Sen. Dorn introduced a legislative resolution to honor Larry Dix, who retired as the executive director of the Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO) after 30 years of service to Nebraska’s county governments.  

Sen. Myron Dorn invites students to youth legislature

High school students are invited to take on the role of state senators at the Unicameral Youth Legislature June 13-16. At the State Capitol, student senators will sponsor bills, conduct committee hearings, debate legislation and discover the unique process of the nation’s only unicameral.

The Unicameral Youth Legislature gives behind-the-scenes access to students who have an interest in public office, government, politics, law, public policy, debate or public speaking. Students will learn about the inner workings of the Legislature directly from senators and staff.

“Unicameral Camp is a great way to get an in-depth look at our state’s one-house legislative system,” Dorn said. “As a voter, a citizen, a tax payer, or perhaps as a future office holder, it is so important to be as informed as possible about how our government works.”

The Office of the Clerk of the Nebraska Legislature coordinates the Unicameral Youth Legislature. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Extension 4-H Youth Development Office coordinates housing and recreational activities as part of the Big Red Summer Camps program.

To learn more about the program, go to www.NebraskaLegislature.gov/uyl or call (402) 471-2788. The deadline for registration is May 28.

An F6F-5 Hellcat fighter plane from World War II, along with a P51 Mustang, flew into the Beatrice Airport on Sunday, March 28. Flying Ace pilot Don McPherson of Adams, NE was the honored guest. Adams Village Board Chairman Chris Schiebur (left) and Sen. Dorn (right) joined in the festivities. Thank you so much Don, for your service!

No need to check the calendar this time of year in Nebraska – you know it is March when there is a snow storm in the west and thunderstorms in the east.  Hopefully, precipitation will fall where needed. This week has also brought more news regarding Gage County. 

I started last summer visiting many times with county supervisors, Chairman Erich Thiemann and former board member John Hill, about new legislation regarding the “Beatrice Six” case. I also talked with the entire board and those newly elected before the session began, discussing the process here in the Legislature and possible outcomes. The result was my introduction of LB 103, which would take $2 million per year from the general fund in each of the next two years, to help a county pay a federal judgement greater than 20% of their annual budget.

During the hearing for this bill before the Appropriations Committee, Sen. Erdman asked several questions and commented that the state should be liable for all of the judgment against Gage County. In later conversations with Sen. Erdman, we discussed the history behind the bill and how Gage County is paying off the judgment through a combination of property tax, sales tax and the insurance judgement.  Sen. Erdman offered an amendment in committee to my bill, to raise the level of support to $5 million each year, for a total of $10M. Sen. Clements added the stipulation that the county must tax at their maximum levy of 50 cents, which Gage County has already done. I agreed with these changes to my bill.

The Legislative Fiscal Office is now writing the language to incorporate these amendments; and LB 103 came out of committee with a vote of 9-0.  I am very pleased and happy, and really thankful for what the Appropriations Committee has done. 

This is, however, just the first step. LB 103 will need to pass three rounds of debate on the floor with the full legislature, and be signed into law by the Governor, to take effect. So we still have a lot of work to do, and we have a period of time before we will know if it is successful.

Quite honestly, a big impact on the success of getting LB 103 out of committee in this form, is the revenue coming into the state. A lower cash reserve, poor revenue growth during the pandemic, or a less positive revenue forecast would have prevented LB 103 from gaining this amount of traction.  I am very grateful to the committee, their support has been very positive.

I have designated LB 103 as my personal priority bill, so it should come up in the next few weeks for debate. We are already starting to take up some of the other priority bills, so I am hopeful that discussion by the whole legislature will happen relatively soon.

Other issues discussed this week included a voting bill brought by Sen. Bostar. The bill would make it automatic to register to vote when you get a driver’s license. If you don’t want to register to vote at that time, you would simply opt out of that. That is the opposite of how it is presently, where you need to opt in to get registered. The part of his bill that I do not support is making election day a holiday. Citizens have ample opportunities to vote. If a holiday was the only possible way to vote, I could see it. But we are able to request mail in ballots and vote early in person at the clerk’s office; we have many ways to vote outside of just election day. In addition, there is a cost to making this a holiday; the government and many businesses would still be paying for this. I support covering the cost of elections but not making it a holiday.

