priority will be given to individuals with developed business concepts that 1) clearly identify targeted customer markets and 2) forecast revenues for three years, providing detailed projections of sales in year one. Additional information on the Nebraska Small Business Assistance Act Program is available on DED’s website: https://opportunity.nebraska.gov/programs/business/sbaa/. (Ellingson, Kate. “DED and GROW Nebraska Announce Statewide Availability of the Nebraska Small Business Assistance Act Program, Invite Pre-Applications for Program Benefits”. Department of Economic Development News Release. 25 January, 2024. https://shorturl.at/gFGMU)

On Friday, January 26th, I attended the Nebraska Right to Life Gala in Lincoln. At this event, I was awarded the Julie Schmit-Albin Leadership Award for my work on pro-life legislation over the past 7 years in the Nebraska Legislature. I am honored to receive this award. Julie worked tirelessly with me on my first pro-life bill and was right by my side every step of the way. When I arrived at the Nebraska Legislature in 2017, I thought I was coming to deal with property taxes. Little did I know that I had been called to work on pro-life issues. I have been pro-life my entire life and I feel honored to carry the title of Pro-Life Senator. I may be done serving as a State Senator, but I will never stop fighting for the unborn.

As always, I invite you to let me know your thoughts, ideas, concerns, or suggestions by calling my office at (402) 471-2716 or emailing me at jalbrecht@leg.ne.gov.

I hope you are staying safe and warm as we are in the midst of a very cold and snowy January. Again, I would like to thank the Emergency Managers, first responders, law enforcement, and road workers for all their hard work during this cold and snowy few weeks.

On Thursday, January 18th, Governor Pillen gave his State of the State Address to the Legislative body. He talked about the winter weather we have had and how Nebraskans stepped up to help other Nebraskans as has been done before. State troopers, sheriff’s deputies, police officers, other first responders, and snow fighters from across the state moved swiftly to rescue those trapped by the storms, clear roads, and dig out our communities and agriculture. He then reminded us of the many good things that took place during his first year as Governor. He reminded us that our kids are our future and we never ever give up on our kids. With that in mind, we took major steps to make sure the state meets its school funding promises to every kid in every district by investing $1 billion into the Education Future Fund to support K-12 education. This included a critical step forward in foundation aid of $1500 per student and overdue increases in special education funding. We passed the Opportunity Scholarships Act which will ensure that needy students from every corner of our state have a chance at a good education at a school that will be the best fit for them. We took a big first step toward addressing mental health challenges with the unanimous creation of certified community behavioral health clinics. We agreed that state government was spending too much and taxing its people too much. We passed a historic fiscal conservative budget with only 2% growth. We agreed that taxing our seniors’ social security is not the Nebraska way and ended it. We finally made our income tax codes competitive with our neighbors by reducing income tax rates to 3.99% by 2027. We supported value-added agriculture by increasing consumer ethanol access. We created and strengthened the Nebraska Broadband Office, which will leverage once-in-a-generation resources to ensure rural Nebraska businesses and farms can connect to a global economy. We defended the unborn by restricting abortions beyond 12 weeks. We will continue to embrace life here in Nebraska with the launch of a yearlong “Culture of Life and Love Initiative”. It will provide resources to expecting moms, especially those in crisis and who need support more than ever. We Nebraskans are a people grounded in values: faith, family, freedom, life, and love. We are a place of rich opportunity and one of the safest places to live in the world to raise a family. We have the gift of belief. Among our greatest strengths is that we believe we can compete with anyone, anywhere in the world and we can. (Strimple, Laura and Schafer, Jacy. “Governor Pillen 2024 State of State Address”. 18 January, 2024. https://shorturl.at/aqFN3)

News from Governor Pillen’s Office
Governor Pillen issued Executive Order 24-2 to produce and preserve electricity in the face of energy demands resulting from the recent snow storm and subzero temperatures. Power providers are permitted to take steps necessary to meet ongoing demands. At the same time, entities with an ability to generate electricity are asked to take actions that will ensure preservation of the electrical grid. The Governor’s order is effective immediately and will remain in effect through February 16, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. (Strimple, Laura and Schafer, Jacy. “Gov. Pillen Temporarily Waves Regulations on Nebraska’s Power Providers’ Ability to Produce Electricity”. Governor Pillen Press Release. 16 January, 2024. https://shorturl.at/boAQ8)

