It was great spending the week back in North Platte this past week. I returned to town on Saturday night, and after attending church on Sunday morning, Julie and I had the opportunity to attend the musical “Something Rotten” at the Fox Theatre. It was another great performance by many of our very talented local performers. It was just what the doctor ordered after a long 60-day session. 

I also had the opportunity to drive up to Thedford on Wednesday afternoon to speak to Gretchen Anderson’s 4th-grade class. I was met at the elementary school office by two young ladies who escorted me to the classroom. Following the discussion, two young gentlemen escorted me back to the office. I truly enjoyed the visit and was very impressed with all the students. They were polite, respectful, and full of questions. It was a great testament to the quality of our rural schools and the education they are receiving. 

We were back in Lincoln on Saturday to attend the annual Husker Spring game, where we were joined by several of my colleagues in the Nebraska Legislature. Unfortunately, several Omaha Senators could not attend because they were volunteering to assist their constituents who were impacted by the devastating tornadoes that hit several areas in the Omaha area. My heart goes out to those who lost their homes and property. Fortunately, there was no loss of life, but the destruction left behind was overwhelming. How fortunate we were in District 42 to receive much-needed rainfall without the destructive winds and hail that impacted the eastern part of the state.

Over the next few weeks, I intend to visit a few more schools and get to various gatherings to answer questions from constituents and better understand the current concerns of District 42 residents. I also intend to meet with the leaders of our political subdivisions to coordinate with them and ensure we do all we can in Lincoln to help them better accomplish their goals. This will serve as a starting point as I draft legislation for the next legislative session. The legislative rules we passed this past session will limit senators in the future to introduce no more than 20 bills in any one legislative session. Although I have tried to limit my personal bill introduction to no more than 10 or 12 bills, I will need to carefully plan my constituent needs prior to carrying bills that do not specifically impact District 42. 

Although I am very pleased with the bills I was able to influence this session, I do believe that in addition to helping the Governor get his property tax plan over the finish line, more work needs to be done to improve the homestead exemptions to bring more relief for partially disabled Veterans and those retirees living on a fixed income who have lost their homestead exemption due to property value increases. We also need to do more to improve EMS and volunteer fire services, especially in the more rural areas of the district where keeping enough trained volunteers remains challenging. 

There will be several legislative meetings this summer that will involve gathering information on various issues raised in this last session through legislative resolutions. One resolution I introduced was to study the impact that Bitcoin mining is having on our “base load” power supply and what steps need to be taken to better protect our power supply from users who are consuming large power supplies for non-productive uses that do not have a positive impact on our local and state economy. 

Additionally, I will be working with the Governor to help find common ground to move forward a property tax plan that 33 Senators will support. If that can happen, a special session later this summer is a real possibility.

I look forward to hearing from you regarding issues that are important to you. It is a privilege to serve as your State Senator, and I will continue to give my full effort to make a positive difference for the District and the State. You can reach me at mjacobson@leg.ne.gov or by calling my legislative office at 402-471-2729.