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.  

Over the past three weeks, the Legislature has frequently met well into the evening to take up as many priority bills as possible. One of those was my bill, LB 103, to help pay off federal judgements against a county. It advanced on a voice vote, and should be on final reading next week sometime. 

The long hours have been used to discuss several higher profile bills. Sen. Lindstrom of Omaha had introduced LB 64 to phase out the income tax on social security. This bill got first round approval, and was amended in the second round by Sen. Stinner, adding intent language to continue phasing out the tax, but not automatically. The idea behind the amendment is the uncertainty of the financial strength of the state that many years out. I would feel more at ease and comfortable with taking it five years at a time. If you had asked people 18 months ago what would be happening in the economy today, no one would believe you. The pandemic caught all of us off guard, and it makes you realize things can change over time, and that it is not a smart business decision to extend yourself out too far.

I have often discussed the amount of money “on the floor” for spending measures. We started with around $210 million and that was increased when the forecasting board met at the end of April to around $248 million. Appropriations Chairman Stinner said this week there is enough left to fit in remaining proposals. We need to make sure we don’t go over that amount, Nebraska’s constitution requires a balanced budget.

Considerable time was spent debating LB496. As introduced by Sen. Hilkeman, the bill would require a DNA sample from a person arrested for certain “crimes of violence” including arson, assault, kidnapping, homicide, sexual assault, robbery, and burglary. If convicted of a felony crime, that sample would be uploaded to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) national database, where it could be compared to other samples. This procedure has solved some crimes in the past. If the person was found not guilty, the sample would be destroyed.  

This generated a lot of conversation about going too far too quickly with DNA technology.  The amended version of LB 496 would not allow the sample to be tested or submitted to the database until after a judicial finding of probable cause; and provides that a DNA record be expunged if the charge is dismissed.

Sen. Wishart’s LB 474 was another discussion that took a full eight hours. Titled as the Medicinal Cannabis Act, Sen. Wishart said it was the most restrictive measure to be introduced in the country among states that have already approved medical cannabis.  Some of the changes she made did make me more comfortable with it, such as who could prescribe and who could dispense medical cannabis. An amendment I liked was filed by Sen. Ben Hansen, which would have tightened it even more, designating just one location in each US House district for growing, dispensing and so on; but the amendment did not come up for a vote.

One part of our discussion focused on the idea that if we didn’t do something this year on medical cannabis,it would be on the ballot in 2022. If the Legislature would have passed it ahead of time, it might have lessened that possibility, but most people think a petition drive will succeed and the issue will be approved by a vote of the people. If that happens, it would become part of our constitution; and the Legislature would be directed to come up with the details of enacting it, just as gambling was on the ballot and passed by a wide margin. Nebraska is one of just two or three states left without cannabis laws. Many other states have passed some form of recreational or medical use statutes.

Those senators who fought against LB 474 pointed out that marijuana is still listed as a Class 1 drug. Also, there is no federal approval, program or guidelines for medical cannabis and states don’t all have the same rules. The debate lasted until a cloture vote could be taken, which needed 33 votes. Thirty-one votes were cast in favor, and the measure was effectively killed for this session in the Legislature.

The Speaker has set a date, with some flexibility built in, to adjourn the session on May 27th. This would be four working days early but would still allow the body to consider any veto overrides that may be filed.  Things have been moving pretty well, we have moved a lot of bills and got some things done. We still have a lot of work to do in the next two weeks and anticipate more late nights on the floor. 

During the interim months, a lot more hard work needs to be done, and one of the biggest issues will be tax restructuring and school funding. The bills we have considered so far have made some improvements but have not sufficiently resolved the concerns we all have. As soon as we adjourn, studies will begin, leaving more time to write new bills to consider in the second half of this biennium next January.

Then of course, we will be back in special session the last two weeks or so of September to work on redistricting, as required in the state constitution. We have been told to expect census numbers to be certified in the August/September time frame. By then we also expect to have fewer restrictions from the pandemic, which will allow us to work more normally and efficiently.

