Greetings from the Legislature, and Happy New Year to Nebraskans and constituents of district 23!  I hope everyone had a safe and blessed holiday season and is having a great start to the New Year.  The 107th Nebraska Legislature, Second Session convened for the 2022 session on Wednesday, January 5th and is now under way.  This session is a short 60-day session, and the Legislature will hit the ground running with the first ten days spent on new bill introduction as well as debating carryover legislation from the First Session. At the time of writing this, so far 222 new bills have been introduced.

Several normal procedures around the Capitol have been reinstated this session, after being modified last year to better deal with the COVID-19 situation, mostly administrative matters, but also changes affecting the public. The north and south balconies of the legislative chamber will once again be open to members of the public and the media. Additionally, once committee hearings begin, we will return to holding floor debate in the morning and then committee hearings in the afternoons.

There have been a few changes regarding public input on legislation. The practice of submitting written testimony on a bill or resolution in lieu of in-person testimony has been discontinued. However, the public comment section for each bill and resolution which can be viewed by senators and staff will be continued.

You now have the option to request that your comment be part of the permanent hearing record if it is submitted prior to noon CST the workday prior to the hearing for the respective bill/resolution.  This is now the only way to submit your position letter to be included in the public record without testifying in person.  Letters submitted via email or hand-delivered will no longer be included as part of the hearing record.

Comments can be submitted on the Nebraska Legislature website at https://nebraskalegislature.gov/ by searching a bill/resolution number under “Search Current Bills” near the top right portion of your screen and clicking on “Submit Comments Online” under the History tab near the center of the website.

I appreciate hearing from constituents on issues affecting District 23 and encourage you to contact my office on legislation at 402-471-2719 or bbostelman@leg.ne.gov