Two bills were introduced this past week aimed at pushing back against foreign adversarial influence in Nebraska. Senator Barry DeKay (District 40) introduced legislation to modernize laws related to foreign-owned agriculture land (LB1301). This bill will continue the state’s prohibition on foreign persons or foreign-owned companies from owning agricultural land. It tightens existing exemptions on industrial use and ownership by foreign adversaries in areas near critical military installations. This bill directs the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) to review land purchases and sets forth a process for divestment of entities determined to be violating the law. Senator Bostar (District 29) introduced legislation requiring the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) to audit all critical procurements of the state to determine what affect a conflict in the Pacific would have on state supply chains (LB1300). This proposed measure also restricts public entities from contracting with companies owned by foreign adversaries with specific regard to communication technologies. “I am proud to work with a bipartisan group of senators on both of these priorities to help protect Nebraskans against our foreign adversaries,” added Governor Pillen. (Strimple, Laura and Schafer, Jacy. “Governor Pillen & Senators Push Back Against Foreign Adversaries”. Governor Pillen Press Release. 16 January, 2024. https://shorturl.at/qvBCD)

As always, I invite you to let me know your thoughts, ideas, concerns, or suggestions by calling my office at (402) 471-2716 or emailing me at jalbrecht@leg.ne.gov.

Winter has once again reared its head with two winter storms back to back in the same week. A huge thank you goes out to the road crews that go out to clear county roads and highways so those who need to travel can get where they need to safely. Another thank you goes out to the Emergency Managers in District 17 that keep us informed and stay on top of changing weather patterns to keep the public abreast of the changes. I would like to thank the police officers and first responders for all their work to help those in need and for their work during cold and snowy weather. Your work does not go unnoticed. I want to remind you that if it is recommended that you stay home and off the roads, you should heed the warnings so you and others can go home safely to your families. Just a few reminders as winter continues in the coming months:

• The Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) recommends checking 511, the state’s travel information system, before traveling. Details include road conditions and traffic cameras, in addition to weather radar and more.
• Have an emergency preparedness kit for each vehicle.
• The Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) reminds motorists to maintain speed in accordance with road conditions, allowing for extra stopping distance between vehicles and adding extra driving time. Give snowplows plenty of room, especially when they are actively clearing snow or spreading salt and sand. Motorists in need of assistance can call the NSP Highway Helpline at *55 or 800-525-5555. That number is answered 24 hours a day.

Rules
On Monday, January 8th, the Rules Committee held their public hearing on the proposed rules. The Committee then voted out 17 potential rule changes to be debated on the floor. Due to weather delays, we didn’t begin debating the rules until Thursday, January 11th. During the six hours of debate, we did adopt two less controversial changes in hopes of restricting tactics that many senators portrayed as stifling meaningful debate. Of the two rules passed, one would prohibit a second vote on the same day on a priority motion to kill a bill or recommit it to committee if such a motion had already come to a vote. Another change would allow cloture votes–to cut off debate–on legislative motions, instead of just bills. Rules debate will take place again on Tuesday, January 16th. Speaker Arch has set a deadline of January 19th to complete deliberations over rules changes. Time is limited this session as we only have 60 short days to consider dozens of bills. As of Friday, January 12th, there have been 379 bills introduced and bill introduction will finish on Wednesday, January 17th. (Hammel, P. (11 January, 2024). “Debate over legislative rules moves slowly on mostly noncontroversial changes”. Nebraska Examiner. https://shorturl.at/eopBJ.)

News from Governor Pillen’s office
Governor Pillen has declared January as ‘Human Trafficking Awareness Month’. The governor was joined by Lieutenant Governor Joe Kelly, Attorney General Mike Hilgers, and State Patrol Superintendent Colonel John Bolduc for the proclamation signing. The event highlighted Nebraska’s efforts in the last year to combat human trafficking in Nebraska including the adoption of a new human trafficking hotline. “Together through all these efforts, we can uncover and stop human trafficking in our state and protect the dignity of human life. I would ask everyone to join me, Attorney General Hilgers, and Colonel Bolduc in this fight by becoming more informed, staying vigilant, and telling law enforcement when you see signs of human trafficking,” said Governor Pillen. Following the proclamation signing, Attorney General Hilgers highlighted the following from the newly published report by the Nebraska Human Trafficking Task Force (NHTTF):

• 2,700 people trained across a spectrum of agencies and organizations to recognize human trafficking and its impacts
• In 2022 alone, 13 defendants were convicted of sex trafficking charges\
• In 2022, the Nebraska Legislature passed LB1246, which includes a confidentiality provision for victims as well as a requirement for those convicted to register as sex offenders
  The new hotline number has been very effective in producing tips about human trafficking, an average of 12 calls per month since it went into effect.

The hotline number is 1-833-PLS-LOOK or 1-833-757-5665. It is manned 24 hours a day by a highly trained dispatcher. To learn more, go to https://ago.nebraska.gov/nebraska-human-trafficking-task-force. (Strimple, Laura and Gage, John. “Governor Pillen Declares January ‘Human Trafficking Awareness Month’. Governor Pillen Press Release. 10 January, 2023. https://shorturl.at/mntuP)

As always, I invite you to let me know your thoughts, ideas, concerns, or suggestions by calling my office at (402) 471-2716 or emailing me at jalbrecht@leg.ne.gov.

