With only a dozen days left on the legislative calendar, we worked through dozens of bills this past week while meeting into the evening hours. And since the month of March is known for athletic tournaments across the country, it seems only fitting that among those bills, the Legislature would consider a measure dealing with NIL, Name, Image and Likeness. NIL concerns the income opportunity for student athletes who promote products and companies.

LB 1393 from Sen. Hansen, on behalf of the Governor, updates the current law to allow universities to assist student’s endorsement options with legal support and resources such as equipment and photographers. The bill also clarifies student athletes would not be considered employees of the college. With NIL affecting virtually all of the country’s college athletics these days, the intent of the legislation is to be proactive for the sake of both students and educational institutions.

Another topic of national interest is the upcoming election. LB 287, an election clean up measure, included the provisions of several bills from the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. It includes amendments for changing voter registration removal, presidential elector meeting locations and dates, and verification of driver’s licenses or state identification cards. This provision was adopted on a 33-0 vote.

My bill, LB 47, to amend the Open Meetings Act and authorize rural fire districts to post notice of their meetings prominently in three conspicuous places, was also included in LB 287. Other matters included in this bill were updates to the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Act, the process for filling vacancies in the congressional delegation, and expanding the use of videoconferencing for public meetings.

Due to the ever increasing and expanding use of technology in a large number of industries in our state, we continue to consider broadband standards. LB 1031 from Sen. Bostelman concerns several key factors. An important aspect of broadband capability is the speed of access. At least 100 Mbps for downloading and 20 Mbps for uploading is included in the bill.

Amendments from other senator’s bills placed into LB 1031 include the role of the Public Service Commission, requiring annual reports from providers about their rates, and the inclusion of a member on the Nebraska Information Technology Commission who has agriculture as his or her principal business or occupation. Standards for deaf, hard of hearing and speech-impaired Nebraskans as well as 911 services were also addressed in the bill.

For three days of this past week, LB 441 introduced by Sen. Albrecht, was up for debate and was the subject of a filibuster. Under current law, it is a Class I misdemeanor to prepare, distribute, order, produce, exhibit or promote obscene material or possess such material with the intent to do so. Currently it is against the law to show criminally obscene materials to minors, except in K-12 schools and libraries. Albrecht introduced LB441 to close this “loophole” in Nebraska law and hold all adults to the same standard.

Those opposed to the bill focused on First Amendment rights (however obscenity is not a legally or constitutionally protected form of speech) while others argued that librarians are well-trained in what is appropriate material for students and should be able to do their jobs without political interference. Some senators expressed concern that LB441 would allow a “vocal minority” to control which literary works the majority can access, saying that school boards and librarians should be trusted to do what is best for their districts and students. Others said this falls under the authority of the State Board of Education.

Adding to the controversy, a senator read aloud an excerpt from a book and inserted the name(s) of another senator. The Chairman of the Legislative Executive Board then filed a complaint and initiated an investigation. In addition, a legislative resolution of censure was introduced by a member of the Unicameral. The Legislature has extensive policies and procedures to handle these matters, including the hiring of outside legal counsel to examine the situation. While I cannot yet predict the outcome, I am confident that thorough consideration will be given to this incident. A vote for cloture to end debate failed and the bill is unlikely to be discussed again in the current session.

The budget bills will be given final consideration on days 49 and 50 next week, which will conclude the biggest share of the work of the Appropriations Committee. However, there are still “A” bills yet to be voted on, which allocate funding for specific measures. Spending will also be affected by the revenue package, since changes and reductions in our tax structure dictate how much money is available for the state to apportion. The Revenue Committee voted out the Property Tax bill on Thursday, LB388. Their proposal should be available early next week for consideration.

Contact me any time at mdorn@leg.ne.gov, or call 402-471-2620. Thank you.