In these last few days of session, please contact me at any time with your concerns or questions. mdorn@leg.ne.gov or call 402-471-2620. 

Last week, the Legislature voted to advance my priority bill, LB 103. This legislation would appropriate $2 million from the General Fund in FY 2021-22 and FY 2022-23 to any county which has a judgment against it from a federal court in excess of $25 million, if the total cost of the judgment exceeds 20% of the county’s annual budget. An amendment specified the method for the State Treasurer to disperse aid to counties and added the requirement that a county has to set its property tax levy at the maximum for each year it receives aid, fifty cents. Aid can be used only for payment of the judgment.

As the residents of District 30 who live in Gage county are well aware, six people were exonerated of committing a crime through DNA testing in 2009. Collectively the group had served more than 70 years in prison. After their release, the group sued Gage County. In 2018, a federal judgement was rendered against Gage County for violation of civil rights. The six were awarded $28.1 million dollars. When you add in attorney fees, interest and other costs to the county, the total is closer to $31 million. 

This judgement is more than three times the yearly property tax collection of Gage County which has a population of a little over 22,000 people.  After the 8th Circuit Court handed down its judgement in 2019, the Gage County Supervisors raised the levy in the county to the maximum .50 cents allowed under law, an increase of 11.76 cents. This tax increase was expected to raise about $3.8 million a year. At that pace, the county taxpayers would expect to pay for at least the next seven and a half years.

In 2019, I brought LB 472 to the Legislature for a ½ cent countywide sales tax to help pay for federal judgements, with the idea of easing the burden on property tax alone, and to get the added revenue from any visitor making a taxable purchase in Gage county. This additional tax which went into effect on January 1, 2020, has brought in around $1.9 million as of April, 2021. These additional funds and future sales tax funds have reduced the payment period down to about six years.

Finally, in August of 2020, the county reached a settlement with the insurance carriers and received $5.96 million. This money has also been applied to the judgement. 

Gage County has exhausted every financial resource available to the county and the taxpayers; by maxing out the property tax levy as required by the judgment, adding that additional ½ cent sales tax, and receiving a settlement from the insurance carriers. The county and its residents have done everything fiscally possible to pay this federal judgement; as well as exhausting every legal option available, every appeal, and even exploring bankruptcy, which was without precedent for a county. 

LB 103 advanced to the second round of debate on a vote of 35 to 3. I will continue to answer any concerns my fellow senators might have about the bill, and hope to see it successfully through passage and the Governor’s signature.

A note about some of the “hot button” bills before us: my office gets a great number of phone calls and emails on these topics. These communications always represent both sides of the issue; relating the impact it may have on them personally, and the strong opinions they have about a certain bill. In general, we all assume that “everyone else” feels like we do on an issue, and that’s fine.

LB 474 is one of those high profile bills generating a lot of calls and emails. The use of medical marijuana in Nebraska has generated earnest feelings and expensive information campaigns on both sides, for and against. Several tax bills, legislative resolutions and constitutional amendments have also resulted in those types of conversations in recent weeks. 

I want you to know I read every message, I talk to experts whenever I can; I study the bill language and examine the financial and societal impacts; and then I listen to the debate between the senators before I decide how to vote. When my vote does not go the way you wanted it to, I do want to assure you, it was cast with a lot of thought and deliberation, with the idea of benefiting the people in greatest need, in the best way possible.

I welcome your calls and emails on every issue before us. You can talk to my staff or leave a message at 402-471-2620, or send your emails to mdorn@leg.ne.gov. My mailing address is PO Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509-4604. Thank you for your continued communication.

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.

It was a week of dealing with major issues at the Nebraska Legislature. Many of the bills right now require a lot of attention and lengthy debate. This is a good thing, as it demands we look at the details and the implications of both bills and amendments. But it does make for long days.

State Budget and Correctional Facilities

On Tuesday, we passed the set of bills comprising the state’s $9.7 billion biennial budget. This final step went smoothly with no amendments and the bills are now awaiting signature by the Governor. The budget is the one form of bill over which the Governor can exercise a line item veto. He has five calendar days not counting Sunday to sign the bills.