Happy New Year from Lincoln, NE. As I begin my final session as your representative, I am looking forward to the upcoming legislative session. I am humbled and grateful to have the opportunity to represent you for the past 7 years at the Nebraska Legislature.  It has been an amazing privilege for me to represent District 17 in Northeast Nebraska. I so appreciate those of you who have supported me and made this an awesome experience and having the opportunity to make Nebraska a better place to call home.

As I reflect on being in public service for the past 20 years–8 years on City Council, 4 years on County Board, and 8 years as a State Senator– I look fondly over serving the public who voted me into these various offices. Whether I represent the public or I am home on the farm, I will always care about life from conception to natural death, have a passion for children and families, and respect for businesses in rural and urban communities. When I came to the State Legislature 7 years ago, I came prepared to work on property taxes and less regulations. Little did I know I would become the pro-life Senator and work on pro-life legislation throughout my 8 years as a State Senator. 

Over the past three months, I have been a member of Governor Pillen’s Property Tax Working Group. This group has met regularly to discuss different ideas on how to address the high property taxes in Nebraska. We looked at a lot of options, including eliminating some current sales tax exemptions. Governor Pillen has proposed to raise the state sales tax rate by 2 cents, from 5.5 cents to 7.5 cents. Revenue from the 36% hike in sales taxes would be used to help lower local property taxes. Under the proposal, groceries would continue to be tax-exempt in the state, but the cost of other goods, such as automobiles, clothes and supplies such as diapers, would see a jump. The 2-cent increase is just the starting point and it could be amended lower. (Hammel, P (3 January, 2024). “Gov. Pillen loads up pitch to raise state sales tax by 2 cents, to shift taxes away from property”. Nebraska Examiner. https://shorturl.at/ejmnI.) Governor Pillen’s property tax reform proposal is not necessarily the finished product. Changes will be coming. We will meet again on January 11th. Property Tax relief is coming, but I am not sure what formula will get us there. Stay tuned as there is more to come before property tax reform is complete.

The first 10 days of the Legislative Session are spent introducing new potential legislation. In the first three days, 216 new bills were introduced ranging from bills regarding housing, child care, farming, K9 care, prescriptions, poverty, petitions, and postpartum coverage. More bills will be introduced until Day 10 on Wednesday, January 17th. We will begin rules debate on Wednesday, January 10th. I will be sharing more of our activities in coming weeks.

As always, I invite you to let me know your thoughts, ideas, concerns, or suggestions by calling my office at (402) 471-2716 or emailing me at jalbrecht@leg.ne.gov.

There are only a few days left in 2023 before looking forward to a brand new year in 2024. I hope you enjoy celebrating with family or friends. I always enjoy new beginnings and look forward to the year ahead. From our office to you and your family–Happy New Year!

Civilizations around the world have been celebrating the start of each new year for at least four millenia. Today, most New Year’s festivities begin on December 31 (New Year’s Eve), the last day of the Gregorian calendar, and continue into the early hours of January (New Year’s Day). Common traditions include attending parties, eating special New Year’s foods, making resolutions for the new year, and watching fireworks displays. (History.com editors. “New Year’s”. History.com. 28 November, 2023. https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/new-years)

Upcoming 2024 Session preview
Last week I shared with you some of the bills I have introduced and they have the ability to be voted out of committee and onto the floor for full and fair debate. This week I would like to share the rest of the bills to be considered.

• LB440–Change provisions relating to certain school taxes and special funds–This bill clarifies that the special tax (building fund) under §79-10,120, could not be used to build a new school building, add additional footage to an existing school building, or purchase sites upon which new buildings will be located. School districts looking to use the building fund to build new buildings, add additional square footage to an existing school building, or purchase land for the site of a new building, must receive approval through a vote of its citizens at a general or special election under §79-1098.
• LB441–Change provisions relating to obscenity–This bill repeals the exemption for those in educational institutions providing obscenity to minors in grades K-12.
• LB635–Provide requirements regarding access to digital and online resources provided for students by school districts, schools, and the Nebraska Library Commission–This bill would ensure that vendors and providers of digital and online resources (databases) to school children in K-12 grades filter and block materials illegally obscene and harmful to minors and verify to the schools or Nebraska Library Commission that they have done so and to cause the Nebraska Library Commission and the Nebraska Department of Education to submit an annual report.

As always, I invite you to let me know your thoughts, ideas, concerns, or suggestions by calling my office at (402) 471-2716 or emailing me at jalbrecht@leg.ne.gov.

Thank you for visiting my website. It is an honor to represent the people of the 17th legislative district in the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature.

You’ll find my contact information on the right side of this page, as well as a list of the bills I’ve introduced this session and the committees on which I serve. Please feel free to contact me and my staff about proposed legislation or any other issues you would like to address.

Sincerely,
Sen. Joni Albrecht