As this update goes to press, the Nebraska Legislature will have completed fifty-seven days of this year’s sixty-day legislative session. Much of the focus and debate this week has been on taxes.

The road to tax relief this year has been difficult and circuitous as every effort has been challenged and delayed through the filibuster process. This results in eight hours of debate on General File and four hours of debate on Select File and the need to garner at least 33 votes at each stage for the bill to be voted on.

Because of this environment, it became necessary to combine separate tax relief bills into one tax relief package that was amended into LB 873. In developing this package, an effort was made to have an equal balance between income tax relief and property tax relief. This bill, which was on Select File, was debated this week and after a four-hour filibuster, finally advanced to Final Reading. Yesterday, the Legislature passed LB 873 and the bill has been sent to Governor Ricketts.

LB 873, as amended, would make the following tax cuts:
• Individual Income Tax Credit for Property Taxes Paid: Taxpayers would have the opportunity to receive a credit on their income tax for a portion of their property taxes paid to community colleges. Additionally, the current refundable state income tax for a portion of property taxes paid for K-12 education will continue to be funded at a larger level.

• Social Security Income: This bill would phase out state income taxation of Social Security income in four annual steps. It would make Nebraska more attractive to seniors that wish to retire in this state and would bring our state in line with other states that offer a similar exemption.

• Corporate Income Tax: The top corporate income tax rate would also be cut to attract new businesses to Nebraska.

• Income Tax: The top individual income tax rate will gradually be cut in several steps. This will keep Nebraska competitive with neighboring states.

In another bill passed earlier this year, the Legislature approved a reduction of Nebraska’s inheritance tax. This bill has been signed by the governor.

This year’s LB 873 represents one of the largest tax cut packages passed by the Legislature. While this bill is not perfect, property tax reduction has been and continues to be one of my primary objectives as a state senator and I will continue to pursue this goal.

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.

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Kate Heltzel
Nebraska Legislature
Unicameral Information Office
(402) 471-2788
uio@leg.ne.gov

 Sen. Dave Murman invites students to youth legislature

High school students are invited to take on the role of state senators at the Unicameral Youth Legislature June 12-15. 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.

“I think it is crucial for our young people to realize that laws are made by people, not some distant, disembodied entity we call government,” says Senator Murman. “We need good people at all levels of government, and getting students excited about a civic education is very important.”

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 20.

March 25, 2022

One of the committees that I’ve served on for the past four years is the Education Committee. This legislative session the Education Committee has heard a multitude of bills addressing a wide variety of topics. This week I would like to discuss several bills that I anticipate will be debated in the remaining days of this year’s session.

LB 1218 has been designated as priority bill by the Education Committee and has been advanced by a unanimous vote to General File. This bill (with the committee amendment) is intended to address Nebraska’s teacher workforce shortage by accomplishing the following:

• Passing a statewide examination related to basic skills competency as an entrance requirement to a post-secondary education institution would no longer be required. Testimony showed that this test had become a barrier for many students, has not been linked to teaching effectiveness, and was an unnecessary expense for students.

• The State Board of Education requires applicants to pass an exam (the “Praxis” core exam) before receiving an entry-level teaching certificate or permit. This bill would allow teaching candidates to retake portions of the exam if they need to or to demonstrate their proficiency through college coursework.

• Another way to address the teacher workforce shortage is addressed in this bill by allowing teachers wishing to relocate to Nebraska to demonstrate their proficiency by their experience as an educator in another state rather than taking a single test such as the Praxis exam.

• LB1218 also would provide $1,000 in loan forgiveness to student teachers under the “Attracting Excellence to Teaching Program”. An individual would be required to provide service for a full academic semester within an accredited or approved public or private school and meet certain requirements to qualify.

• Adopts the “Teach in Nebraska Today Act” which provides for student loan repayment assistance of not more than $5K per year for up to five years.

Senator Rita Sanders of Bellevue introduced LB1158 which is her priority bill. This bill has advanced to General File and its purpose is to update Nebraska’s Parental Involvement and Academic Transparency laws and foster a stronger relationship between the school and the parents. Under the bill, a policy would be required to include how the district will provide parents and guardians access to digital and learning materials and training materials for teachers, administrators and staff as well as procedures for the review and approval of such materials and activities. A policy would have to describe under what circumstances a parent or guardian could ask that their child be excused from learning materials, activities and guest speakers that the parent finds objectionable. The commissioner of education would withhold state aid from school districts that fail to make learning materials available to parents or guardians. Testimony stated that this would promote transparency in school district policies and curricula.

