Weekly District 30 Update – 5/16/25

State Senator Myron Dorn

Youth across the state are excited about the summer break fast approaching. Senators are in a similar situation with the quickly approaching end of session. However, I don’t think we are as much excited as concerned with the dwindling time to address all of the bills we want to debate. Day 80 of the session must see a balanced budget passed. We took up all the budget bills on final reading on May 15th. After filibusters on two of the mainline budget bills, LB 261 (funding for state agencies and programs) and LB 264 (fund transfers, especially from the Cash Reserve) advanced by a vote of 37-11 and 35-13, respectively.

There were strong opinions expressed by those who disagreed with the Appropriations Committee on where funds were taken from and where funds were designated to go. This is always the case when the budget is in a deficit. I can tell you that the decisions we made in the committee were not made in haste and were considered and debated and oftentimes, reconsidered and debated again.

These budget bills will now go to the Governor for his review. These are the only bills where the Governor can go into a bill and specifically make targeted cuts. If he believes the cuts in one program or agency is too much, he can strike that portion. If he thinks further cuts need to be made, he can strike that as well. After he is done with his red pen, the Legislature will have the opportunity to consider those changes and attempt any overrides senators deem necessary. It would take 30 votes to override a Governor’s veto.

A bill the Governor vetoed outright is LB 319 offered by Senator Victor Rountree of Omaha. His bill was passed by senators with a 32-17 vote. The bill eliminated the state’s lifetime ban on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program eligibility for people with certain drug-related convictions. Under the bill, a person with felony drug convictions could only be considered for SNAP benefits if they have completed an approved drug treatment program. This bill is intended to help these people stay clean, provide some food assistance while they re-establish their lives outside of prison. I supported this bill because any assistance the state can provide to get people back to a productive life is a good thing. Senator Rountree has filed a motion to override the veto. He will need 30 votes and I am not sure all the senators who supported before will stay with their vote considering the Governor’s position.

Then there was LB 258, to address the voter approved initiative passed in November of 2022, to incrementally increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour by January 1, 2026. The bill would limit scheduled increases in the state’s minimum wage and establish a separate, lower wage for younger workers. The reasoning for the lower wage is that these young workers may be their first job; they may lack the skills needed to do the job. We want to encourage employers to hire young people knowing these workers may have much to learn. LB 258 was filibustered at each stage of debate and was on Final Reading, meaning only 2 hours of a filibuster could happen before a cloture motion could be made. Senators in opposition to this bill noticed a proponent of the bill was excused. The opposition pulled all of their motions which meant the bill would be voted on immediately. Any proposed law that would alter a voter-approved initiative measure, requires a two-thirds majority vote on final reading, 33 yes votes. The vote was taken and the measure fell two votes short. A proponent, who saw what was happening changed his vote to, present and not voting, which would have allowed for a reconsideration motion and another vote could be taken with all senators present. However, at the beginning of session, senators amended the rules of the Legislature which stated that no senator could be present and not voting on final reading and that vote would be changed to a no vote. So, his present and not voting was changed to a no, and the bill failed to pass on Final Reading on a vote 31-17. I have to admit that this was a brilliant maneuver by the opponents and all senators learned two lessons; you must be in the chamber during debate, and pay attention to the rules.

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.