Greetings, and welcome to my newsletter! My name is Senator Rita Sanders and I represent the Eastern Bellevue and Offutt community in the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature.

It is an honor to represent District 45 in Lincoln, and I have great respect for the faith you have placed in me to be your voice in the Capitol. I want to keep you informed about everything I am doing here at 1445 K Street, so I intend to share this newsletter with you every two weeks during the session. I will be sure to tell you a little bit about myself, my legislative priorities, and about the rest of the body.

Currently

Today (Friday) is the 17th day of the 107th Session. The Senators have already introduced all of our bills for this year’s 90-day session. While the body was introducing bills ranging from kickboxing regulations (Senator Justin Wayne’s LB 70) to speed limit authority (Senator Erdman’s LB 164), I was busy learning about the building – where is my office? What room is my committee hearing in? And most importantly – where is the bathroom?

The first few days were filled with leadership elections and committee placements. Now, the real work begins. In a usual year, the Legislature will meet as a full body in the mornings and will meet in their committees in the afternoon; however, due to COVID-19, Speaker Hilgers has elected to do morning and afternoon hearings in order to finish them earlier. Every bill introduced in the Legislature gets a public hearing, and anyone who lives in Nebraska can come and testify. For more information on options regarding testimony during COVID-19, click here.

Focus

One of my biggest challenges during the first three weeks of session was introducing bills. The freshmen Senators (such as myself) only had 10 legislative days to choose what bills to carry, prepare them and introduce them. I have introduced seven bills for this session. To see the full list, you can click here.

In addition, I’m beginning to settle into my committee assignments. I was selected to serve on the Government, Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee, in addition to the Education Committee. In one day, a committee could hear as many as 10 bills! Our committees are vital to the legislative process, and they provide an opportunity for the second house – you – to comment with your thoughts and concerns.

One of my bills would do many good things for Bellevue. LB 389 (introduced by request of the Governor) would modernize teaching certification requirements for spouses of military members. The certification process for being a teacher is rigorous, and rightfully so; however, this bill would take several practical steps to allow military spouses who already have teaching certifications in other states to get started quicker. I look forward to introducing this bill to the Education Committee soon.

Bellevue First

As a Senator, my priorities will always be to support the men, women and their families in the Bellevue/Offutt community. Offutt employs 8,000 military and civilian personnel, and its annual impact on our economy is incredible – estimated to be $2.7 billion. This was a priority ever since I was the Mayor of Bellevue, and it will continue to be a primary focus for me here in this role.

Bellevue has the friendliest community for veterans and military members – that’s why I am introducing LB 389. This bill would do two things: first of all, military spouses would gain employment and a second stream of income faster during their brief time here. Second of all, Bellevue Public Schools and the surrounding school districts would have quicker access to experienced and hard-working teachers. This bill would make a huge difference for military families and the community they live in.

COVID-19

The number of positive cases reported in Sarpy County is 17,714.

For more information regarding COVID-19:
https://www.sarpycasshealthdepartment.org/

Thank You for Reading!

Should you be interested in receiving this newsletter in your email every two weeks, please send me an email rsanders@leg.ne.gov and request to be added to our list. You are also welcome to reach out with any questions, concerns, comments, or ideas. Our office in the Capitol is #1406 on the first floor, in the North wing, just across from the information desk. Our phone number is (402) 471-2615.

Stay safe, and stay healthy!