The final bill that I’ll mention is Senator Albrecht’s LB 768, which didn’t advance from the Education Committee. Many of you are aware of the recent controversial health standards that the State Board of Education was contemplating. The intent of Senator Albrecht’s bill (which I cosponsored) is to prevent the State Board of Education from creating health education standards for Nebraska public schools. It would allow the board to develop, approve, and adopt academic content standards for reading, writing, mathematics, science and social studies. Senator Albrecht said that LB768 would be a “long overdue check” on the State Board of Education and the state Department of Education. This bill received both support and opposition at the committee hearing.

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.

March 18, 2022

After this week, the Nebraska Legislature has only fifteen working days left in this year’s sixty-day Legislative session. Most of the debate this week and next week has centered on (and will focus on) the State’s budget and how we spend the federal ARPA funds. A major component of these discussions this week has involved whether to build a new state prison and whether the state should adopt criminal justice reform measures that aim to reduce crime and recidivism.

Regarding the Nebraska State Penitentiary, the facility was originally built in 1869, and its walls are crumbling. It has aged beyond simple repair and the cost to bring it up to speed is greater than the cost of a new prison. While no one likes the idea of building a new prison, it is beyond time to replace this facility. A modern Penitentiary would facilitate criminal justice reform by offering a safer environment for inmates and staff. It would also allow the Department of Correctional Services to offer enhanced services and programming to better prepare these inmates for life after incarceration. Finally, the current facility is extremely overcrowded, and we need to increase capacity to help address this problem.

The second component of this issue is to address criminal justice reform issues. While I am a strong supporter of law enforcement and clear consequences for committing crime, I also believe that we need to be smart in addressing criminal justice. A study was recently completed by the Nebraska Criminal Justice Reinvestment Working Group which was comprised of members of the Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary branches. Technical assistance was provided through a national group that has worked with other states experiencing similar problems. This comprehensive report may be found by clicking the “NECJR Working Group Final Report” link on the Legislature’s webpage for the Judiciary Committee (nebraskalegislature.gov). Against national trends, Nebraska’s incarceration rate has been increasing over the last decade and despite increased spending, recidivism rates have increased. In order to prioritize public safety and effectively reduce recidivism, the Working Group came up with twenty-one options (seventeen of which received unanimous consensus). Among these options were establishing a streamlined parole process, expand problem-solving courts, and expand the use of sentencing alternatives. Legislation reflecting this report has been introduced.

After listening to debate on this issue, I believe that we don’t have to choose between a new prison and criminal justice reform; that we need to look at both to address Nebraska’s criminal justice issues. We need to keep communities safe and spend taxpayer dollars wisely.

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.

March 11, 2022

During this second session of the 107th Legislature, I have introduced twelve bills and one proposed constitutional amendment. Additionally, I have cosponsored several other bills from other senators that I believe deserve to be debated on the legislative floor, and ultimately passed. Here are highlights of a few of those bills.

Senator Joni Albrecht of Thurston introduced LB768. The purpose of this bill is to clearly define the guidelines for health education standards and to establish that no additional education standards can be created or distributed by the Nebraska Department of Education without the authority of the Legislature. This is in response to the proposed sex education curriculum that was before the Nebraska State Board of Education last year. The proposed curriculum would introduce confusing and subjective reproductive and lifestyle ideals to young children. Some of the material is very explicit and graphic, and borders on pornography in my opinion.

A pull motion was approved by the body on Tuesday, March 8th. This brought Senator Ton Brewer’s (Gordon) LB 773 out of the Judiciary Committee and onto the legislative floor for first-round debate. LB 773 would authorize concealed carry without a permit in Nebraska. Restrictions currently codified within the Concealed Handgun Permit Act relating to place and manner of concealed carry would be made to apply generally to any person carrying concealed and not to permitholders only. The crime of carrying a concealed weapon would still exist for persons who are prohibited from possessing dangerous weapons. This has been probably the most polarizing bill of the session, and the entire day of debate on Thursday was dedicated to this bill.