Another bill garnering attention this week was Sen. Wishart’s LB 474 for medical cannabis. Senator Wishart has brought this bill before, and has been working with the medical community on this bill. They were working on a bill last session that the medical community could come out as neutral on. However, that bill was filibustered and did not pass. Then a petition to put medical cannabis on the ballot in the general election was thrown out for not meeting the ‘one issue’ standard. I would be okay with LB 474 the way it is written now. I have heard from so many people with seizures and other medical conditions who find some relief from cannabis use, however many people fear this is the first step that will lead to recreational marijuana being passed.  I would not be for recreational marijuana, I’d vote against that. But if we have the proper bill for medical use only – and I think we have come a long way from when it was first introduced – I would keep an open mind and could support it. We will need to see how the debate goes and if any amendments are offered.

Next week, we will be moving to all-day debate on the floor. You can always contact me through my email at mdorn@leg.ne.gov or talk to my staff at 402-471-2620. I always appreciate hearing from you.

When a temperature above zero feels like a heat wave, you appreciate the strength and tenacity of Nebraska’s people – and livestock. My dad always said that over a long enough period of time, the weather evens out back to average. Here’s hoping that doesn’t have to happen this summer.

The Appropriations Committee is still meeting in both the morning and afternoon. When we have heard from all state agencies and finished hearing the bills sent to our committee, we will work on putting together a budget to present to the full Legislature. At this point, we hope to have that finished up by early to mid March.

Two of my own bills were heard by the Appropriations Committee on Friday. LB 361 would allocate funds to the Department of Education to be used by our state’s Educational Service Units (ESU). ESUs were established by the Legislature in 1965 to provide more cost effective services for school districts through a cooperative effort. There are 17 service units across the state which are funded through grants, contracts for services with schools, and through a 1.5 cent levy of property tax. Ten years ago the budget for the ESUs was about $15.5 million. Due to budget cuts throughout the last decade, the ESU budget was down to $13.3 million in 2020. Like every other entity, the ESUs have seen increases in salaries, the cost of health insurance, and increased operational expenses.  This bill would begin to bring the ESUs back to the level of funding they had ten years ago. 

LB 103 is a short, simple bill that could have a big impact on Gage County. I introduced this bill after several months of discussion with the county board and state government officials. The bill would appropriate $2 million in fiscal year 2021-22, and another $2 million in FY 2022-23, to any county that has a judgment in excess of $25 million rendered against it by a federal court for a violation of federal law, if the total cost of the judgment is equal to 20% or more of the county’s annual budget. The money could only be used in payment of such a judgment.  

Three members of the Gage County Board and one from the Chamber/Tourism testified in support and did an excellent job of presenting the perspective of local government, local businesses, and individual taxpayers. The director of NACO (Nebraska Association of County Officials) also testified in support. There were no opponents.

As I explained to the committee, on January 1st of this year, Gage county had paid around $14.2 million towards the federal judgment in the “Beatrice Six” case. That leaves roughly $16.8 million remaining to be paid, including interest and legal fees. The award of about $5.9 million from insurance really helped accelerate paying off the judgment. The new sales tax, which includes revenue from anyone passing through Gage county and making a purchase, should generate near $1.5 million in the first year. That also helped speed up the process of paying off the judgment. However, property tax collections have dropped a bit due to lower property values, from around $3.8 million to around $3.25 million. While that may sound beneficial, in the long run it slows down completion of the payments, meaning the levy stays at the maximum and the sales tax continues until the judgment is paid off.

In discussions with state officials, it was clear that no additional assistance would be considered until all other avenues of paying the judgement were exhausted. With the insurance claim settled, we have now reached that point. All the legal aspects of the case are over, and only the payment remains. 

As I visit with fellow senators, they are all very aware of the economic burden on Gage county residents. There are senators who believe the state should pay the entire judgment, those who feel the state should help in part, and those who believe the county should be entirely responsible and receive no state funds.

The success of this bill will depend on working with enough senators to support the effort, other budget requests, and on the revenue predictions that will come from the State Economic Advisory Board on February 26th. So far, the state economy and revenues have been strong in spite of the pandemic. I will work diligently to educate my fellow senators on the importance of this bill and the impact it will have on District 30.

Email continues to be the best way to reach me with your concerns and opinions. Your communication is appreciated as it educates and raises awareness on general issues and specific bills. Thank you for contacting me. mdorn@leg.ne.gov  402-471-2620

Thank you to all who have contacted my office about the vaccine hotline and subsequent overloading of the system. We appreciated hearing from you about your experiences and receiving these updates. 

We have had several conversations in recent days with Public Health Solutions (PHS) which serves Gage county, as well as four other counties in south central/southeast Nebraska. They are working to expand and improve the appointment system as quickly as possible. The overwhelming response to the hotline definitely taxed the system, as well as the limited staff at PHS and the hospital staff, who of course, have other crucial duties as well. 

