LINCOLN—Today, Senator Dave Murman of Glenvil called for the Department of Education to eliminate links and resources to National Sexuality Education Standards, a form of comprehensive sex education, found on https://education.ne.gov/csss/hiv/. The link was found and reported to the Senator’s office by a concerned civilian in conjunction with Senator Murman’s investigation into the promotion of Critical Race Theory at the Nebraska Department of Education.

The Department’s website states:

from “HIV/AIDS Education” www.education.ne.gov/csss/hiv/

When asked for an explanation, calls from the Senator’s office to the Department of Education went unanswered.

On Friday, Senator Murman said, “The Department of Education has been through this once before. The Department knows full well that it lacks the legal discretion to promote sex education standards. I call on the Department to remove, condemn, and apologize for promoting this material with state resources.”

LINCOLN—On October 31st, 2022, the Nebraska Board of Education abruptly canceled
their public comment period for the Board’s November 4th meeting. Senator Dave
Murman of Legislative District 38 released the following statement:

“The Nebraska Board of Education has long held a public comment period where citizens
can interact with their elected members of Government in their official capacity.
Yesterday, the board decided that after a slew of oversight failures, including the
imposing of a regimen of Critical Race Theory on teachers, they would shut down the
voices of parents before an election.

“The Nebraska Board of Education has fallen in line with those they’re supposed to
oversee, and they have decided to play politics instead of doing what is best for Nebraska
children and working on behalf of the citizen. I wholeheartedly condemn this action and
call on the Board to open up their meeting for public comment.”

Senator Murman appeared on Newsmax “National Report” this morning to discuss evidence of Critical Race Theory resources provided to Nebraska’s public school teachers by the Nebraska Department of Education.

LINCOLN—Senator Dave Murman of Glenvil was joined today by Hastings Senator Steve Halloran, Elmwood Senator Rob Clements, Bayard Senator Steve Erdman and Adams Senator Myron Dorn. They held a joint press conference in the State Capitol Rotunda to discuss their call for a legislative investigation into the Nebraska Department of Education.

Over the last few years, the Nebraska Department of Education has received money from the federal government’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund to help schools rebound from COVID-19. With this money, the Department created an online resource hub known as “Launch Nebraska” that could be accessed by any internet user. After a year of operation, Launch Nebraska appears to have shifted its focus, and that is what prompted the call for an investigation.

“The website provided ‘professional resource and learning links’ targeted toward educators and members of the education administration. With this, the Nebraska Department of Education guided educators to the ‘Culturally Responsive Education’ hub, where educators were encouraged to ‘Take Action’ and provided with a PDF document titled ‘Winning Racial Justice In Our Schools: Resisting the Right Wing Attacks On Critical Race Theory.’ This comes at a time when ACT scores for the previous year have been reported as the lowest in at least a decade. In Nebraska, 20% of tested graduates met all four ACT benchmarks for college percent, which is down from 23% a year earlier.”

The Education Department has come under fire in recent months because of its proposed Comprehensive Sex Education standards. Murman says that the uncovered documents show unequivocally that the Department has also been promoting Critical Race Theory for at least a full school year.

“It has become clear that the Nebraska Department of Education and Launch Nebraska have gone off the rails from the original intent of this program. That’s why I am calling for a legislative investigation into the Nebraska Department of Education. The people of Nebraska, and certainly in my district in south-central Nebraska, expect our schools to teach their kids the basics: math, reading, science, civics, history, writing, and financial literacy, and prepare students for higher education or a job in the trades.”

Senator Murman said that there should never be another dime of taxpayer money that goes to a state-employed agency that is determined to participate in political activity.

h/t: ERIN BAMER, OMAHA WORLD-HERALD

Senator Dave Murman will be joined by colleagues Sen. Halloran, Clements, and Erdman on October 17th at 10:45 AM in the Capitol Rotunda to discuss their call for a legislative investigation into the Nebraska Department of Education.