Other bills I have cosponsored deal with assuring the integrity of our elections. LB 785 from Senator Steve Erdman of Bayard would amend certain Nebraska statutes to reduce the amount of time to vote by mail from 35 to 22 days and the time to vote in person before the election commissioner or county clerk from 30 days to 22 days, matching the 22 days presently allowed for special elections. In addition, the bill states that a registered voter could appoint an agent to return a marked early voting ballot. The agent can only act as an agent for no more than two registered voters in an election. Finally, it would bar a candidate or any person serving on a campaign committee from serving as an agent to return a marked early voting ballot unless the marked early voting ballot to be returned is for a member of the candidate’s family or a member of the candidate committee’s family. The goal of the bill is to harmonize the early voting periods to limit voter confusion and give a more focused window for voters to assess candidates and issues. It reemphasizes the honored tradition of voting in person on the first Tuesday of November, enhancing voter integrity and limiting the opportunities for “ballot harvesting.”
You may be familiar with the term “stolen valor.” According to a website called Military Benefits, stolen valor “…includes the act of falsely claiming military service, falsely claiming a certain rank which was not earned, and can also include the wear or claim of certain military awards or decorations that were never actually awarded.” LB 990 from Senator Ben Hansen of Blair says that a person who fraudulently claims for their personal benefit that they are an active member or veteran of any branch of the United States military or that they are the recipient of any military honor, is committing the offense of stolen valor. The bill proposes to create the offense of stolen valor and provide a penalty.

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.

March 4, 2022

One thing that COVID-19 has highlighted is a shortage of medical personnel in rural Nebraska. The number of COVID patients put a strain on an already burdened healthcare workforce. I have introduced legislation this session to try and combat this shortage.

LB 1269 is intended to appropriate $10 million to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) from funds allocated pursuant to the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) for FY2022-2023. These funds are meant for the repayment of qualified educational debts owed by eligible health professionals under the Rural Health Systems and Professional Incentive Act (Act). This is not a new program or “ask”; rather, it is an effective, existing program that can easily be bolstered by ARPA funds.

This Act contains the governing statutes for the rural health professional student loan repayment program housed at DHHS. Basically, the program provides funds for student loan repayment to health professionals who commit to practice in rural health shortage areas. There is a practice commitment of 3-4 years for these professionals. If they break this commitment, they are required to pay back the funds they borrowed. The program is open to physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, dentists, pharmacists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists, and other mental health practitioners, and has been very successful in meeting rural healthcare needs.

The last several years have seen a waitlist for this program, which means we weren’t fully maximizing our options to send more health professionals to rural areas to address access issues, even though the demand was there. The legislature increased funding to the program in last year’s budget, but those funds are dwindling quickly through current program participation. Thus, this request is appropriate from what could reasonably be obligated and spent under this program by the 2026 deadline.

A companion bill I introduced earlier in the session, LB 1007, is to further maximize this important program by making clear in statute that if federal law does not require a local match requirement, that the state also not require a local match.

Currently, the program requires this local match as a way for communities to have “skin in the game” in partnership with the state. The ability of the local clinic or community to produce enough local matching funds is often the biggest hinderance to increasing available health professional positions that qualify for the program. However, due to the pandemic, the federal Health Resource Services Administration will be sending funds to the state for this program that waives the local match requirement. Pair these funds with ARPA funds, which also do not require a local match, and we have the opportunity to vastly increase the number of health professionals serving in rural shortage areas.

Currently, it is my understanding that there are approximately 200 providers in the program. This funding would accommodate approximately 1,000 additional providers, making a huge, immediate impact in rural health care now. This is a sector which was greatly impacted by the pandemic, and one that my constituents and fellow Nebraskans must rely on to live their lives. I am hoping this is something we can get done this year so that we may take full advantage of these federal funds.

Additionally this session, Senator Robert Hilkemann of Omaha introduced LB 721, a bill to appropriate funds for the University of Nebraska Medical Center Rural Health Complex. LB 721 appropriates $60 million in federal funds to the University of Nebraska for the establishment of a facility for the University of Nebraska Medical Center Rural Health Complex located on the campus of the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The $60 million would be appropriated from ARPA funds as well. I added my name as a co-sponsor of this bill and fully support it. I believe it is an additional way to bolster rural healthcare.

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.

