The members of the Legislature said their goodbyes this week, as the session adjourned on Wednesday. Foremost among the farewells was a memorial service and tribute to former state senator Dennis Byars of Beatrice, who represented District 30 longer than any other to date. He was laid to rest on Tuesday, and I was privileged to serve as an honorary pallbearer. We are so grateful for his unwavering support of those with developmental disabilities and his dedicated service at many levels of local and state government.

The final day of session was largely ceremonial in nature, with an opportunity to congratulate outgoing senators and hear from the Governor. I was gratified to get a number of measures enacted by the Legislature in this extremely busy short session.

My priority bill, LB 1261e, was signed into law by the Governor during a ceremony on Tuesday afternoon. The bill amends the Nebraska Advantage Rural Development Act with the goal of promoting investment in Nebraska agriculture through livestock modernization or expansion and to encourage businesses to locate in rural Nebraska. This Act, administered by the Nebraska Department of Revenue, provides a refundable credit against taxes for investments in livestock production. These are awarded through an application process. LB 1261e also includes provisions from LB 596 to provide tax credits to fuel retailers selling E15 or higher blends of ethanol. The “e” clause means the bill went into effect immediately upon the Governor’s signature on Tuesday. 

Another of my bills, LB 761, the Precision Agriculture Infrastructure Grant Act was amended into a Transportation Committee bill, LB 1144. The goal is to obtain better connectivity with specific download and upload speeds, especially in unserved agricultural areas of the state. Uses of improved connectivity include on-farm traceability solutions; products that improve soil health, water management tools, and seeds that lower water, carbon, and nitrate footprint; and products using autonomous solutions (self driving) in agricultural equipment.

LB 707 was a bill I introduced to clean up statutes relating to out-of-state auctioneers selling real estate in Nebraska, and was included in the Banking Committee bill, LB 811. That bill was passed in mid April.

Some of the bills I introduced this session were amended into LB 1014, which distributed the $1.04 billion coming into Nebraska through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) for Covid related expenditures. This measure included four of my bills: LB 760, grants to EMS programs; LB 968 for affordable housing; LB 996 for assisted living facilities; and LB 1091 for scholarships to college students in nursing. 

I had three bills incorporated into the budget bills which were moved out of the Appropriations Committee. Budget bill LB 1011 was the vehicle for my LB 762, providing funding for behavioral health. Budget bill LB 1012 included LB 759 and LB 1090, dealing with loans and grants for small business. 

Looking back over the session, I would say the biggest accomplishment was on the revenue side, through the tax rate reductions in LB 873. What this will ultimately do for many people in the State of Nebraska is give back some taxes, not only on Social Security and income tax but also through property tax credits paid on community colleges. This will help a broad segment of the people in our state. It took a lot of work to get this done. Three different tries on three different bills, but long-term it will have a huge impact.

As for a disappointment, I would have to say it was the failure to enact justice reforms (LB 920) as a part of reducing Nebraska’s serious prison overcrowding problem. From an interim study, we had twenty one recommendations and seventeen of those were generally agreed upon by all of the senators. There were four issues that were an obstacle. 

Both sides visited about LB 920 multiple times, including senators, the Speaker and the Governor. I estimate we had probably forty hours of discussion on the sentencing reforms on the floor and the bill failed to advance. If or when the state builds a new prison, without justice reforms the state is likely to be right back at that 150% of capacity level. Not to have something meaningful come out of all that, for me, was disappointing. 

Looking ahead, the “interim” months between now and January offer many opportunities to study the issues, learn about new ones and evaluate what is most important going forward. Each year has challenges and chances to make things better for our District and the entire state. 

I encourage you to contact me through my office, which is staffed all year. We will work to help with any questions regarding the state government or concerns you may have. We also welcome your ideas and suggestions for future legislation.  mdorn@leg.ne.gov  402-471-2620  District 30, State Capitol, PO Box 94604 Lincoln NE 68509-8604  Thank you!