Thank you for visiting my website. It is an honor to represent the people of the 38th legislative district in the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature.

You’ll find my contact information on the right side of this page, as well as a list of the bills I’ve introduced this session and the committees on which I serve. Please feel free to contact me and my staff about proposed legislation or any other issues you would like to address.

Sincerely,
Sen. Dave Murman

April 30, 2024

In response to the Nebraska State Education Association and Support Our Schools Nebraska’s recent announcement to launch a petition to remove school choice opportunities for low-income students granted by LB 1402, Chairman of the Education Committee Dave Murman issued the following statement:

“It is shocking and saddening to see these groups attack even the humblest legislation aimed at giving low-income families a choice in their education. Many have been quick to sow misconceptions that this is a way of defunding or diverting funds from public schools.”

“In reality, in the 2022–2023 year, K-12 schools received about $4.7 billion in taxpayer funds. Since my time as chair of the Education Committee, we have additionally appropriated over $1.6 billion for our public schools. With these recent investments in our public schools, it is surprising that the $10 million cost of LB 1402, which is about 0.2 percent of our total education funding, is such a concern to the teachers union.”

 “Despite the misrepresentations and attacks, my colleagues and I stand committed to ensuring children in Nebraska, regardless of their income and circumstances, have access to a quality education that best meets the unique needs of their families.”

Recent investments in public education in 2023-2024:

LB 583 allocated a $1.5 billion Education Future Fund lockbox guaranteeing that money be used exclusively for education purposes, raised the special education option enrollment reimbursement from 42 percent up to 80 percent, and established a $112 million foundation aid allocating $1,500 per student in state funding.

LB 705 allocated $250,000 for career readiness programs, $500,000 for student teachers, $2.5 million for special education expenses, $10 million for the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act, $1 million for the Teacher Apprenticeship Program, $4 million in NDE Innovation Grants, $1.8 million for the Excellence in Teaching Cash Fund, and $5.3 million to increase career and technical education.

LB 1329 allocated $525,000 for critical response mapping and school safety infrastructure.

LB 1284 allocated $250,000 for menstrual products in public schools, $500,000 for dyslexia programs, $2 million for reading instruction job training, and $2.5 million for computer science and technology training.

In his 1796 farewell address, our first President George Washington said, “Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle”. In short, the very survival of our nation relies on the survival of our public faith. Our founding fathers created a brilliant system of government with checks and balances, but that system was based upon a nation that practiced their freedom of religion. With this upcoming primary election, we must remember to look deeper than flashy social media ads and commercials. Instead, it’s important to ask: will this candidate support our nation’s founding values?

Let us not forget that the government’s job is not to create rights for its people, but to protect the rights every man and woman naturally possesses from their Creator. The founders summarized these rights best under the categories of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Therefore we should always keep these rights in mind when we cast our vote. Life is the first of the unalienable rights mentioned in the Declaration of Independence for a reason. But we can’t truly be a nation that values life until we elect leaders who are willing to protect life from conception until natural death.

Our nation was also founded on the principle of religious freedom- a right so important that our founders enshrined its protection in our very first amendment. We all know the treasured history of the New England colonists who, when told by their government how to practice their religion, packed up and left, creating their own “City on a Hill” where their community could worship and pray to God without government interference. It’s easy for a candidate to say they support religious freedom- pretty much every candidate does! But when common sense proposals are brought to the Legislature to protect medical providers’ religious consciences, these proposals are met with hostility. James Madison put it well in 1785, saying, “The Religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man: and it is the right of every man to exercise it as these may dictate”.

But valuing basic religious freedom is not enough on its own. With the right to free expression of religion equally comes the responsibility, and especially for our leaders, to use that religion for good. John Adams didn’t mince words when he made it clear what our society would look like when that responsibility is not acted on. As Adams put it, “Without religion, this world would be something not fit to be mentioned in polite company: I mean hell”.

So, in this upcoming primary election, and all future elections for that matter, our values matter. Religious freedom, protecting life, and the promotion of Christian values were considered necessary for the survival of a free nation in 1776 and they continue to be necessary today.

This election I encourage you to vote for candidates who are truly committed to upholding our founders’ revolutionary vision. But supporting our nation’s founding values does not end at the ballot box either; it will take a culture built by families, pastors, and community leaders alike.

