On January 6^th State Senators convened at the Capitol for the second session of the 101^st Nebraska Legislature.  Since this year is an even-numbered year, it will consist of 60 working days and expected to end on April 14.  There were 290 bills carried over from last year and we began debate on them Monday, January 11^th.   As you may recall, we held a special session last November and cut $336 million from our two-year budget.  Analysts predicted a slow economic recovery and said state governments would face budget difficulties even after the overall economy starts to rebound.  Unfortunately, that seemed to be the case, as tax receipts in December were almost 10 percent less than expected.  Most of us are looking at the bottom line and if there is a bill that has a fiscal note, which means the bill would cost money, we won’t be introducing it nor will bills on final reading from last year have an easy time passing this year.  However, we still have plenty of issues to debate this year that involve using little to none of the states general fund.  Among that list are:  water regulation, embryonic stem cell research, community college aid formula, wind energy, kindergarten entry age, juvenile justice system, self-defense laws and texting while driving. 

For more information you can go to www.NebraskaLegislature.gov to watch live feed of the floor debate and legislative hearings.  You can also find information about state senators, bills, and the session calendar. 

On our first day of general file we heard Senator Cornett’s bill, LB 72.  It would require the Department of Education to establish guidelines for schools that have students’ with life-threatening allergies.  Although the bill included strategies to reduce exposure to allergens, I felt school districts could develop their own policies.  It was an unfunded mandate where responsibilities would fall on the classroom teacher who already has enough to do.  And lastly, it was a bill with a fiscal note attached with a onetime price tag of $46,000.  In the end, 27 of us voted against the bill on the first round of debate.

There are things Nebraska can do to help raise revenue.  We rank third in wind energy potential; however, laws need to be reworked to build up the new industry without damaging public power that focuses on keeping rates low rather than taking on the expense of generating power for other states.  Another obstacle involves the cost of building transmission lines.  Rural areas are usually the best places for wind farms but lack the extensive, heavy-duty transmission grid needed to carry electricity for out-of-state purchasers. Some want to build farms without a transmission grid in place and utilities that typically build the grids don’t want to risk construction where no generation facilities exist.   And lastly, there is the question of eminent domain, that is, who should have the ability to obtain property for construction without the owner’s cooperation and who should regulate the wind industry?  Nebraska has more hurdles to jump because public power utilities don’t qualify for major federal incentives to build wind farms; however, we need to show private developers that we are open for business.

For a number of families across Nebraska, Gov. Dave Heineman’s proclamation that May 2009 be Dandy-Walker and Hydrocephalus Awareness Month means a way to connect with others and form a community to fight for their children’s rights to quality of life.

On Wednesday morning, Heineman had the proclamation snatched from his hands by the inquisitive and smiling Tesla Martin, a Beatrice child whose second birthday is today (Thursday). Tesla waved it around before Heineman whispered to her that they could share it and then officially handed the proclamation to her grandmother, Terri Eldridge.

“We hope by raising awareness we’ve sparked and renewed interest. We hope to expedite research for a cause and cure of these conditions,” Eldridge said of the proclamation. “We hope that it will make families with these conditions who are isolated realize that there are other people out there with (Dandy-Walker and hydrocephalus).”

Eldridge said there are currently 10 states with such proclamations, including Maryland, Indiana and Illinois.

Another family affected by Dandy-Walker was present at the proclamation ceremony, Terry and Mary Little of Plattsmouth. Their 22-year-old son was diagnosed at age 21, though he is still undergoing tests.

“We knew he was slow,” Terry Little said. “His mannerisms were different.”

The Littles found out about the proclamation by running an Internet search for Dandy-Walker in Nebraska. That’s also how they connected with Eldridge, her daughter April and precocious Tesla. Right now, the Littles are trying to learn all they can about Dandy-Walker.

Debbi Fields, the executive director of th National Hydrocephalus Foundation, flew from California to attend the ceremony.

“It’s going to bring a lot of awareness needed to (Dandy-Walker and hydrocephalus), and hopefully people will be able to find the help and support they need,” Fields said.

And while Dandy-Walker syndrome is rare, hydrocephalus is a common condition that few people are aware of.

State Sen. Norman Wallman’s son, David, was born with hydrocephalus.

David Wallman had shunts put in his brain to alleviate pressure at 15 days old, four years old and 10 years old.

Pat Wallman, David’s mother, remembers when some people at her church made insensitive comments about David’s partially shaved head after a shunt was replaced.

“Yes, there was some stigma. David, because of (hydrocephalus) had one eyelid lower than the other; we had that repaired,” Pat said. “Teachers were hesitant to let him play on the playground because he didn’t wear a hard hat.”

Norm Wallman said David had frustrating moments growing up because he couldn’t play rough sports like other boys his age and had difficulties others didn’t.

“David handled it very well emotionally and physically,” Norm Wallman said. “We told him we all have our cross to bear.”