The Capital construction portion of the budget garnered the most discussion during debate. Originally, Appropriations had set aside $115 million in a Capital Construction Fund for building a proposed new prison facility, but with no appropriation to spend it. From that $115M set-aside in the capital construction fund we passed an amendment that allocated $18 million for the Lincoln Reception and Mental Health Treatment Center to add 96 beds, as that is one of the most overcrowded of the correctional facilities.The amendment also allocated $14.9 million for land easement, planning, and design for the proposed 1500 bed facility.  A second amendment added on select file has another $15 million to be set aside in a Prison Overcrowding Contingency Fund; of that only $200,000 is allocated for a state study on inmate classification. The balance of this $15 million is not yet authorized to be spent. I definitely hope the state study, and a federal one, will give us concepts we can implement to help with overcrowding; and not just through building more space, but also to make progress in prison overcrowding and sentencing reforms. We haven’t done as much as we could to enact those and once we are back to normal after the pandemic, many people believe we will see an increase in overcrowding again.

Property Tax

Not surprisingly, the topic of property tax was debated at length this week. One senator noted that property tax shows up in the histories of all the past legislative sessions that he has seen, this one is no exception.

Earlier in the week, Sen. Briese brought LB 2.  Presently ag land is valued at 69-75% for school bonds. Originally the bill lowered agricultural land to 30% of valuation, but was amended to 50% of valuation and only on future bond projects. LB 2 as introduced, also increased the property tax credit fund by 3% per year, but that section was removed through an amendment from Sen. Groene.

LB 408 was also introduced by Senator Briese, and creates the Property Tax Request Act. The act would basically make it so a political subdivision’s property tax request for any year would not exceed the prior year’s property tax request by more than 3%, with some exceptions. The Revenue Committee amended the bill so that: request authority would be equal to the political subdivision’s tax request from the prior year multiplied by 103%, a board could go over the 3% limit for no more than two consecutive years, and could not exceed 9% over a 3-year period. The limit would not apply to the real growth value of the political subdivision. When the bill came up on the agenda, 20 amendments had already been offered, which demonstrates the vast divide in opinions on this matter.  

In LB 408, I see not only the 3% as a cap, but also as a floor. If you leave some of that 3% amount out there, you don’t get the opportunity to use it at some other time. Schools, and some counties and cities, have talked to me about how it would affect them going forward, especially if some of their costs are not met through enough funding from the state. While some entities, schools, cities and counties, have done a great job with not raising the property tax growth by more than 2%, others have at times exceeded 10% or more; even 22% in one year in the case of one community college. Generally, there is usually a good reason for that, but not always. 

As an example of what concerns many senators as we go forward, property valuations in Lincoln have been projected to go up 10% in the next year. If Lincoln Public Schools stay at the $1.05 levy, and your valuation goes up by 10% your school property taxes will then also go up by 10%. At the same time because Lincoln would now have more ability to pay with their increase in property taxes, their TEEOSA (state school funding formula) amount will go down, giving LPS no incentive to reduce the levy. Similarly, this is what happened with farm land, when it went up 15% in value, the effective amount of property tax did as well. Some entities held the line on tax request and spending or even reduced their tax asking.  Some did not, it was available and they used it. 

Another concern with a 3% limit is that if the rate of inflation is greater than 3%, it will be extremely difficult for schools and counties to keep up with salaries and benefit costs.  In the end, much of this comes back to school funding. Sen. DeBoer of Omaha has a bill, LB132, to set up a commission to review school funding and come back by December with recommendations on how to improve or change the tax structure and funding for education. LB 132 is waiting for first round debate. After eight hours of deliberation on LB 408 and around 25 total amendments filed, it failed on a cloture vote and is likely done for the session.