As the chair of the Education Committee in the Nebraska Legislature, I’ve always been a major believer in public schools. I believe firmly that every K-12-aged child in our state deserves access to a well-funded, competitive, safe education. I also believe that every family has unique needs and values in which a one-size-fits-all approach may not always be best. Because of this, I also support increasing school choice in the State of Nebraska.

Before last year’s historic legislative session, Nebraska was one of only two states that did not have any form of a school choice program. As a state, the majority of the Legislature knew we could do better and become more competitive. The idea that 48 other states were ahead of us in the race was simply unacceptable. So last year Nebraska finally took a step in the right direction and passed LB 753, the Opportunity Scholarships Act. Compared to most other school choice programs across the country, LB 753 is generally quite humble. It allows a tax credit scholarship to be given out to students who wish to attend private schools with prioritization given to low-income students, exceptional needs, students who have experienced bullying, foster children, military families, and children who have been denied option enrollment.

Critics of the Opportunity Scholarships have been quick to sow misconceptions across the State in hopes of repealing LB 753. Many have argued this is a way of defunding public education. The reality is that in the same year Nebraska passed LB 753, Nebraska passed a historic $300 million increase and a $1 billion Education Future Fund for our public schools. In total Nebraska spends nearly $5 billion in K-12 education. Compare this to the $25 million spent through LB 753 and it’s easy to see that their claim is wrong. Not only have we not defunded public education, but we’ve funded it more than ever.

Supporting school choice does not mean opposing public education. In reality, school choice is all about putting parents back in charge. If a parent wants a child to receive a public education, Nebraska should be there to do that. If a parent wants a child to receive a private education, Nebraska should be there to do that. If a parent wants to homeschool their child, Nebraska also should be there to do that. Every family is different- different values, different religions, and different needs. A system with no school choice makes it difficult to cater to every single family.

Some will say that school choice has always existed- that those who wish to send their children to private schools can already do so. This comes from a place of privilege. Private schooling can be incredibly costly. Many Nebraskans and Americans alike are living from paycheck to paycheck. The reality is that currently, private schools are only a viable option for the portion of Nebraska that can afford them. When it comes to getting a child a top-tier K-12 education, income shouldn’t be the deciding factor. Nebraska Opportunity Scholarships give all families, as the name implies, an opportunity.

Today, joined with 24 of my colleagues, I submitted a letter to the SEC opposing their proposed rule on Natural Asset Companies (NACs). NACs allow for investment into land with no financial goal but instead based on the land’s “community well-being” and “ecological services”. In a state where agriculture is our number one source of revenue, giving ownership of our land to the whims of climate activists and adversarial foreign countries puts our food and jobs in danger.

You can read the full letter through the link below:

http://news.legislature.ne.gov/dist38/files/2024/01/Murman-NAC-Letter.pdf

Recently I had the privilege to join the Governor, various leaders of Nebraska religious groups, and my fellow Senators in the tradition of declaring January 16th as Religious Freedom Day. Religious Freedom Day was first signed by proclamation by President Bush in 1993 and has continued to be proclaimed by every President each year after. President Bush chose January 16th as the date based on Thomas Jefferson’s draft bill for Establishing Religious Freedom in Virginia.

In John Winthrop’s famous 1630 City on a Hill sermon, he described his goal for the New England colony to “hold conformity with the rest of His world, being delighted to show forth the glory of His wisdom in the variety and difference of the creatures”. In short, the goal of the colonists who would soon create the model of our nation was seeking freedom to practice their religion in their own way. Their goal was noble. A government was telling them how to practice their religion their way, so they packed up and left, creating their own community to freely worship and pray to God in a way they thought was the best fit.

Most are familiar with our Constitution’s First Amendment which includes the right to free exercise of religion but Nebraska’s State Constitution also includes protections of our religious freedom. Article I-4 of the State Constitution reads, “All persons have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences”. Both our nation and our state recognize our long-held and treasured right of religious liberty.

