As you always see at the end of these weekly updates, I invite your communication via calls, emails or letters. I mean that sincerely, as your representative in the Nebraska Legislature.

This current session, my office has received more correspondence than ever before, directly due to the subject matter of bills up for debate. I still look at every email, letter and phone message and try to respond, even if just an acknowledgement of receipt, to everyone in the district.

During recent conversation on the floor about a particular bill, one senator stated that we are all (the entire Legislature) concerned about children, we just have differing ideas on what it means to protect them. This explanation applies to nearly every issue on which there is disagreement. We often have similar goals but varying ideas on how to achieve them.

It may also be that we will never agree. I try to listen carefully to all arguments, pro and con, before I cast a vote. If it comes to a tipping point, I will go with the fact that I was elected on a specific platform and will adhere to those values. That said, your input is always important and invited.

This week we got to Day 80 of the session, which is the date the biennial budget must be passed. The Legislature approved the state’s $10.7 billion two-year budget package on May 17th and 18th. The package consisted of seven bills dealing with everything from payment of salaries for judges, constitutional officers and senators to various construction programs.

The main-line budget bill, LB 814, carries funding for state aid and for the operations of state government. This bill gave final authorization to the $335 million expenditure for a new state prison, $8.5 million for increases in reimbursement rates for child welfare service providers, and $574.5 million for the Perkins Canal project to protect Nebraska’s water rights with Colorado.

One of my priorities this year was to ensure increased rates for behavioral health providers, higher reimbursement rates for assisted living facilities, nursing homes and hospitals. These increased rates were included in the budget package.

Our state cash reserve sits at a strong $780 million dollars. I have discussed this “rainy day” fund in previous updates along with my concerns that we keep the long range view in mind, while funding as many projects as we can with the surplus dollars available to Nebraska in recent years.

Now that the Legislature has passed the state budget package, the Governor has five calendar days to make any line-item vetoes. This authority is given to the Governor only on the state budget. If or when he returns any line-item vetoes, the legislature will have the opportunity to consider possible overrides which would require 30 votes.

The Revenue Committee also presented a package of bills for consideration this week. LB 727 is the vehicle for 26 bills running the gamut of exempting twine and bailing wire from sales tax (treated as a business input) to revamping the Job Creation and Mainstreet Revitalization Act. One significant piece in this bill is the creation of “Good Life Districts”. These districts would have to meet certain thresholds of job creation and development benchmarks. The districts would also have to show that upon completion of the project, at least 20 percent of the project’s sales come from out-of-state residents, with the goal of attracting large retailers.
Another bill included in the revenue package was sponsored by Sen. Brandt. It would permit retail dealers that sell and dispense biodiesel to apply for a refundable state income tax credit equal to 14 cents per gallon sold. The state Department of Revenue could approve up to $2 million in credits each year, and no new applications could be filed after Dec. 31, 2028. These proposals are designed to make Nebraska more competitive in a number of different markets.

Late on Thursday, the Legislature took up LB 531. This bill, as introduced by Sen. McKinney of Omaha, deals with the Economic Recovery Act passed by the Legislature in 2022, which provided funding for pandemic recovery projects in North and South Omaha and other communities that were disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A couple of bills of interest to District 30 were amended into the McKinney bill. LB506 would authorize a $180 million grant to a primary class city to fund a water treatment plant, land acquisition, wellfields, permitting, pumping and transportation costs to provide potable water to the city. This will be crucial for the city of Lincoln as the water supply dwindles over time.

Another important boost for our smaller communities was included in LB 531, my LB 45 would create the Revitalize Rural Nebraska Grant Fund for cities of the first class, second class, or village. This grant of $1 million would provide for dilapidated commercial property deconstruction, and would be run by the Department of Environment and Energy. This is a good starting point for helping small towns and main street areas clean up old buildings and improve business districts in our more rural communities.

There has been thorough coverage of the debate process on LB 574 (The Let Them Grow Act) and LB 626, which would ban abortions after 12 weeks; and how these two measures were amended into one bill. This was a very intense, emotional issue. I want you to know I met personally with several families and multiple health care providers; and read through pages and pages of documentation on these topics. It would be impossible to craft legislation to cover every possible scenario. And obviously, this is one of those issues on which we might not agree on the approach to caring for and protecting children. The bill was taken up on Friday for debate, and in the end it passed on a vote of 33 to 15. I voted to support this measure.

Again, be assured I welcome and value your input. Contact me at mdorn@leg.ne.gov or 402.471-2620. Thank you.