One third of the 90 day session is complete. The Thursday snow storm did not stop the Legislature from convening, but it does create a difficult situation for anyone wishing to testify at a committee hearing. If conditions like this occur, please remember you can view all proceedings via nebraskapublicmedia.org; and you can submit written testimony on the Unicameral website: nebraskalegislature.gov. Enter the bill number on the right hand side of the page, and then click on the “submit testimony” button. The site includes additional information and guidelines for submission.

 At this point we have debate on the floor in the mornings, and the committees are in full swing with afternoon hearings and executive sessions to discuss the bills already heard. We have around five more weeks of hearings yet to go. Thus far, three of my bills have been presented before committees but we are still waiting for those to be moved to the floor for first round debate.

I have designated LB 562 as my priority bill. This is the measure to increase the accessibility of E15 ethanol across Nebraska. It was heard by the Ag Committee and I am hoping they will move it to the floor next week. We have been in discussions with various interested parties about some amendments to make it work better for both retailers and consumers. 

Many gubernatorial appointments have to be confirmed by the full Legislature. People seeking these appointments go before the legislative committee that oversees that specific subject area; the committee then advances their recommendations to the floor for a confirmation vote. We rely on the committee to do their due diligence and research on those individuals. This week we spent several hours discussing various appointments, with the bulk of our time spent on the Natural Resources Committee recommendation of Jim Macy to continue to serve as director of the Department of Environment and Energy.

We have released a preliminary budget report in the Appropriations Committee. You can find it at https://nebraskalegislature.gov/pdf/reports/fiscal/2023prelim.pdf. This document is just a starting point and will definitely change as we go along. This report was due on the 15th of February; the Governor will need to submit his by the 25th. There is a difference between those two proposals for various reasons.

As an Appropriations Committee, we have been getting updates from our legislative fiscal office on the revenue and expenditures of the state. We also hear from each state agency and review their budget requests. These range from the Department of Health and Human Services, which by far has the most employees and the largest budget, to entities such as the Dry Edible Bean Board located in the Panhandle. 

The Governor’s budget does not include all of the funding requests introduced by individual senators. In addition, an item that was not included in Governor Pillen’s initial budget plan was the state employee union negotiation for wages and benefits. His final budget proposal will reflect that and bring the two proposals a little  closer together. 

In our committee, we have already approved a few items, such as the property tax credit fund, and we have temporarily earmarked some project funding such as the Perkins County Canal. Our committee budget also leaves room for about $460 million for senator’s bills on the floor. By legislative day 70, we must have our budget to the floor, and by day 80 that budget must be passed. After that, the other bills that request funding will be considered.

Medical marijuana legislation has been brought forward several years now. I wouldn’t have supported the original bill from previous sessions, but in recent years the proponents have tightened up the bill and worked with doctors to get their support. That said, I will not support recreational marijuana. But we are one of just a few states that do not authorize medical marijuana. The current bill requires that you see a doctor to obtain a prescription, so it will be regulated. I don’t yet have a good read on how a vote on this issue might turn out, and don’t know what opportunity there is for the bill to pass. 

Several judicial reform bills are still pending before the committee. Last year a list of 21 reforms were recommended from a study of our state corrections programs; but four of those became a sticking point for several senators and as a result, the whole bill (LB920) failed to pass.  An act introduced this year, LB473, brought by Senator Geist would create a grant pilot program to create a safe and secure treatment center for juveniles in Nebraska. The treatment center would provide family outreach, mental health and other treatment, education and family reunification services to get youth back on the right path. The goal is to provide more opportunities, utilize diversion and avoid detention. Senator Geist has been visiting with Senators McKinney and Wayne and others about how to solve some of our correction issues. Sen. McKinney has been very vocal about not building a new prison until we address some of these factors ahead of time. He contends that building a new prison won’t solve our problems and I agree with that. We do have funding set aside for constructing corrections facilities but have not yet approved its expenditure.

As we take up these important issues in debate, I welcome your comments. Call me at 402-471-2620. Send email to mdorn@leg.ne.gov. I look forward to hearing from you.