Ladies and gentlemen, we did it.  This year has been unlike anything we have ever faced as a legislative body due to the uncertainty our state faced as COVID ravaged the country and widespread protests calling for criminal justice reform spread across the country.

But the Legislature took action.  After halting the legislative session on March 12, we came back in session to pass emergency appropriations to provide funding to the State to combat COVID-19.

This emergency funding provided much needed assistance for our local communities.  This money was used to purchase needed personal protective equipment and allowed our local public health departments to increase staffing, expand call center operations, and allowed for the purchase of laptops to document the spread of the disease.  Additional funding was used to pay for equipment and systems at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, allowing the University to purchase more testing equipment, increase their lab personnel, and other equipment as needed.

In response to the call for criminal justice reform, Senator Steve Lathrop and the rest of the Judiciary Committee held two listening forums in early June in both Omaha and Lincoln.  It was a challenge for the Committee to conduct such important sessions during a pandemic, but they conducted these sessions in a safe way.  Between the two sessions, the Judiciary Committee heard stories from nearly two hundred people explaining that we, as a Legislature, need to examine what is working in our communities and what can be improved upon.

Even with these unforeseen issues, the Legislature was still able to achieve our major goals this session: the renewal of our State’s business incentives program, significant property tax relief, and legislation that supports the Nebraska Transformational Project, a project that would allow for a significant expansion to the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Nebraska Medicine through a partnership of the federal government, the State of Nebraska, and private partners.

Achieving these three goals in an abbreviated timeframe after we reconvened in late July was a daunting task.  I want to thank all of my colleagues who worked as a team nonstop over the last couple of weeks to come to a bipartisan agreement that a vast majority of the Legislature is able to support.  LB 1107, a bill that combines the ImagiNE Nebraska Act, the Nebraska Transformational Project Act, and significant property tax, passed Final Reading on a vote of 41-4-4 and was signed into law on August 13.

The past two years have been a whirlwind fighting for these major programs that will benefit the entire State of Nebraska, but I am honored to have been at the table fighting for our community.  As the 106th Legislature, 2nd session wraps up, I hope I have made you proud.  I look forward to serving you for two more years before I will retire.  Even though I am two years away from being term-limited, I promise I will not stop fighting for my district to enact laws and policies that are equitable, fair and just.

As always, if we can be of assistance to you in any way, please do not hesitate to contact my office. My door is open and I have made it a goal to be accessible to the constituents of our district. Please stop by any time. My e-mail address is mkolterman@leg.ne.gov, and the office phone number is 402-471-2756. Tyler and Katie are always available to assist you with your needs. If I am not immediately available, please do not hesitate to work with them to address any issues that you may need assistance. Please continue to follow me on Facebook at Kolterman for Legislature and on Twitter at @KoltermanforLegislature.

The Clerk’s Office of the Nebraska Legislature is Now Accepting Applications for Legislative Page Positions

The application process for selecting pages for the 2021 Legislative Session is now underway in the Clerk’s Office at the Nebraska Legislature. Legislative pages are local college students employed by the Legislature to respond to senators’ requests for assistance on the Legislative Floor, answer incoming calls to the Legislative Chamber, and possibly assist in committee hearings.

The deadline for submitting an application is Fri., October 2nd at 5:00 pm. A letter of recommendation from your state senator is encouraged. College students from District 24 requesting a letter of recommendation from Senator Kolterman should contact his office at (402) 471-2756 or mkolterman@leg.ne.gov.

Applications are available at the link below (PDF) or from the Clerk of the Legislature’s Office, Room 2018, State Capitol, 1445 K Street. For further information on the application process, please contact the Office of the Clerk of the Legislature at (402) 471-2271.

2021 Nebraska Legislature Page Application

Our Legislative Research Office staff compiled a list of state resources for small businesses that I wanted to make available.