From NCSL:

https://www.ncsl.org/bookstore/state-legislatures-magazine/across-the-aisle-nebraska-senators-climb-high-for-harmony-magazine2022/utm_campaign/6cc8be146c-magazine_promo_feb_23_2022/utm_medium/email/utm_term/0_1716623089-6cc8be146c-377769692.aspx?utm_source=national+conference+of+state+legislatures

February 25, 2022

Thursday, February 24^th was “Pro-Life Legislative Day” at the Capitol. This event was sponsored by Nebraska Right to Life. Many people from across the state who value life came to meet with their state senators and to show their support for three pro-life bills heard before the Judiciary Committee. I am an ardent supporter of the pro-life movement, and was able to address the group at their morning gathering at the Cornhusker Hotel. Joining me were State Senators Joni Albrecht of Thurston, Suzanne Geist of Lincoln, and Julie Slama of Peru, as well as Lt. Governor Mike Foley, a champion for life in our state. The three senators each spoke about their pending life-affirming bills, and I spoke about my bill, LB 963, which calls for the adoption of the “Medical Ethics and Diversity Act.”

Senator Slama’s LB 781, dubbed the “Heartbeat Act,” would require that an ultrasound be performed before any abortion is attempted to determine whether a fetal heartbeat is detectable. If a fetal heartbeat is detected, LB781 would make it illegal to perform an abortion.

LB 933, introduced by Senator Albrecht, is called the “Nebraska Human Life Protection Act.” LB 933 would prohibit the performance of an abortion on live, unborn children upon the occurrence of one of three events: the overturn of Roe v. Wade, an amendment to the United States Constitution, or the passage of enabling legislation by the United States Congress. LB 933 would provide for criminal penalties for any physician who performs an abortion, but allows for medical interventions that are necessary to preserve the life of the mother. The purpose of LB 933 is to protect and promote society’s respect for human life, including the life of the unborn.

Finally, LB 1086 from Senator Geist presents the “Adopt the Chemical Abortion Safety Protocol Act”. LB 1086 would provide for safety regulations of chemical abortion (sometimes called ‘medication’ or ‘medical’ abortion) procedures to protect women from serious adverse health consequences. These regulations include in-person screening of the woman before dispensing abortion-inducing drugs and follow-up after abortion to ensure treatment for serious complications and accurate reporting. LB 1086 would also prohibit the sending of abortion-inducing drugs through the mail.

My bill, LB 963, is the “Medical Ethics and Diversity Act” (MED Act). The intent of the MED Act is to protect freedom of conscience within the medical profession (e.g. doctors, nurses, technicians, pharmacists). This would allow a person to live out their faith in their profession and not be required to participate in medical procedures (e.g. abortion, gender reassignment) that legitimately violate their religious or moral beliefs. I believe this could ultimately increase the number of students pursuing medical careers, because it removes a possible personal barrier to them seeking a future in medicine.

Unfortunately, there were also some disturbing bills heard on Thursday before the Health and Human Services Committee, of which I am a member.

• LB 1129 from Senator Adam Morfeld of Lincoln, would provide free contraceptives to any person who requests and needs such contraception. Contraceptives would be distributed through Title X clinics, family planning clinics, public health clinics, hospitals and pharmacies. The costs of these contraceptives would be covered through general fund appropriations. “General fund appropriations” means that your tax dollars would help fund this legislation should it be adopted.
• LB 716 from Senator Megan Hunt is even more disturbing. LB 716 would authorize qualified advance practice registered nurses, certified nurse midwives, and physician assistants to perform abortions in Nebraska. Currently, only physicians are authorized.

Nebraska is an overwhelmingly pro-life state, no matter what you hear from abortion proponents. As long as I am a state senator, I will fight for and introduce bills that protect and preserve life in our state, at every stage of life. I will also oppose any legislation that seeks to expand life-ending procedures in our state.

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.

February 18, 2022

Cutting taxes. This is a perennial issue that most senators promise to address in the legislature. They campaign on this issue and make promises, usually with good intentions. But then, year after year, little, if anything, is accomplished.

Much time on the floor this week was spent on an income tax cutting bill, LB 939. This bill is sponsored by Senator Lou Ann Linehan, who is chairperson of the Legislature’s Revenue Committee. The intent of LB 939 is to reduce the top individual income tax rate from 6.84% to 5.84% over a three-year period. This will bring parity between the top rate for both individual and corporate income taxes.

Much of the debate centered on the fact that, with the exception of Iowa, most of our neighboring states have a more attractive tax structure than Nebraska (Wyoming and South Dakota have no individual income tax). With a tight labor market, this bill would make Nebraska more competitive.

