In the first seven days of the session, bills that address the major issues facing our state have been introduced. These include property tax, corrections, Medicaid and underlying all of this – the state’s budget.  We have three more working days for bill introduction, and hearings on new bills begin on Tuesday the 21^st.

As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I get a first-hand look at the income and expenditures of our state. Many excellent ideas and projects are proposed each session but the reality is that they must fit within the budget or be self-funded. One program that I strongly support is SIMS-NE, the Simulation in Motion educational trucks which are used to train rural EMTs and hospital personnel. My bill, LB 761, proposes an addition to the “Fifty Cents for Life” initiative to insure the SIMS program will continue and that their equipment will remain up to date. As an EMT for over 30 years, I know from experience how important it is to have realistic training and the impact of having a rescue squad in a rural area that knows what it is doing.

I introduced two other bills, LB 762 and 763.  LB 762 provides funding for the Nebraska Hall of Fame. Basically, the bill helps with the cost of placing a family member into the Hall and removes that financial burden from the descendants.

LB 763 simply includes townships in the current method of distributing funds which are collected by the county. Entities which receive these funds include villages and cities, school districts, ag societies, rural fire districts, ESUs and so on; but townships had not been included on the list resulting in a cumbersome process for the county treasurer and the townships. The bill takes care of that. Improving and streamlining our government is part of the legislative process, and I appreciate when these proposals are brought to my attention.

The beginning of the session is a good time to review “how a bill becomes a law” and how you can get involved. Every bill goes through a long process before being enacted, and often undergoes many changes along the way. In Nebraska, every bill has a public hearing and testimony is open to the public. After the hearing, the committee votes to advance, hold or kill the bill. As a citizen, you can testify in person, send a letter of support or opposition, and send letters or emails to the committee members.

If the bill is advanced out of committee to the full legislature, it goes through two rounds of debate and voting (General File and Select File) before one last vote on Final Reading. Sometimes the bills will have amendments recommended by the committee which had the hearing; and other times, senators will propose amendments to the bill during the debate stages. This is a good time to contact your own senator with your opinions. You can also send your communication to every senator. Information about the progress of every bill, and contact information for all senators can be found at www.nebraskalegislature.gov.

Due to the Capital HVAC project, my office has moved into the tower for the current session, so you will need to call ahead to arrange any visits. You are always welcome and encouraged to contact me. mdorn@leg.ne.gov  402-471-2620