Law Enforcement Training

Another timely topic this week was Sen. Lathrop’s LB 51, which resulted from two days of hearings in Lincoln and Omaha last summer. About 200 people testified at those hearings, prompting Sen. Lathrop and the Judiciary Committee to write this bill, along with input from agencies across the state. LB 51 would make several changes to law enforcement certification, training, and policies. Standards for hiring law enforcement officers would be more strict and additional training hours would be required, including de-escalation, human behavior and mental health, substance abuse, people in crisis, and anti-bias and implicit bias instruction. The bill would require every law enforcement agency to have a policy for accepting and investigating complaints of officer misconduct. There would also be a prohibition on the use of chokeholds unless deadly force is authorized. Most law enforcement agencies agreed that more training is a benefit to both the officers and the public. 

In floor debate on LB 51, Sen. Brewer led a discussion about smaller departments who have a hard time finding people to hire; the extra training this would require, and how to get it done. For example, sending officers away for training might leave no one on duty. Sen. Brewer said he has a couple of counties with only one law enforcement officer. Sen. Brewer and Sen. Lathrop have agreed to work out an amendment that will be better for the state’s smaller law enforcement departments, including Gage county. This bill advanced to the next round on a 39-0 vote. 

In the next two weeks, the Legislature will take up revenue and spending bills. My priority bill, LB 103, which would get some state help in paying off a federal judgment for Gage County, will be on the agenda for debate in that time frame. Please contact me with any questions or concerns at mdorn@leg.ne.gov or call 402-471-2620 at any time.

The main focus of the week at the Legislature was debate on the state’s budget. As the budget package moved through the required steps for passage, we used the intervening time to advance a number of other measures. 

LB 41, a bill I introduced to add townships to the list of political subdivisions who are entitled to receive a monthly payment of their funds from the county treasurer, passed on Final Reading this week with a vote of 46-0. I appreciate Gage County treasurer Laurie Wollenburg bringing this to my attention. Once it is signed by the Governor, it will become law three calendar month days after the end of the session.  

Discussions about the budget were very different than we once feared, especially with the effect of Covid. About 18 months ago, revenue started to come in ahead of forecast. When covid hit a year ago, our numbers were still very strong. Revenues took a dip for about two to three months, then once stimulus programs began and our economy picked back up, the revenue numbers went back up. This is partly because Nebraska’s economy is somewhat shielded, since we are not dependent on tourism or oil and gas, and have a strong agriculture influence on the economy. Despite the pandemic, by January of this year we were back to a normal revenue stream. At the state level, the economy stayed strong.

Most would agree that CARES and ARP stimulus funding have also played a part in strengthening our state economy. In the Appropriations committee, we continue to examine where we will be three to five years from now without stimulus money coming in. While we are having those discussions, we are thankful to be in the situation we are today, instead of having decreased revenue and being forced to look at budget cuts.

I would encourage you to read the entire budget on the legislative website by clicking on the link:  Appropriations Committee Proposed Budget (4/1/2021). This includes an explanation of each expenditure, which is a little easier to read than the actual bill.

Much of our debate about budget bill LB 383 focused on the state’s corrections system: programming for inmates, mental health, overcrowding, and the proposal to build a new prison. The Appropriations committee set aside $115 million in a Capital construction fund earmarked for a proposed 1500 bed prison. We did not give approval for the allocation (spending) of any of those funds. However, amendments divided that sum into: $18 million for use at the Lincoln Correctional Facility, $14.9 million for acquiring easements on property and design for a proposed prison, and gave the appropriation for those two projects. Another amendment introduced by Senator Wayne set aside $15 million to be used for programming for those already incarcerated. This was put into a separate fund with only $200,000 allocated. So of the original $115 million set aside, $62 million remains in sequestered funds to be used if a prison is built, and if not used, returned to the general fund.

Some senators felt LB383 meant a new prison would be automatic but it really just puts some procedures in place to be ready if a new facility is built in the future. Nebraska received a federal grant for a study of the prison population, facilities and sentencing reform which will be done by next year. The goal was to do a few things right now, like at the Lincoln center; but we are not going ahead with the okay to build a new prison until the report is done. The study and the advance planning work will help answer some questions.