Our founding fathers were wise to recognize religious liberty as the bedrock of our Republic. To some, their idea of religious freedom seemed radical- but these ideas went on to become the blueprint of our Constitutional rights. Religious Freedom Day serves as a reminder to Nebraskans that no Government has the right to demand we pray or worship in a certain way, instead, these privileges are given to us by God. January 16th is an opportunity for Nebraskans and Americans to celebrate and give thanks to God for our great freedom.

Recently I had the opportunity to discuss the upcoming legislative session with KRVN 880 radio. You can hear my thoughts by clicking the link below.

https://post.futurimedia.com/krvnam/playlist/193/listen-25020.html?cb=1703199310.724139&fbclid=IwAR2En-u-jlKQkPYRwPb5Ktl6oeBypW3VlkrARrLWx7i0u65EsYYeKqm-tKY

Across the state of Nebraska, the colors of the Christmas lights are gleaming across the roads. On our radios, carols of reindeer and snowmen play spreading the joy of Christmas. In our homes, the trees are being set up adorned with ornaments and twinkling lights filled with the scent of cookies coming out of the oven. Our Children are anxious to look under the trees to see presents wrapped in bright colors and ribbons. The gifts of the Christmas season do much to spread joy into the hearts of old and young alike. But all of these gifts, no matter how fun or special, compare to the greatest gift of all- our Savior Jesus Christ.

Our world is certainly full of sin and brokenness but the true meaning of Christmas gives us a reason to celebrate. The Gospel of John tells us that God did not send his Son to condemn the world, but to save it. Christ came to us as a baby in the humblest of beginnings. After traveling nearly a hundred miles, there was no room for the expecting Mary and Joseph at the inn. With no other option but a manger, God chose the most meager of all cradles to be the throne for the King of Kings. Baby Jesus’ birth was celebrated by a heavenly choir of angels and humble shepherds alike. They celebrated with great cause because the newly born babe would grow to become the savior of all. Jesus Christ was tried, crucified, and died redeeming all believers of their sins. He arose from the dead and ascended into heaven, but God’s story is not finished. He will come again to judge the living and the dead bringing redemption to our world.

The true meaning of Christmas is more joyful, exciting, and meaningful than any present laid under the tree. All of our other traditions that so many families enjoy are wonderful, but they are only signs and symbols of our great holiday. The presents under the tree are of this world, and when our time is over, we can’t take them with us. Instead, this Christmas Jesus Christ offers his followers an everlasting gift of priceless value- everlasting life.

Across the State of Nebraska, you may see the gathering of signatures to put the EPIC tax on the ballot to be decided on by the voters. The EPIC tax, or eliminate property, income, and corporate tax, provides an opportunity to completely transform Nebraska’s complicated, outdated, and broken tax system- a goal I certainly support.

For years Nebraskans have told me over and over again that rising property taxes are a top issue. And over and over again, the Nebraska Legislature passes property tax relief which only slightly decreases the problem. I have brought legislation and voted in favor of property tax relief, but the relief only slows down the growing property tax burden with Nebraskans still paying more and more even when we pass so called “relief”. By placing the EPIC tax on the ballot, Nebraska’s second house- the voters, have a chance to truly see some major relief.

In some cases, I have heard of my constituents buying or renting land in Kansas, a state with significantly lower property taxes. Currently, the Tax Foundation ranks Nebraska as having a worse property tax burden than every single one of our neighboring states and the 40th worst-ranking state overall. With our current tax system, we risk losing far too many farmers, businesses, and homeowners to nearby states that offer far more accommodating rates. By passing the EPIC option, we have the opportunity to stay competitive and keep people who love Nebraska in their home state.

Some have voiced concerns that by removing the property, income, and corporate tax, and adding a consumption tax low-income families can be harmed. Something worth considering is that the consumption tax only applies to new products. Used cars, appliances, and even homes would be completely consumption tax-free with groceries also being exempt. Furthermore, when a landlord or apartment owner faces skyrocketing property taxes, that increased cost is often directly reflected in increased rental costs for the tenant. The reality is the EPIC option has the opportunity to grow the entire Nebraska economy while the current tax code picks winners and losers.

Ultimately, the EPIC tax option is a win for farmers, homeowners, and middle-class families. If you see an EPIC tax ballot, sign it and consider volunteering to collect signatures or donating to the cause at epicoption.org/donate.