Weekly District 30 Update – 4/17/25

State Senator Myron Dorn

The week of April 14th brought more priority bills up for debate. Many of these bills are bills that have more controversial subjects. With that comes more debate on the floor on these bills.

LB 632 received first round approval after a shortened 4-hour filibuster time frame. The Speaker deemed this bill to be one where all senators knew where they stood on the issue and a prolonged 8-hour filibuster was unnecessary. Under current law, Nebraska hospitals must have a policy in place regarding the disposition of fetal remains following a miscarriage or stillbirth.

LB 632 would establish procedures for the disposition of fetal remains following an elective abortion at a health care facility. Senator Hansen stated that these are human remains and should be treated with respect and dignity. 15 other states have this same standard regarding fetal remains. A Health and Human Services Committee amendment clarified the disposal procedures outlined in the bill where an elective abortion is “completed” at a health care facility.

Senators who opposed the bill said the decision about what to do with the fetal remains should be left to the patient and her family. Other senators opposed stated that the Department of Environment and Energy have regulations in place for the disposal of medical waste. Those of us who supported the bill do not see fetal remains as waste. The cloture motion was successful and the bill advanced to the second round of debate on a 34-11 vote. I supported this bill.

The Legislature debated LB 650, offered by Elkhorn Senator Bran von Gilleran who is also the Chair of the Revenue Committee. Knowing the state is facing a budget shortfall, the Revenue Committee undertook the task to look at pairing back certain tax exemptions. These are not new taxes but previously taxed items that were given an exemption. The bill would scale back tax credits related to biodiesel sales, food donations, livestock modernization or expansion projects, reverse osmosis systems, shoreline railroad maintenance expenditures and renewable chemical production. A committee amendment ended applications for state turnback assistance for sports complexes and large public stadiums, decreasing the amount that businesses are allowed to keep for collecting sales tax, to name a few. These changes would mean an additional $71 million over the next biennium to help address the budget deficit.

The bill also contained provisions of five other bills: LB 270 would allow a person certified by the municipality to review confidential sales and use tax information to notify the State Auditor of suspected irregularities or discrepancies; LB 458 updates provisions of tax sale certificates; LB 494 (one of my bills) to clarify current laws regarding transfers to the School District Property Tax Relief Credit fund and the Cash Reserve Fund based on General Fund Net receipts; LB 495 removes community colleges from the ‘pink card’ notice to tax payers since the colleges are now funded by the state; and LB 547 to exempt disabled veterans from state motor vehicle tax. LB 650 advanced to the next stage of debate with 36 in favor and 2 opposed. I supported the amended bill’s advancement.

The next proposal which received a significant amount of debate was LR 20CA. The proposed constitutional amendment offered by Senator Eliot Bostar, would allow Nebraskan to decide if mobile sports betting should be allowed in Nebraska in November of 2026. The senator stated that during the 2024-25 football season, there were over 83,000 active mobile sports wagering accounts in Nebraska. LR 20CA, if approved by the voters, would allow authorized gaming operators conducting sports wagering within a licensed racetrack enclosure could also permit a person to place wagers on sports using a mobile or electronic platform as long as that person is within Nebraska’s borders when the bet is placed. If LR 20CA is unsuccessful some entities who promote on-line betting have indicated they will run an initiative petition to place the issue on the ballot and could be much broader that what is proposed in LR 20CA.

Opposition to the resolution spoke about the negative impacts of expanded gambling, with increased bankruptcies, increasing in gambling addiction and higher credit card debt. Opponents also said these on-line sports betting entities target young men in their 20’s. Senators advanced the measure with a vote of 27-16. However, to pass on Final Reading, LR 20CA will need 30 votes to make it to the ballot. I supported its advancement.

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.