On Thursday I had a good conversation with Larry Kahl, the COO for Health and Human Services. In the ongoing study that includes the Beatrice State Developmental Center (BSDC), he reported the stakeholder meetings have wrapped up. They did conduct a separate meeting with Trevor Lee, director of NGage, and Angie Bruna with the Beatrice Chamber and appreciated that input. I have offered to be involved in every step of the process, and reiterated that in addition to the facilities at BSDC, our greatest asset is the dedicated staff and the love and care they show for the individuals who live there, especially during covid.

One bill generating a lot of interest this past week was LB 271, offered by Sen. Adam Morfeld. This bill was requested by the Lancaster county attorney’s office, and is structured after an effective program in South Dakota. It allows qualified individuals with a ticket for a DUI to be able to continue to drive to work, if they agree to participate in a very restrictive program that requires being tested every 12 hours or using a continuous alcohol monitoring device. Failing a test would result in some strict penalties, additional fines, or possible imprisonment and so on. 

The benefit of the 24/7 sobriety program is that instead of holding someone in jail for a month or two until trial, they have the option of getting back to work in that time period. It is designed to help those people who are productive employees, who want to change what they did and what happened. It also helps them remain in the workforce and have some financial resources in place to get through this. The program is designed to keep people sober, as opposed to just stopping them from driving drunk like other programs or devices do. The start up costs of about $100,000 will be completely funded by Lancaster county. The bill advanced on a 34-4 vote.

We deal with many more bills and topics each week than we can cover here. So we welcome your questions and input. Contact me at mdorn@leg.ne.gov or call 402-471-2620.

Discussion of the state’s biennial budget started this week. In past updates, I have talked about the process, attention and time that goes into developing the budget proposals before they are taken up on the floor. That work was completed and Chairman Stinner introduced the package of bills that comprise the budget on Thursday. 

The first step is to move some of the bills that have to do with the mechanics of state business. These include LBs 379, 381, 382 and 384, which cover administrative costs of the Legislature, salaries for constitutional officers, the transfer of funds by the State Treasurer to make them available and the Cash Reserve. The mainline budget bill, LB 380, is where the most discussion takes place, and rightfully so. We heard some good remarks by a number of senators and a few amendments were offered as well. This bill advanced on Thursday on a 42-0 vote.

On Friday we began debate on LB 383, which is the Appropriations bill for capital construction. This legislation includes financing of correctional facilities and generated a great deal of discussion. 

I would like to point out that we had about $215M available for senator’s bills outside of the main budget, this is often referred to as “money for the floor”. The Legislature’s Fiscal Office keeps track of spending that has passed the general or select file by keeping a tally of how much money would remain if all the bills being debated were to pass. The total for the floor of $215 million was already down to $174 million by Friday morning.

In other floor action, Sen. Hunt introduced LB260 to expand unemployment benefits to those caring for a family member with a serious health condition to the Nebraska Employment Security Law. The pandemic brought this to the forefront, but I have some first hand knowledge of this from the past few years with my in-laws. My wife and sister in law have full time jobs; as a farmer, I was able to have a little flexibility to help out from time to time. I experienced how hard it is for working people to care for elderly parents. Most employees would have been paying into the state fund from their paychecks, so they would be able to utilize part of their contributions this way.

We continue to get a lot of news and feedback from the past year’s elections. Two bills, introduced by Sen. Slama were: LR3CA which requires voter identification and LB76 a “winner take all” mode for the electoral college. Both of those bills are still held in the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. 

On a local level, I have always been very proud of how Dawn Hill and her staff handled elections in Gage county. Gage county was one of the first counties that bought new vote counting machines. We have many safeguards in place to lend confidence to our election process being very safe. 

We need to encourage a strong voter turnout and should not do anything to keep people from being able to vote. In 2020, over 70% of ballots were mailed-in ballots. I recently spoke with someone who heard that exit polling in last week’s Lancaster county election was difficult because not many people were voting in person. Mail-in ballots continue to be highly utilized, especially during the pandemic. 

