The last full week of January saw morning debate, afternoon hearings and the annual State of the Judiciary address from Chief Justice Heavican. As you remember, we ended the previous week by discussing rule changes. On Thursday and Friday, the conversation turned to those proposals which came out of the Rules Committee on a three to two vote.

Sen. Hansen submitted a rule change to limit the number of bills a senator or a committee could introduce each session. The total number of bills has risen every year I’ve been here and some feared the volume would become unworkable at some point in the near future.

There is quite a process involved in bill introduction, beginning with writing and drafting, presenting a bill at a public hearing, educating 48 other senators, and generally “working” a bill to see it through to adoption. The time it takes for a senator and staff, bill drafter, the fiscal office, committee councils and clerks to complete a bill, needs to be taken into consideration. There are many unseen steps to getting a bill through the process and I have limited my own bill introduction to what I consider manageable numbers. I voted in favor of restricting the number of bills that can be introduced by a senator to 20, even though I have not introduced that many myself.

A proposed rule change which failed to be adopted was the elimination of the secret ballot for leadership positions. I cast hundreds of votes each year – taxes, education, agriculture, healthcare, business, roads and other areas; these are the votes that impact Nebraskans. These are the votes that are and should be on record and public.

Leadership positions within the Legislature are internal and impact how senators interact with each other. The secret ballot for leadership positions has worked for decades and for good reason. It allows senators (regardless of party affiliation) to vote on the person he or she feels is best to fill a leadership role.

Discussion about reducing the number of votes needed for cloture ended due to time constraints. We also passed over proposals relating to calling the question and barring the press from executive sessions, again, based on the Speaker’s time table for rules debate.

Each year the Legislature hears an update from the Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice on the Judicial Branch. Last year Court staffing shortages were a problem, but this year fewer than 100 vacancies remain unfilled, with 1600 employees statewide; which exceeds pre pandemic levels.

Chief Justice Heavican laid out the numbers in probation compared to incarceration. Right now there are 16,000 people in Nebraska under community supervision (adult probation). By contrast, about 5,500 people are incarcerated. However, the cost of probation is $3,500 per person per year; while the average cost for someone in prison is $41,000 per year. Another successful initiative has been the problem solving courts program. In fiscal year 2023,1600 people participated in 33 of these courts at an average cost of $4,400. Areas of concern in the judicial system include cyber security, the lack of juvenile facilities across the western two thirds of Nebraska and the long waiting list at the Office of the Public Guardian.

The first bill to be advanced in this session was LB 461 which changes the procurement process for goods and services by the state. The situation came to light in the failed services for child welfare from St. Francis Ministries in 2022, which underbid by 40% and was awarded the contract. Process updates in LB 461 are bid letting, evaluation factors, guidance on realistic and reasonable costs and detailed requisitions. The goal is to raise red flags on very low bids that are outside the norm, better vetting of providers and their ability to responsibly meet requirements, while making sure the goods and services are the best value for the state.

In public hearings, I presented LB 940 before the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs committee. The bill adds language into statute to permit a county to enter into agreements to help fund programs or services that provide assistance to survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault. This is simply a technical change making it permissible for a county to make this kind of a payment to a non profit organization. It is permissive, in that it allows payment; but payment remains at the discretion of the county. There was tremendous support for the measure and no opposition, so I am hopeful this will move quickly through the process.

Contact me at mdorn@leg.ne.gov , call 402-471-2620 and check the website: www.nebraskalegislature.gov
Thank you!