On Wednesday, October 12th, the Daily Caller reported on documents and resources distributed by the Nebraska Department of Education’s “Launch Nebraska” online hub intended for schools restarting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

When asked for comment by the Daily Caller, Senator Murman said “In our state, we’ve dealt with left-wing activist bureaucrats promoting comprehensive sex education and critical race theory in our public schools.” He continued, saying “any promotion of these reprehensible ideologies by the Nebraska Department of Education must be rooted out.”

Senators will give opening remarks at 10:45 in the Capitol Rotunda followed by a brief question period.

This past week, the Bovee wildfire at Nebraska National Forest near Halsey, Nebraska led to the death of Purdum volunteer fire department assistant chief Mike Moody. It also prompted the evacuation of the entire town of Halsey. The fire was close to being controlled by last Monday after tireless work from some of Nebraska’s finest first responders who saved several farmsteads in the fire’s path. As of last Thursday morning, reports estimate the fire was 94% contained after burning nearly 20,000 acres of land.

The Eppley Lodge, the historic Scott Lookout Tower, and all of the cabins at the state 4-H camp fell victim to this tragedy. This was the first 4-H campsite in Nebraska, dedicated in 1962, and recorded approximately 2,500 visiting youths annually, and more than 30,000 different youths over the years.

I personally had the pleasure of attending the Halsey 4-H camp twice in the 1960s. The first time as a young 4-Her, I was super impressed by all of the tall pine trees and beautiful natural wooden cabins, and the huge Eppley Lodge. Being from the irrigated flatlands of Nebraska, I didn’t realize a campground with so many pine trees could even exist in Nebraska, or that it is the largest hand-planted forest in the Western Hemisphere. I was also impressed by the Scott Lookout Tower, from which one could look over the hills of pine trees and watch for smoke.

The next time I attended was for a 4-H leadership camp in my teenage years. Believe it or not, a fire had burned through the camp the year before, leaving only cement foundation pads where many of the cabins once stood. Huge tents were erected on the pads but fortunately, the Eppley Lodge was still there in all its glory. I was blessed to take part in planting pine fingerlings in the hills around the camp to replace some of the trees that burned. It is surreal to think some of these trees could be the ones that burned 50-some years later in the Bovee fire. Unfortunately, this time the beautiful Eppley Lodge and Scott Lookout Tower are also gone. I am telling this story in the hopes that Nebraskans will pull together to replant portions of the Nebraska National Forest that were lost in the most recent Bovee fire. I am also hopeful that Nebraska extension and 4-H leaders from all over the state can rebuild the camp even better than before so that future generations of 4-Hers can enjoy the same privileges that I and so many others have enjoyed.

I hope everyone in District 38 will join me in praying for the family and friends of Mike Moody, for the recovery of the Nebraska National Forest, for those that lost homes or property, and for all the people who have courageously battled this fire.

I welcome any comments, questions, or ideas you may have on this or any other issue. Please feel free to email me at dmurman@leg.ne.gov or call my office at 402-471-2732.

Pink Postcards

In 2021, the Nebraska Legislature adopted LB 644, titled the Property Tax Request Act and more commonly dubbed the Truth in Taxation Act. The bill requires counties to inform their citizens of an increase in property tax from the year prior of 2.0% or more. The legislation also requires the counties to hold a public hearing where citizens can ask questions, express discontent, or air grievances about any increases.

Over the last few weeks, my office has been contacted by constituents asking questions about this process. Truth in Taxation was a major step toward transparency for Nebraska property owners and accountability for local taxing entities. As is common with any new law, there are pieces of LB 644 that need to be retooled and worked out. But overall, this law is a positive first step and guarantees citizens will be heard. If a subdivision raises property taxes by more than 2%, a notice of a public hearing will be mailed to the taxpayer. The hearing will take place in one location per county.

