March certainly has come in like a lion and continues to roar with the most recent snow storm this past week. It is my hope that everyone stayed safe on Wednesday, the 19th. The Legislature never calls a snow day. We still meet in session and hold hearings which often makes it difficult for people to come in and testify. However, per our rules, we have to have seven days’ notice for a hearing or cancellation.

On the 19th, I had a hearing before the Judiciary committee on LB 56 which is my last bill for hearing this session. This bill was brought to me by the Gage County Sheriffs office. In state statute, law enforcement is required to have a blood draw done on a driver of a motor vehicle or a pedestrian if killed in a car accident. Recently, the entities refused to comply with doing the blood draw raising concerns of potential liability and chain of custody. This is done for statistical purposes only and is not used in court proceedings. The reason for the blood draw is to determine the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which collects this data to develop alcohol-impaired-driving programs, evaluating their effectiveness and monitoring overall alcohol-impaired-driving levels. All states submit data, some better than others. There is a statute that states no information from this report shall be used in any trial arising out of the accident unless necessary to show compliance with the statutes for the blood draw. I hope I can work with all interested parties over the interim to address concerns and reach agreement on how to move forward.

On March 18th, the Appropriations Committee heard testimony on two bills offered by Senator Jane Raybould of Lincoln. LB’s 673 and 674 would gut the Perkins Canal Funding and basically kill the project. The Perkins Canal is essential to Nebraska claiming our water rights from the state of Colorado. Per a multi-state compact agreed to over 100 years ago, Nebraska can only insist on those water rights if we have a canal. With all the recent drought years, Nebraska needs to protect those rights. The Perkins Canal project has already begun acquiring land rights and begun contracting for the needed environmental studies. LB 673 would transfer all $500 million to the Water Sustainability Fund and the other option would have LB 674 redirect $250 million to the General Fund and $250 million to the Water Sustainability Fund. Language is also changed from ‘shall’ build to ‘may’ build. I have supported the Perkins Canal in order to ensure western Nebraska receives our share of water from Colorado, for farmers, ranchers and communities in that part of the state. I believe Senator Raybould’s bills are not in the best interest of our state. I am opposed to these two bills.

The Revenue Committee heard testimony on March 20th for LB 484 by Senator Dan Quick of Grand Island. LB 484 addresses a critical issue on how ag and horticultural land is valued for commercial purposes. Ag and horticulture land is valued at 75% of market rate. When wind turbines or solar panels were put on this land, the legislature adopted a nameplate capacity tax on renewable energy while still preserving the agricultural classification of the underlying land. Then in 2024, LB 1317 added a provision removing this classification whether there was one solar panel or one wind turbine or multiple structures creating a renewable energy farm. The ambiguity created several problems. A county assessor could interpret that a single turbine or panel on ag land constitutes a “farm” that disqualifies the entire parcel. Assessors may determine only parcels with multiple renewable energy installations lose the low agriculture assessment rate. An assessor may even decide that any ag parcel within the boundary of a renewable energy project would lose its 75% valuation protection. Our assessors do a great job but need consistency and clarity. LB 484 would restore the clear direction prior to LB 1317, and maintain the practice of classifying land primarily used for ag or horticultural purposes as such, regardless of whether commercial facilities exist on portions of the land. I would support this bill.

For more information on the Nebraska Legislature, the link is: nebraskalegislature.gov   

Here you can find all the information on bills, hearing schedules, information on senators, legislative divisions, and legislative reports etc.

My contact information is mdorn@leg.ne.gov and 402-471-2620. As always, I appreciate hearing from you.