As we celebrate the Easter holiday, the signs of spring are everywhere.  Field work, baby calves, and baseball’s opening day, there is always something good about the change of seasons. 

By law, the only required duty of the Legislature is passing the state’s biennial budget. The Appropriations Committee moved the mainline budget bill, LB 380, along with several others, out of committee last week. The entire budget was distributed to each senator on Thursday in a booklet totaling 270 pages, giving senators and staff the long Easter weekend to read it over. 

Two years ago, we waited for the April forecast board report to finalize the budget. This year we worked at a quicker pace due to concerns that the pandemic could force the Legislature into an extended recess similar to what occurred last spring. Speaker Hilgers has scheduled discussion to begin next Thursday and he hopes to have the package completed by the following week. 

This will be the budget for the next two years, although we can make some adjustments during the short session next year.  I think the effort and attention of the Appropriations Committee resulted in a good budget, and it came out of committee on a 9-0 vote. It takes a lot of work to get it done, but I feel we do a good job. I also appreciate that on the floor, anyone can pull out anything as an amendment and discuss it. 

In this budget, we left room for $211 million for other appropriations. This is really important, there are lots of bills being brought forward for funding, including my LB 103. Last year, the speaker said not to bother to even bring a bill to the floor that needed funding because there wasn’t any. We’ve had that perspective for the past two years, and now we have built up demand and a lot of requests for specific projects and programs to consider.

LB 103 is my priority bill, it would allocate $2 million, for each of the next two years, to any county meeting the requirements in statute of paying off a federal judgment. The Appropriations Committee added an amendment to raise that amount to $5 million per year. 

Once the mainline budget is passed, the following couple of weeks will be devoted to taking up those bills that require an appropriation of state funds. As a result, I expect to see LB 103 come to the floor for discussion sometime after April 19th. I continue talking with all of my colleagues about the background of the “Beatrice Six” issue and the great need for their support, and will use this time to make my case for the passage of LB 103. 

Bills on “consent calendar” must have had no opposition in hearings, and are allowed just 15 minutes of debate on the floor. I introduced LB 41 to help townships receive their monthly funds, and it was placed on the consent calendar earlier this week.

In Nebraska, there are 22 counties with townships. A year ago it was brought to my attention that a township had to submit a paper warrant every time they wanted funds transferred from the county to the township. These dollars are already township funds, so LB 41 simply streamlines this process and allows the county treasurer to transfer their monthly allotments on or before the 15th of each month, like the other entities listed in the statute such as fire and school districts.

I didn’t expect much discussion on this bill, but Sen. Erdman brought up the purpose of having townships and questioned if having counties in charge would be more cost effective. I was glad to have the discussion. In Gage county, we have always had strong support for townships; and it would require a vote of the people to eliminate them. The county board has discussed the cost of road graders and personnel, but also considered that especially during a snowstorm, a township can get to the roads in their area so much faster than if a county had to disperse the graders from a central barn. Residents appreciate having someone local to visit with when they have an issue with the roads. LB 41 advanced on a 43-0 vote.

We often hear the word “fireworks” to describe some of the floor debate, but this past week it was true. Sen. Slama’s LB 152 would change certain classifications of fireworks to match federal definitions and broaden sales in Nebraska by changing the definition of “consumer fireworks” to include any device that meets the federal requirements for 1.4G fireworks. This bill also would allow the State Fire Marshal to test and deem fireworks unsafe in response to complaints. This bill doesn’t affect dates or curfew times in counties or cities and the fire marshal will still be checking for compliance. I encourage everyone to be responsible when they purchase fireworks, and stay mindful of their neighbors and nearby pets and livestock. An amendment to the bill would add the “E” clause, so if the bill passes, it would be in effect for the coming 4th of July holiday.

I welcome your calls and emails to my office. Contact me at any time at 402-471-2620 or mdorn@leg.ne.gov.