Things are starting to pick up in our second week of session. We’ve approved the committees and continued to introduce legislation. As of January 13th, over 490 new bills have been introduced. More are expected as we approach the deadline for new bill introduction on January 18th.

Hearings for all committees will begin on January 23rd, you can find the schedule for these hearings on the legislature’s website https://nebraskalegislature.gov/ on the Left side of the screen click “committees” then “hearing schedules.” You can then view upcoming hearings by week or select a range to view.

If you’ve found a hearing or bill you would like to make a comment on. There are several options for adding your comments on the record. You can attend the hearing in person or make a comment online. Information on how to participate in these hearings can be found on the Legislature website listed above. Click the “committees” and “public input options” on the left side of the screen.

During my time in the Legislature broadband service has been a primary project of mine. I want to thank Governor Pillen for starting the Broadband Office. Along with some federal funding that is coming to the state and several new bills being introduced, it will help to increase high speed access to unserved and underserved areas of Nebraska. The FCC has created a map to help target the areas where the federal funds will be best used and where services are needed.

The rules committee met on Jan 12th to discuss 58 proposed rule changes suggested and released its report to the rest of the legislative body and full debate on the motion to adopt the permanent rules will begin on January 19th. Thank you to those who have reached out to my office to share your opinions on the rule changes and those who came in person to put their thoughts on the record. I appreciate the feedback.

As always, contact my office with any questions or thoughts on legislation impacting District 23. You can reach my office at 402-471-2719 or bbostelman@leg.ne.gov