I sit on the Legislature’s Education Committee which heard the following bills this week:

• LB 1158, introduced by Senator Rita Sanders of Bellevue, is a proposed update to Nebraska’s Parental Involvement and Academic Transparency statutes to address policies of each district regarding transparency, to provide for public input on these policies, and to add an accountability mechanism;
• LB768 comes from Senator Joni Albrecht of Thurston. The purpose of this bill is to clearly define the guidelines for health education standards and to establish that no additional education standards can be created or distributed by the Nebraska Department of Education without the authority of the Legislature;
• LB888, brought by Senator Jen Day of Omaha, adds the Holocaust and other acts of genocide to Nebraska’s existing statute that requires multicultural education in public schools; and
• LB1112 was introduced by Senator Terrell McKinney of Omaha. This bill would create the Computer Science Technology and Education Act. The intent is to address the tech talent workforce crisis by affording public school students the opportunity to access and learn critical computer science and digital literacy fundamentals during early and secondary education. The goal of LB 1112 is to prepare Nebraska’ K-12 public school students to compete and thrive in a 21st century workforce; ensuring the opportunity to learn computer science skills before high school graduation is fundamental to reaching that goal.

The issue of property and income taxes steers us back to the importance of elections. Much time was taken this week by senators filibustering LB 939. We need to populate the unicameral with fiscally conservative senators who believe as I and others do, that excess tax money does not belong to the state but to the taxpayers. Many legislative seats that are term-limited or term-expired have promising candidates running.

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.

February 11, 2022

There is a proposal before the legislature this session to fund the Statewide Tourism and Recreational Water Access and Resource Sustainability (STAR WARS) project. This project proposes to build a lake between Lincoln and Omaha. It also intends to fund projects in other parts of the state, including Lake McConaughy and the Lewis and Clark State Recreation Area.

After learning of the specifics of this proposal, I was disappointed that some of the other large lakes in the state were left out. Since it is important to support tourism at other lakes that have been affected by the pandemic, I have proposed a bill, LB 1262, to include projects at the next four largest lakes in the state (lakes at least 3,000 but no more than 20,000 surface acres in size). These include Harlan County Reservoir (13,250 acres), Calamus Reservoir (5,200 acres), Swanson Reservoir (5,000 acres) and Sutherland Reservoir (3,017 acres).

As a child, I fondly remember going to Harlan County Lake with my grandfather and also with my family on fishing expeditions. Harlan County Lake was the closest thing to an ocean that I was able to experience at that time. Later as a youth and as a young man, I enjoyed visiting the lake and water skiing.

On Tuesday, February 3^rd, my bill was heard before the Natural Resources Committee. I was pleased that several letters from the Harlan County area had been submitted in support of the bill. I was especially pleased that Cindy Boehler, chairman of the Harlan County Board of Supervisors, as well as Emily White, Harlan County Tourism Director, were able to testify in person.

LB 1262 asks for 8 million dollars of ARPA (federal COVID-19 relief) funds to administer and carry out the following projects at eligible recreation areas in the state:

• Provide new or refurbished boating docks;
• Improve access roads and related infrastructure;
• Improve Internet access and telecommunications services;
• Promote the use of the recreation area and related tourism attractions; including, but not limited to, splash pads, dog parks, and dog runs;
• Create recreational trails;
• Promote fishing and create fish cleaning stations;
• Create tourist attractions;
• Create kayak landings; and
• Create and improve camping and recreational vehicle sites.

These types of projects are comparable to the projects envisioned for Lake McConaughy and Lewis and Clark Lake, although on a smaller scale.

The travel, tourism and hospitality businesses associated with these recreational areas have suffered negative economic consequences as a result of the pandemic and the projects identified in LB 1262 would assist in making these recreation areas more attractive to visitors, thus boosting those businesses that have suffered. Such projects are reasonably related to the negative economic impact and will provide an incentive for people to visit the recreation areas by expanding and improving water access and recreational opportunities.

Additionally, because of the pandemic and a trend towards a remote workforce, individuals are reconsidering where they want to live and raise a family. Funding these projects will not only help the businesses that have suffered but also make these areas more attractive places to those considering moving to rural communities, such as Harlan County and the surrounding area in Nebraska and Kansas.

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.