Another issue generating communication is the “30 x 30” federal executive order. We are trying to gather as much information as we can about the 2030 environmental goals President Biden has outlined and what all is being included. Looking at the information we have received so far, I believe it deals with carbon credits, fossil fuels and climate change; one section has more to do with trees, forests and fires. The information we have been looking at says most federal departments have to start to develop plans for their departments in the next two months. These include agriculture, transportation, energy, interior, labor, and others. 

Could this order affect us? Yes. How much? I don’t have an answer for that. I plan to get a better understanding of this as it plays out. We do need to protect our land so future generations can still be farming and supporting their families for a long time to come.

I appreciate hearing from you, with your questions and concerns and opinions. Call any time to 402-471-2620 or email me at mdorn@leg.ne.gov.

As we celebrate the Easter holiday, the signs of spring are everywhere.  Field work, baby calves, and baseball’s opening day, there is always something good about the change of seasons. 

By law, the only required duty of the Legislature is passing the state’s biennial budget. The Appropriations Committee moved the mainline budget bill, LB 380, along with several others, out of committee last week. The entire budget was distributed to each senator on Thursday in a booklet totaling 270 pages, giving senators and staff the long Easter weekend to read it over. 

Two years ago, we waited for the April forecast board report to finalize the budget. This year we worked at a quicker pace due to concerns that the pandemic could force the Legislature into an extended recess similar to what occurred last spring. Speaker Hilgers has scheduled discussion to begin next Thursday and he hopes to have the package completed by the following week. 

This will be the budget for the next two years, although we can make some adjustments during the short session next year.  I think the effort and attention of the Appropriations Committee resulted in a good budget, and it came out of committee on a 9-0 vote. It takes a lot of work to get it done, but I feel we do a good job. I also appreciate that on the floor, anyone can pull out anything as an amendment and discuss it. 

In this budget, we left room for $211 million for other appropriations. This is really important, there are lots of bills being brought forward for funding, including my LB 103. Last year, the speaker said not to bother to even bring a bill to the floor that needed funding because there wasn’t any. We’ve had that perspective for the past two years, and now we have built up demand and a lot of requests for specific projects and programs to consider.

LB 103 is my priority bill, it would allocate $2 million, for each of the next two years, to any county meeting the requirements in statute of paying off a federal judgment. The Appropriations Committee added an amendment to raise that amount to $5 million per year. 

Once the mainline budget is passed, the following couple of weeks will be devoted to taking up those bills that require an appropriation of state funds. As a result, I expect to see LB 103 come to the floor for discussion sometime after April 19th. I continue talking with all of my colleagues about the background of the “Beatrice Six” issue and the great need for their support, and will use this time to make my case for the passage of LB 103. 

Bills on “consent calendar” must have had no opposition in hearings, and are allowed just 15 minutes of debate on the floor. I introduced LB 41 to help townships receive their monthly funds, and it was placed on the consent calendar earlier this week.

In Nebraska, there are 22 counties with townships. A year ago it was brought to my attention that a township had to submit a paper warrant every time they wanted funds transferred from the county to the township. These dollars are already township funds, so LB 41 simply streamlines this process and allows the county treasurer to transfer their monthly allotments on or before the 15th of each month, like the other entities listed in the statute such as fire and school districts.

I didn’t expect much discussion on this bill, but Sen. Erdman brought up the purpose of having townships and questioned if having counties in charge would be more cost effective. I was glad to have the discussion. In Gage county, we have always had strong support for townships; and it would require a vote of the people to eliminate them. The county board has discussed the cost of road graders and personnel, but also considered that especially during a snowstorm, a township can get to the roads in their area so much faster than if a county had to disperse the graders from a central barn. Residents appreciate having someone local to visit with when they have an issue with the roads. LB 41 advanced on a 43-0 vote.

We often hear the word “fireworks” to describe some of the floor debate, but this past week it was true. Sen. Slama’s LB 152 would change certain classifications of fireworks to match federal definitions and broaden sales in Nebraska by changing the definition of “consumer fireworks” to include any device that meets the federal requirements for 1.4G fireworks. This bill also would allow the State Fire Marshal to test and deem fireworks unsafe in response to complaints. This bill doesn’t affect dates or curfew times in counties or cities and the fire marshal will still be checking for compliance. I encourage everyone to be responsible when they purchase fireworks, and stay mindful of their neighbors and nearby pets and livestock. An amendment to the bill would add the “E” clause, so if the bill passes, it would be in effect for the coming 4th of July holiday.

