Another legislative week is in the books and we are now finished with one-third of the session. Two of my bills were heard in committee on Monday. 

I introduced LB 762 in the Appropriations Committee, to increase provider rates in behavioral health, developmental disabilities, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Over the last decade, these provider areas have had minimal increases and the bill asks for an increase of 10%. Funding would come from around $9 million in general funds which would be supplemented by an additional $15 million in federal funds. 

With the current labor shortage there is a significant challenge to keep, or hire, qualified personnel. Several people from District 30 testified in support of LB 762 including Blue Valley Behavioral Health, with data to show both the increase in clients and escalating need for service. Some of the increase can be directly traced to the pandemic, but many of these needs were already there.

In my fourth year at the legislature, I can confirm it isn’t always possible to predict what will happen with a vote. There is certainly recognition of the need for higher provider rates, and there are several other bills like LB 762 that address similar issues . For example, Appropriations Chairman Stinner has a bill concerning long term care providers.  In addition, the Department of Corrections implemented an increase in wages a few months ago to attract and retain the workforce they clearly need. So far, the move has been effective. But it revealed the importance of looking ahead with a long term vision, taking into consideration the current state of the economy.

As another example of that need for forward thinking, we heard a report this week from the Capitol Commission about the amazing structure we have here in Nebraska, our 90 plus year old Capitol building. In a building of this size and age, there are maintenance costs all the time. The problems do not go away, and we must plan ahead. In the current HVAC project, costs on phases 1 and 2 were on target but the expense of Phases 3-5 has increased greatly due to supply issues and pandemic related obstacles. None of this comes as any surprise, we have all dealt with comparable shortages and rising prices over the past couple of years.

The second bill I had this week was LB 811. This concern was brought to me by the association of county officials and deals with auctioneers from other states. The bill amends our state statutes to reaffirm that auctioneers of any state shall comply with the requirements of the Nebraska Real Estate License Act before conducting a sale of real estate in this state. Even if neighboring states, for example, have a slightly different process, they must meet the requirements in Nebraska.  There was no opposition and this bill was unanimously supported by the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee. As a result, the bill is eligible for the Consent Calendar, which is a slate of non-controversial bills grouped together for brief debate and advancement.

Discussion on LB 986, brought by Sen. Briese of Albion, consumed a couple of days of floor debate this week. The bill would prohibit school districts from raising property taxes beyond: the greatest of 2.5%, Consumer Price Index inflation, 40% of student enrollment growth, 25% of LEP student growth, or, 25% of poverty student growth. Property tax requests would have to decrease commensurate with increases in state funding, and could increase commensurate with decreases in state funding. A school board could act to exceed the limit, and alternatively, carry forward unused tax increase authority, with some restrictions. 

The larger schools in District 30 (Beatrice, Norris and LPS) are opposed to this.  Charts distributed on the floor during the debate showed many schools that kept their property tax rates down and I want to commend those districts. There was also a list of schools that had an increase of 7 or 8%. The perception is that every district is at a high rate, but many schools are doing a good job. Those with increases may have had a new building or large growth in student population, and so on. When you see that magnitude of increase it doesn’t mean strictly school operations, it could have been due to extenuating circumstances. When you have served several years in the Legislature, it becomes apparent that crafting a bill which treats every school district In Nebraska fairly, just isn’t that easy but we will not give up. 

Another major school funding measure is LB 890, which Sen. Walz of Fremont, chair of the Education Committee, has prioritized. In its current form, it will have challenges. There are several amendments being discussed, which might give it some traction. Parts of her bill have merit; but it needs LB 891, heard by the Revenue Committee, to have funding; so we will need to see how all that flows together. We must protect the property tax credit enacted in past years, and these two companion bills do not have the protection I want to see yet.  

Starting next week, the Appropriations committee will meet over the noon hour to discuss funding bills, agency requests and the bills we will need to bring to the floor for the general fund budget. We will also be briefed by the Attorney General about the Perkins County canal and water disputes with the state of Colorado; and also get more information about the proposed “Star Wars” lake between Lincoln and Omaha.  We will be doing our homework before we finalize the budget and submit it to the full legislative body for debate.

As always, my email and phone are available 24 hours a day. mdorn@leg.ne.gov  402-471-2620. Send mail to District 30, State Capitol, PO Box 94604, Lincoln NE 68509-4604. Website:  www.nebraskalegislature.gov