“Small businesses across Nebraska will be impacted in countless ways by the coronavirus global pandemic. Work is being done on many levels to provide relief to Nebraska businesses. The Nebraska Legislature is working with the banking industry, credit unions, local and state chambers of commerce, and others to connect you and your business with relief that is available.”

Small Business Resources

Senator Bolz’s office also put together a document with frequently asked questions about Covid-19 state government services.

Covid-19 and State Government Services: Questions and Answers for Nebraskans

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at mkolterman@leg.ne.gov. You are also welcome to call my office at 402-471-2756.  

For Immediate Release – September 23, 2019 – 5:15 p.m.
Contact: Mark Kolterman (402)-641-8471

I was notified today that four licensed skilled nursing centers in Nebraska announced they are closing. These facilities are Crestview Care Center in Milford, Utica Care Center in Utica, both in District #24, and Mory’s Haven in Columbus, and Blue Hill Care Center in Blue Hill.

It is my understanding that these facilities have set a closing date of November 21, 2019, but will not officially close their doors until each resident is safely transferred to an appropriate facility or other setting that matches them in terms of quality, services, and location, while also taking into consideration the needs, choice, and best interests of each resident.

These four facilities, purchased by Azria Health last week, are notifying affected team members, residents, and family members of the closing, and have started assisting residents and their family members in finding a new facility for the residents. They have also started work to help their team members explore new employment opportunities.

Upon learning of these closures, I asked my staff to pull together a meeting with the Department of Health and Human Services so that I can better understand the process that is to follow in the upcoming days, weeks, and months. I also reached out to local economic development organizations to explore potential employment opportunities for those impacted by the closures. If you or a family member has been impacted by these closures and are in need of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me at mkolterman@leg.ne.gov or 402-471-2756. I will do everything I can to assist families as they transition the care of their loved ones to a new facility or assist employees as they look for new jobs.

The closure of these four facilities are a continuation of an unfortunate trend and will add to the volatility of access to long-term care services across the state. This closure will affect 205 state-licensed beds across the four facilities and will impact approximately 240 employees. As a former member of the Health and Human Services Committee, I was well-aware of the challenges faced by our local care centers – and am committed to working with my colleagues to find long-term solutions to address the increasing problem facing some of our most vulnerable citizens.

Thank you for your patience as we continue to work through these issues. Again, please reach out to me if I can assist in any way.

Senator Kolterman will be participating in two Legislative Forums sponsored by the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce on Mon., September 30th.

Nebraska Chamber Forums – Seward
7:30am-9am
Seward Civic Center Basement
Contact: Seward County Chamber & Development Partnership, (402) 643-4189

Nebraska Chamber Forums – Henderson
Noon to 1:00 p.m.
Perks Cafe
Contact: Kelsey Bergen, (402) 723-4228

These events provide an opportunity to get a firsthand look at the legislative process, learn the issues and meet elected representatives.

The Nebraska Department of Transportation is holding a public information open house meeting on the proposed improvements to U.S. Highway 81 (US-81) in Polk County. The meeting will be held at the Viking Center, 118 East 3rd Street, Stromsburg, Nebraska on Tues., July 30th from 4pm to 6pm.

All interested parties are invited to attend.

This project is in the design stage. Public input is being sought. Please refer to the attached Notice of Public Meeting for more details.

Send comments or questions to:
Sarah Soula
NDOT Public Involvement
1500 Highway 2, PO Box 94759
Lincoln, NE 68509-4759
sarah.soula@nebraska.gov

For more information:
Wes Wahlgren
NDOT District 4 Engineer
211 N. Tilden St., PO Box 1488
Grand Island, NE 68802-1488
wes.wahlgren@nebraska.gov
308-385-6265

dot.nebraska.gov/projects/

Attachment:

NDOT Project – Notice of Public Meeting

The Clerk’s Office of the Nebraska Legislature is Now Accepting

Applications for Legislative Page Positions

The application process for selecting pages for the 2019 Legislative Session is now underway in the Clerk’s Office at the Nebraska Legislature. Legislative pages are local college students employed by the Legislature to respond to senators’ requests for assistance on the Legislative Floor, answer incoming calls to the Legislative Chamber, and possibly assist in committee hearings.

