One third of the session is behind us. Public hearings continue in our committees and we are deciding which bills should be advanced to the floor for debate. As individual senators, we are in the process of evaluating which bills should be designated as a priority. I have a couple of issues in mind and will be making that selection in the next few days.

During morning debate on the floor of the Legislature this week, we spent several hours discussing a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow future legislatures to increase the number of state senators up to 55. A bit of history: Nebraska went from a two-house system like Congress and the other 49 states have, to a Unicameral one-house system in 1937. At that time there were 43 state senators who each represented about 27,000 constituents. Today there are 49 state senators, and with our current population, each one represents close to 40,000 people. The discussion included the geographical size of districts, the number of rural and urban senators, technology that allows for easier communication, and the cost of adding more senators and staff. After three hours of debate, no vote was taken. Because it is a proposed amendment to the constitution, it requires 30 votes to pass and be placed on the November ballot.

I did not introduce a bill asking for state help in paying the “Beatrice 6” judgment this session. In last year’s session I had LB 474 which was similar to a bill brought by Sen. Baker before me, allowing for the claim to be paid by the state, through the state claims process. It was not advanced by the committee and based on my communications with the chairman, it will not be, which effectively kills the bill. I continue to have conversations with the Gage County Board and with senators here at the Capitol about funding the judgement. Some senators have indicated support, some senators have commented that they will not support any help from the state in paying the judgement. The state has seen an increase in revenue the past year. There are many requests for those funds and bills introduced for that purpose; the biggest ones being property tax relief (LB 974), economic incentives (LB 720), school funding and other needs. While we all want to see immediate assistance and relief of this issue for Gage County, it is a process that requires educating fellow senators while building relationships and trust.

LB 1033 was heard in the Revenue Committee this week, a measure which would assess state sales tax on the sale or lease of aircraft and use those funds to maintain Nebraska’s airports. The bill would create a capital improvement fund to be administered by the state Department of Transportation. The estimated revenue would be $1.3 million in the first year with small increases in future years. The fund would help smaller airports to access matching federal grant funds without having to borrow or bond to make improvements to their local airfields. That bill is still in committee.

LB 1152 was another bill in committee this week, it would streamline the process for hemp growers in Nebraska as far as licenses and consistency with the federal guidelines. The Nebraska Department of Agriculture supports the bill, and hopes to make the program self-supporting. February 3^rd was the start date to sign up online for the program.

LB 857 was introduced to require periodical review of any new state rules and regulations, to make sure they are achieving what they were intended to do. A report would have to be filed 10 years after the effective date, beginning in 2021. The idea behind the bill is that with changes in staff or the composition of the Legislature, a law can drift from its original intent. There were two organizations in support of the issue and one against. This bill is also still in committee.

Remember that you can look up the status of any bill on the website, www.nebraskalegislature.gov. The website has contact information for all senators and committees as well as the legislative calendar. You can email or call me at any time at mdorn@leg.ne.gov  402-471-2620