David struggled in school, but he graduated and became a rough carpenter. David’s parents believed in helping him succeed, Pat said. When David graduated, his entire class cheered for him, while he jumped up and down with excitement.

“His shop teacher said (David would) never succeed because he couldn’t do fractions,” Pat said. “But he went on. He was an overachiever.

“Let (Tesla) do what she can do,” Pat said. “There are enough caring people in the world to help us through adversity.”

Mandy Cramer, a doctor of physical therapy at Beatrice Community Hospital, works with Tesla each week. Cramer said Tesla has made great improvements since she began physical therapy. At 13 months old, she began sitting. In the past 11 months, she has progressed to crawling, pulling herself up to stand and taking some tentative steps.

“She’s a happy little girl,” Cramer said. “She loves to play, and that’s what our therapy is centered on. I think our biggest goal right now is to see her walking, to go to the playground, walk through the grass, climb up a slide. I think she’ll be able to achieve that.”

These families look to each other and many others for understanding. They share a bond, and a faith that despite the difficulties their children face, a network of support surrounds them.

In spite of the Dandy-Walker diagnosis, the Littles’ son earned a GED and attended Southeast Community College at Beatrice for two years before transferring to Bellevue. Their son has a driver’s license and a part-time job while he takes classes. Terry said his social skills improved some while attending college. Before then, he had few friends outside the family and was home-schooled after the fifth grade. But the Littles’ son has aspirations like any young man his age.

“He has dreams of buying a new car, buying a house, settling down, finding someone,” Terry Little said. “He likes sports, he likes music, he enjoys TV. He’s job hunting and let’s see what happens. We’re hoping for a bright future.”

Legislature needs say on BSDC

There’s little doubt that persistent neglect and abuse at the Beatrice State Developmental Center have become a huge embarrassment to Gov. Dave Heineman’s administration.

The possibility looms that the recurrent problems might propel the governor into a rash decision to make the issue disappear by simply closing the controversial facility, despite his earlier assertions that he wants to keep the center open.

Last week consultant Joseph Toy of Kentucky predicted, “there likely will be an outcry by some parties to close the facility,” once realization sinks in that the state is almost certain to lose $29.7 million in federal funding for Beatrice, about half its annual budget.

In fear of the possibility of closure, Sen. Norm Wallman of Cortland has introduced a bill that would require legislative approval before such a step is taken. The bill was opposed at a public hearing by John Wyvill, director of the division of developmental disabilities for Health and Human Services.

Senators should approve the bill.

In a multitude of ways the executive branch of government has demonstrated that it cannot be trusted to make that decision in the best interest of the vulnerable Nebraskans that are treated in these state programs.

The most recent evidence was the administration’s abrupt removal of 30 to 40 residents of the Beatrice State Developmental Center after Nebraska’s Chief Medical Officer Joann Schaefer concluded the staff was not capable of caring for them properly.

That incident came after years in which state officials failed to react effectively to escalating warnings from federal officials about deteriorating conditions at the center.

Then, after the residents were moved to hospitals, state officials found themselves scrambling to provide the training and rehabilitation they are entitled to by federal regulations. “No one knows what to do. It is ridiculous,” said Joan O’Meara, whose adult daughter was one of those moved.

Previously the administration has spent literally millions on consultants without solving the problems at Beatrice. Among the expenditures were $1.8 million spent on consultants from Texas and Pennsylvania. As Wallman put it, “That was money poured down a rat hole.”

Conditions failed to improve. The federal government still pulled the center’s certification and the state faces a loss of almost $30 million in federal funding, about half the center’s annual budget.

A major concern about a precipitous closing of the center is whether the residents would fare any better in community-based programs.

Guardians of some Beatrice residents insist that their dependents are better suited to an institutional setting.

The state’s record of overseeing community programs also has blemishes. Nebraska Advocacy Services filed a suit in 2007 after a 34-year-old developmentally disabled resident of a community program died of “aspiration pneumonia.” The lawsuit alleged that the staff at the nursing home was insufficiently trained in handling medical emergencies. The operator denied the allegation. The suit was ended by a confidential settlement.

More recently the attorney general filed suit in a case in which a resident of a community program allegedly became malnourished and covered with bedsores in a Lincoln group home.

In short the administration’s record of oversight for developmental programs is so pocked with ineptitude that it can’t be trusted to make the right decision. The Legislature should step into the breach.

Nebraska taxpayers are being asked to spend $17 million on a troubled home for the mentally retarded in Beatrice, where nearly $2 million has already been spent on consultants over the last two years.

State Sen. Norm Wallman of Cortland, whose district includes Beatrice, says money spent on consultants went down a “rathole.” The state is appealing a decision by the federal government to take away $29 million to operate the Beatrice State Developmental Center.

The center has repeatedly failed federal inspections. Gov. Dave Heineman wants to spend $17 million more on the center over the next three years to fix problems.
But Wallman and other lawmakers want assurances that this time, the money will actually correct problems at the center.