The deadline for submitting an application is Fri., September 28th at 5:00 pm. A letter of recommendation from your state senator is encouraged. College students from District 24 requesting a letter of recommendation from Senator Kolterman should contact our office at (402) 471-2756 or mkolterman@leg.ne.gov.

The page selection committee will meet in October to select individuals to fill those positions.

Applications are available at the link below (PDF) or from the Clerk of the Legislature’s Office, Room 2018, State Capitol, 1445 K Street. For further information on the application process, please contact the Office of the Clerk of the Legislature at (402) 471-2271.

Legislative Page Application 2019

Each morning during the legislative session, the Presiding Officer asks everyone in the chamber to rise for the opening prayer lead by the Chaplain of the Day. Over the years, leaders from many different faiths have served as the Chaplain. Last Monday, we were blessed to have Reverend Monsignor Daniel Seiker, Assistant Spiritual Director at the St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, lead us in prayer. It was very encouraging to have him join us in praying for the leaders of our State. I would invite any faith leader interested in serving as Chaplain of the Day to contact my office for additional details.

Last Tuesday, the Legislature commenced debate on the proposed adjustments to the State’s budget among others. Speaker Scheer introduced LB944 at the request of Governor Ricketts. It included the Governor’s 2018 mid-biennium budget adjustment recommendations for state operations, aid and construction programs, provides for transfers, and modifies intent language and earmarks accompanying appropriations approved last year during the 2017 Legislative Session. These adjustments are necessary to rebalance the two-year biannual budget due to increased child welfare costs, a lower federal Medicaid match rate, and a significant reduction in revenue forecasts resulted in a budget shortfall of roughly $210 million.

While I do not serve on the Appropriation Committee, I followed their progress closely since the start of the session. The Committee held numerous public hearings to develop their revised budget proposal and advanced LB944 out of the committee on a unanimous vote 9-0. While most of Tuesday was spent debating the revised budget on General Final, the Legislature adopted the amended version and moved it to Select File.

On Wednesday, the Revenue Committee met to consider a revised version of LB947, the comprehensive property and income tax reduction bill Senator Smith introduced on behalf of Governor Ricketts. In addition to retaining the state’s current property tax relief credit program, the revised bill adds a refundable state income tax credit starting at 2 percent of property taxes paid on agriculture land and would gradually rise to 20 percent. The total relief for agriculture land would eventually reach 30 percent. For homeowners, the credit would begin at 1 percent of property taxes paid and gradually increase to 20 percent. The maximum credit for homeowners will be $500. LB947 would also reduce the corporate income tax rate from 7.81 percent to 6.84 percent over two years. It also includes an additional $10 million for job training. At this point in the session with only 15 days left, we are waiting to see what, if any, major tax reform bill advances out of the Revenue Committee.

Even though I do not serve on the Revenue Committee, I have worked with my colleagues to lower property taxes. They are too high and impact every individual who owns property, from our retired senior citizens to our farmers and ranchers who depend on their land to make a living. In reality, there is no quick fix. The only way we will be able to achieve meaningful property tax relief is through building a broad coalition of Senators representing both urban and rural interests. This is necessary because my colleagues representing urban communities will tell you that they are looking for income tax relief. A package including both property tax and income tax relief has the best chance of becoming law.

As always, if we can be of assistance to you in any way, please do not hesitate to contact my office. My door is open and I have made it a goal to be accessible to the constituents of our district. Please stop by any time. My e-mail address is mkolterman@leg.ne.gov, and the office phone number is 402-471-2756. Todd and Katie are always available to assist you with your needs. If I am not immediately available, please do not hesitate to work with them to address any issues that you may need assistance.