The main problem is that demand for the vaccine far surpasses the supply. Our public health district receives just 700 doses of vaccine per week, and those must be shared among the five counties. Gage county, with the highest population, receives 200 of those. 

Our public health directors have been extremely diligent in making sure every dose is used and not wasted, and that the supply is stretched as far as possible. There are only a certain number that are manufactured at a time, and then allocated to all of the states. The State Department of Health and Human Services and the Public Health departments, developed plans that work for each district based on demographics, available facilities, health care providers and so on. PHS is also working to resolve the differences between the online registration sites, as each health district developed a plan to serve local needs before the state roll out.

Until the supply of the vaccine can be drastically increased however, distribution will continue to be an issue. Public Health Solutions is urging all of us to continue the measures to protect ourselves and others until everyone who wants the vaccine has one. So please, continue to wear a mask, sanitize your hands, keep your distance from others, and stay home with any symptoms of illness.  Thank you!

The second week of the Legislative session includes organization of committees and the introduction of bills. Again for the next two years, I will serve on the Appropriations Committee. My experience with county budgets has served me well as I work with the eight other members of the committee to develop a balanced budget for the state of Nebraska. Senator John Stinner will again serve as chairman, and Senator Anna Wishart was elected vice chair of the committee. 

Before the Governor presented his biennial budget proposal in his State of the State address on Thursday, members of the Appropriations Committee attended a briefing with him at the Mansion. We were able to preview his ideas for spending, taxes and tax credits. Now the Legislature’s Fiscal Office will dissect his proposal and compare it to the intentions of the Legislature. Beginning next week, our committee will meet daily to review state agency budget proposals. 

Most committees will start all-day public hearings on the 25th, under a new format of morning (10 am to noon)  and afternoon (starting at 1:30 pm) hearings. The Appropriations Committee will begin public hearings on bills that have a fiscal note, or a cost associated with the bill, on February 8th. 

The last day for bill introduction is the 20th, which marks the tenth day of the session. The remainder of the week will be used to debate changes to rules that govern the legislative process. This is done near the beginning of every legislative session; changes typically pertain to how we operate in committees and during debate. One new proposal that reflects our current environment is a discussion about meeting and voting remotely, due to situations like the pandemic. 

At this time, I have introduced five bills. Just a reminder that you can find every bill and the complete text of each one, by going to the legislature’s website:  www.nebraskalegislature.gov . Along the left hand side of the page, you will see a tab for “Bills and Laws”, and can search for bills in a number of ways.

LB 41 would make it easier for townships to receive their funds each month.

LB 42 makes a small appropriation to the Nebraska Hall of Fame, so the families of recipients are not stuck with the cost

LB 102 allows counties with Courts the option to reorganize the county court and district court employees

LB 103 – see below

LB 361 provides some funding for the state Educational Service Unit system.

I consider all bills to be important, because all the bills introduced by our state senators affect either a district’s constituents or the entire state. I introduced LB 103 as part of my continuing effort to reduce the burden and strain on Gage county residents due to the federal judgment, commonly known as the Beatrice Six. This bill allocates $2 million dollars per year for each of the next two years, from the state budget, towards payment of the judgment, and would reduce the time left to pay it off. This will not be easy to achieve and I will work hard to convince my fellow lawmakers of the merits of this action, because I feel it is necessary for the economic health of our district. 

And speaking of health, please continue to follow the recommended guidelines for avoiding the coronavirus – wear a mask, wash your hands, avoid gatherings, get tested, and get vaccinated as soon as it is available to you. These procedures are our best hope in conquering a disease that has taken far too much already. Let’s continue to work together to stop it.

In good news for District 30, the Homestead National Monument has been officially renamed the Homestead National Historic Park by Congress, as signed into law this week. The Homestead National Historical Park commemorates the first claim under the Homestead Act with a heritage museum, the Freeman School, a tall grass prairie, hiking trails, a forest, and farming demonstrations. If you have never visited this great tribute to all the residents of the plains, I encourage you to do so when conditions allow. Click here for more information:  Homestead National Monument of America (US National Park Service)

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at any time. Send your emails to mdorn@leg.ne.gov. Call my office at 402-471-2620. Visit the website for more information on the schedule, public hearings on all bills, and new guidelines for the hearings. www.nebraskalegislature.gov Stay well!

Merry Christmas! This will obviously be a holiday season different than we would have imagined. So it is really important to remember – we are Nebraskans. All those who came before us worked through trials and difficulties, and showed us how to persevere and have hope. Here’s to better days ahead in the coming year.

