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

Greetings from the Legislature! Happy New Year to Nebraskans and constituents of district 23! I hope everyone had a safe and blessed Christmas season and is having a great start to the new year. The 108th Nebraska Legislature, First Session convened on Wednesday, January 4th and is now underway.

Our 108th Legislative session is a long, 90-day session that began with elections for all legislative positions and permanent officers. I was reelected as Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee and I will continue to serve on the Transportation and Telecommunications committee.

We’ve seen several changes in the legislature already beginning with the retirement of Patrick O’Donnell. Patrick has served as the Clerk for the Legislature faithfully for 45 years. He has done a great job ensuring the constitutional, statutory and policy requirements are followed when the Legislature is in session and providing guidance in these areas outside of session. He will be missed.

Additional Legislative changes included greeting 12 new senators and 2 returning senators. We said goodbye to Speaker Mike Hilgers, who was elected Attorney General. The second day of session was a ceremonial day as we witnessed the swearing in of the States Constitution Officers. This included Lieutenant Governor Joe Kelley and Governor Jim Pillen.

Bill introduction for new legislation, which is completed in the first 10 days of session, will end on January 18th. In our first days of session, which ended on Friday, January 6th saw a total of 159 bills introduced. You can view and track these bills at https://nebraskalegislature.gov/ and select “Introduced legislation” in the center of the page. This website is updated as the new bills are introduced.

I will continue to provide updates as we progress through the session. I encourage you to reach out to my office with the issues that impact you. You may contact my office at 402-471-2719 or bbostelman@leg.ne.gov