This week, I want to begin my article by congratulating the North Platte Area Chamber & Development Corporation for selecting White River Soy Processing to develop a soy processing plant inside the newly created Inland Port of the Plains near Hershey. This project and Sustainable Beef are projected to have a total of over $2.3 billion in economic impact on the region. These opportunities will impact virtually everyone living in District 42, creating job opportunities in addition to positively impacting commodity prices in this area. Projects like these only happen because of the full commitment of everyone working together to get them across the finish line.

In other news, last week, the Legislature met for its annual Legislative Council Meeting. The meeting is used to issues facing the Legislature in the coming session. This year, Speaker John Arch began laying out some of the operational issues we experienced last year (other than the filibuster issues) that need to be resolved.

We also heard from Senator Tom Brandt, who chaired the interim study dealing with technology in the Capitol. As many of you know, the Capitol is a historic building that must not be structurally modified from its original design. This makes updating technology more difficult to accomplish. Nonetheless, we intend to improve the Wi-Fi inside the building and complete several other technology requests by Senators and the public. The interim study report outlined ways to increase the visibility of those in the speaking queue during floor debate, improve audio/visual systems in hearing rooms, and implement a possible countdown clock to allow Senators a better way to know how much time is remaining during any floor debate.

The Speaker also reported on LR179, an interim study focused on better public participation in a representative form of government, including easier ways to solicit public input on legislation even during years when large numbers of bills are introduced. Given the number of controversial bills introduced this past session, some of the hearings ran all afternoon and into the evening. In a couple of cases, several individuals who planned to testify in person were unable to because time ran out. I believe the recommendations in this report will help bring more uniformity between committees so that the public can have a more consistent process to work through when giving their input.

We then spent time discussing possible rule changes proposed by the Speaker. These rule changes fell into three categories: technical corrections, codifying precedent, and process improvements. As a general rule, the members of the Legislature who were present for the meeting were generally supportive of the changes to technical rules and codifying precedent, but there was much debate over the other proposed rule changes.

The Speaker also outlined his proposed calendar for the upcoming session. Since a rules debate cannot be stopped through our current cloture rules, it makes changing controversial rules difficult if any members choose to filibuster any one proposed rule change. In 2017, the Legislature spent nearly one-third of the session attempting to make rule changes. Because of this, the Speaker has proposed scheduling all-day floor debate to take place on all proposed rule changes during Day 6 through Day 12. Any rule changes that have not passed by the end of Day 12 will fail to move forward, and the schedule will return to morning debate on other bills and afternoon committee hearings through February 29. We will then move to all-day floor debate beginning on March 4.

Since this session will be a short 60-day session, Day 59 is scheduled to fall on April 11. This session will go fast, so having a clear path for each bill will be important. Any bills that fail to pass by Day 60, will be indefinitely postponed automatically. That is why I am carefully considering what bills I introduce in this session and which bills to push forward.

I look forward to continuing to hear 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 402-471-2729.