Unfortunately, a lot more pink paper was used in the first year of the Truth in Taxation law than was expected. Why is that? Put simply, inflation. The federal government has irresponsibly decided to deficit spend and then print money to make up for it. In Legislative District 38, several counties did not raise their property tax levy but your property taxes still rose. Recent reports from Washington D.C. indicate that the consumer price index (CPI), a metric that details the overall cost of goods and services, is up about 9% from 2021. You can see it when you go to fuel up at the pump, go to buy groceries, or go to the hardware store to purchase a 2×4. Even if you have made no renovations or upgrades to your property, inflation is still raising the value of your home. As your valuation increases, the amount of taxes you will owe will increase unless the levy decreases in a corresponding amount. Additionally, counties still have the same resource demands and needs for essential services, with inflation driving up these costs as well.

Truth in Taxation has revealed several effects that were already obvious to so many Nebraskans about our unfair property tax system. Showing transparency in our taxation process is putting pressure on Lincoln to rid Nebraskans of these often-hidden property tax increases. With the help of my colleagues, I hope to implement a broader-based or more consumption-based tax system.

I welcome any comments, questions, or ideas you may have on this or any other issue.  Please feel free to email me at dmurman@leg.ne.gov or call my office at 402-471-2732.

Are you a Nebraska college student interested in becoming a page for the Nebraska Legislature for the 2023 Legislative session? Details from the Clerk of the Legislature’s office are at the following link:

https://nebraskalegislature.gov/unicampages/

The deadline to apply is 5:00 PM on Friday, October 7th. Please have reference requests to my office by Wednesday, October 5th.

For reference consideration, please submit a letter of request to my office at:

Senator Dave Murman
PO Box 94604
Lincoln NE 68509-4604

Over the last few years, communities across Legislative District 38 (LD-38) have been recognized by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development and the Nebraska Diplomats for achievements in growth, modernization, business expansion, retention, leadership, agri-business, and preparation to succeed in competitive environments. Today, I’m recognizing some of those achievements and putting the great success across our district into context.

Last month, Governor Ricketts presented Holdrege with the Nebraska Diplomats’ “Community of the Year” award. Holdrege was recognized by the Nebraska Diplomats for being on a path forward for economic development, including a $100 million investment in Becton Dickinson’s Holdrege plant, an $8 million expansion by Allmand Inc./Briggs & Stratton, a new Cobblestone Hotel, and a $2 million dollar expansion of the VA Clinic in Holdrege.

Additionally, the Nebraska Department of Economic Development has two different designations for communities that are working to improve their status in leadership and economic development. I am pleased to report that as of September 2022, five LD-38 communities are on the Leadership Certified Community (LCC) list, making up over 15% of the entire list of communities. Blue Hill, Cambridge, Franklin, Red Cloud, and Superior have all demonstrated a strong sense of community, fostered collaboration between community leaders and organizations, and developed a strategic plan for solving community needs.

The Economic Development Certified Communities (EDCC) program by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development has recognized two communities in LD-38. McCook and Holdrege have been recognized for being equipped for growth and ready to meet the needs of employees and firms that need new locations.
None of this would be possible without the efforts of several leaders working on ways to best serve their neighbors. All of these achievements highlight a will to succeed and tremendous optimism across LD-38. Congratulations to all of these communities for their awards and designations.

A brief note to those of you in District 38 who have been affected by the shortage of Driver’s License Examiners at local courthouses. I have been assured by the State Department of Motor Vehicles that there are no plans to close any DMV offices in rural counties. The eastern edge of the district has been especially affected, because examiners are being pulled to staff larger counties, such as Lancaster. I would advise calling ahead before you make a long trip to be sure your local DMV office is staffed. With the exception of those turning 21, you are allowed to renew your driver’s license up to 90 days before your birthday, and you may do so at any DMV office in the state, regardless of your county of residence. There are also online options available. I will continue advocating to keep DMV offices open and staffed.

I welcome any comments, questions, or ideas you may have on this or any other issue. Please feel free to email me at dmurman@leg.ne.gov or call my office at 402-471-2732.