With that new year right around the corner, we are gearing up for the next session of the Unicameral. We will convene, as required by the constitution, on January 6th. On that day, we will begin by swearing in the newly  elected senators and then choose a new Speaker of the Legislature. I want to take this opportunity to thank outgoing Speaker Jim Scheer for his efforts over the past few years and his service to the state of Nebraska in some very challenging times. Not only were there budget concerns, different viewpoints and large numbers of bills to manage; our state also faced flooding and the pandemic. Sen. Scheer is leaving due to term limits, but his hard work is much appreciated.

After choosing a Speaker, the members will move on to elect committee chairman. There are 14 standing committees. Some chairmanships are contested, with at least two people declaring their intent to lead a committee. I have been diligent to meet with everyone running for these positions, as I want to understand their views on leadership and potential legislation and cast a wise vote for the chairs. 

Senators have been encouraged to limit the number of bills introduced, due to concerns about the pandemic. One of the most significant rules of our Unicameral is that every bill introduced gets a public hearing, which is important to the success of our one-house, non-partisan process. However, this means having groups of people together in a hearing room while that bill is heard by the committee, and anyone else wishing to attend. 

Finding ways to make the hearing process as safe as possible is crucial. I certainly intend to heed the advice and have reduced the number of issues I will address this year to those that are the most important.  As you know, a legislative session spans two years and there will be time in 2022 to bring more bills for introduction. 

I applaud the many organizations and businesses that are working hard to create safe environments for both customers and employees. This is so important to our local and state economy. I encourage you to support our local businesses as much as you are able.  I especially want to commend our area school administrators, teachers and support staff. They have truly gone the extra mile to make sure our kids are healthy, able to stay in class, and participate in as many of the enriching activities our schools provide as possible.

My contact information for the coming session remains the same, and I welcome your communications.  mdorn@leg.ne.gov  402-471-2620 

Please, please continue to follow the simple guidelines recommended by our public health professionals. Wear a mask, wash your hands. Carefully consider how you will manage the holidays and stay safe. Wishing you all the best possible celebration of Christmas, and renewed hope and confidence in the new year.

Since adjourning from the last session in August, much has happened, and a lot has stayed the same. In talking with folks around the district, that is a common feeling. Here we are in October with circumstances a lot like they were back in March. Yet in that time, we have moved from planting to harvest and spring to summer to fall. There have been some losses in our communities, and also some progress. And the election is just a few weeks away. I strongly encourage you to exercise this tremendous right and cast your vote!

The South By-Pass highway project continues at a rapid pace. I attended an event in October near Highway 77 and Saltillo Road, which included representatives from the federal, state, county and city governments; all working together to accomplish this huge construction effort at the lowest cost and in the fastest time frame possible. No doubt you have witnessed the incredible amount of earth-moving between Highway 77 and Highway 2 to the east of Cheney. The work will continue as long as the weather allows and then pick up again in full force in the spring. Please continue to drive cautiously through these areas. You can get a great birdseye view of the progress from this drone footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_bIyjldGx0

Nebraska’s expanded Medicaid program, Heritage Health, has been approved to offer enhanced benefits to people who qualify under this program which was first passed by voters in the last election in 2018. The State had applied for a waiver from the federal government, which has been approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Those extra services will be available starting next April. In the meantime, with the ongoing stress of Covid-10 and unemployment, this program will help provide additional medical care resources in our district and across the state.

The past few weeks have been packed with zoom meetings and webinars, which have turned out to be an excellent source of information and a great way to connect without the expense of travel. Topics range from rural health care to solar energy leases, trade with Canada to our state’s tax structure, and plenty in between. Of course, briefings on the Covid-19 virus, current statistics and progress on treatments top the list.

I was invited to tour a couple of district facilities including Monolith near Hallam, Marathon Petroleum at Beatrice; and addressed a hemp farming seminar near DeWitt. In person and phone meetings with University administrators, corrections officials, staff at BSDC and the Department of Health and Human Services continue as a priority. I have also attended a couple of agricultural organization meetings and spoke at a school.

As a member of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee, I have been assigned to the Nebraska Children’s Commission.  This group of 26 members represents both government and private entities that deal with foster care, juvenile justice and families; with a goal of improving the safety and well-being of children and families in Nebraska. More information on this commission can be found here: https://childrens.nebraska.gov/

In the time we have before January, compacted by the unusual schedule of the last session, my staff and I are researching several key issues and looking at potential legislation. I welcome your comments and insights and encourage you to contact me through my email at mdorn@leg.ne.gov or give me a call at 402-471-2620. The office is open and any messages will be returned as quickly as possible. Remember to vote!