I welcome your calls and emails to my office. Contact me at any time at 402-471-2620 or mdorn@leg.ne.gov. 

Many days, debate about legislation here at the Unicameral deals with “everyday” topics like locksmiths, bridges, school lunches and distributing funds to townships. But other days we deal with the major issues of our time, such as free speech, gambling regulations, health care and juvenile justice. This is a small sampling of bills that are on the agenda.

As a member of the Appropriations Committee, our main concern is the budget. The impact of state funding reaches far beyond dollar amounts as it touches our lives on a daily basis, affecting everything from individual citizens to our state infrastructure and vital services. We take our job in committee very seriously, studying each request and weighing that against the financial health of our state.  We have just a few days left to finish our work before presenting a completed budget to the full legislative body for consideration.

My priority bill, LB 103, has been advanced out of the Appropriations Committee with Amendment 588. AM588 would increase the appropriation to $5 million per year, for each of the next two years, to counties paying on a federal judgment; and direct the appropriation to the State Treasurer for dispersal. A county is eligible if it: (1) has a judgment against it from a federal court in excess of $25 million, if the total cost of the judgment exceeds 20% of the county’s annual budget; and (2) has set its property tax levy at the maximum for each year it receives aid. Aid can be used only for payment of the judgment. Gage county meets these requirements. I will be talking with my fellow senators to answer any questions they may have about the legislation and impacts felt by Gage county, before it comes up on the agenda for debate. 

Bills discussed this week included a couple of gambling issues. Sen. Ray Aguilar, who represents the city of Grand Island, brought LB 371. Historically, the Legislature has permitted forms of gaming as they have been authorized, including bingo, lotteries, raffles, pari-mutuel betting, and pickle cards. However, the law does not permit games of chance to be conducted at or near an enclosure where a fair is occurring. There are three fairs in Nebraska which are held at licensed racetracks, including the state fair grounds in Grand Island, and in Columbus and Hastings. If these racetracks choose to construct a casino, current statute would dictate that they must stop their gaming operations for the duration of the fair, or the fair must identify a new venue. LB371 would authorize games of chance but would not authorize any party besides the licensed gaming operator. The bill would not intertwine a fair and a casino but would allow both to operate parallel to each other. It advanced with a 38 to 5 vote.

The other issue pertaining to gambling, LB 561 by Sen. Tom Briese, was discussed at length on the floor and had four amendments. This bill would merge racing and gaming into one commission to regulate games of chance and wagering on horse racing. Amendments dealt with the addition of sports betting, keno and payment options, and the composition and appointment of the commission. After several hours of deliberation, the bill passed to the next round on a vote of 37 to 5. Because sports betting and keno were new issues, a public hearing will be held in the next couple of weeks on those amendments. There are several more bills regarding gambling yet to come, as a result of the passage of ballot initiatives last fall. 

Early in the pandemic last year, a bottleneck formed in the meatpacking industry. Beef producers in particular, were left scrambling to find ways to process and sell cattle that were ready for market. LB324, introduced by Sen. Tom Brandt, makes it easier for the consumer to purchase individual packages of meat directly from the producer or processor. The bill allows the producer and consumer more flexibility when deciding where their meat is processed. It also creates the Independent Processor Assistance Program which provides a roadmap for increasing local processing capacity and expanding market access for small producers. This bill advanced to the next round of debate without any dissenting votes.

Rounding out the “everyday” topics this week, a bill dealing with Daylight Saving Time has been designated a speaker priority bill, ensuring some floor debate on the issue. As written, it will require Congress to allow it first, and that neighboring states also adopt it. 

We will be in floor debate all day now through the end of the session. My staff is always available to talk with you, and I check my emails throughout the day. mdorn@leg.ne.gov  402-471-2620