Harvest season is well underway, fall sports are going strong. Please be careful on the roads since tractors, combines and semi trucks; student drivers and school buses; along with dust, rain and the variable speed of traffic increase the need for extra caution. Still, it is a wonderful time of year to live in southeast Nebraska!

Activity at the Capitol is also picking up. Many committees hold public hearings related to study resolutions in the fall. You can find a full schedule at nebraskalegislature.gov.

Before the close of the last session, I introduced three resolutions for additional study. The first, LR 164 deals with improving accessibility to the Capitol building itself, including parking, entryways and interior spaces. My staff and I have met with building administrators about what options are available. The age and the architecture of the building do limit what can be done, but we agree that some changes can and should be made.

Several meetings have been held to discuss LR 208, which looks at the funding mechanisms and operations of the Mesonet system. This is a series of weather reporting stations across the state that collect vital information about wind, precipitation, soil conditions and other meteorological parameters. The results are used by a variety of entities from the National Weather Service and Natural Resource Districts to local fire departments. We have more discussions scheduled with stakeholders and the University which manages the system.

This week we will held a discussion about LR 203, a study to see how the state can ensure effective emergency medical services in rural communities. While it seems this might only be a “rural” issue, a robust EMS system potentially affects anyone who travels anywhere outside the metropolitan areas of Nebraska, so everyone is a ‘stakeholder’ when it comes to funding first responders. A public hearing will be held on LR 203 on October 25th.

The past several months have been busy as usual. I had several meetings with Southeast Community College administration dealing with property taxes. My staff and I have been working with the Department of Transportation on a couple of issues, as well as looking at progress on broadband expansion.

I have continued to analyze provider rates at medical and long term care facilities and have toured at multiple locations. I feel that getting a first hand look is the best way to determine needs. This has also included child care and early childhood development centers, and behavioral health and hospital systems. I was able to participate in a school safety planning session, and get a look at food bank and food security issues. We have had several meetings with a veterans group to talk about their concerns.

The Governor’s Agriculture and Economic summit was held in Kearney, which always includes an informative array of speakers. The following week I attended the National Conference of State Legislatures conference as the Unicameral’s liaison. Again, it is always good to hear the speakers and connect with elected officials from other states. You quickly find out the issues we face here in Nebraska are common across the country, and how other areas are working to solve them.

After spending the interim months learning as much as possible, we will now begin to zero in on the topics for possible legislation to be introduced in January. The coming session is a “short” 60-day session, and once again we will hear bills on subjects which will no doubt generate considerable debate. Your input is always appreciated and valuable to me. Contact me at mdorn@leg.ne.gov or call 402-471-2620.

Unicameral Update, the media division of the Legislature, along with Clerk Brandon Metzler, has created a podcast series. Sen. Dorn was featured in September. You can listen to the podcast on Apple here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unicameral-update/id1684334573?i=1000627199016 and on Android here: https://rss.com/podcasts/unicameralupdate/1102532/