The Rita Record

Before I talk about the Legislature, I want to wish the Bellevue East Chieftains and the Bellevue West Thunderbirds the best of luck as they begin the Metro Conference Baseball Tournament today! It has been a hard year for high school athletes – especially those involved in spring sports who didn’t get the opportunity to play in 2020. Now, both these teams are returning to the diamond with the same goal they had before the pandemic: winning state. Best of luck, Chieftains and Thunderbirds!

Currently

Today (Thursday) is the 62nd day of the 107th Session, meaning that we only have one third of the Session to go! The Legislature’s current mission is the biennial budget. Every odd-numbered year, the Appropriations Committee crafts a budget for a two year period – this is known as the biennial budget. The budget happens to be one of the Legislature’s only Constitutional obligations. Last Thursday we began debate on the budget bills on General File, and we began debate on Select File this last Tuesday. The body’s budget process doesn’t end there: in even-numbered years, the Committee revisits the budget and revises it based on the revenue we receive. In both cases, the entire Legislature has the opportunity to debate on the budget before it passes.

Focus

On Monday, my bill LB 312 advanced out of Select File onto Final Reading! This is my fourth bill to make it to Final Reading. Previously, cemetery boards of public cemeteries could only seat members that lived in the same county as the cemetery. This meant that families of those buried in those cemeteries might be left out, and those are arguably the people who are invested the most in a cemetery’s health. Under LB 312, two things change. First, lot owners and immediate family members of those interred in the cemetery are allowed to serve on a public cemetery board. Second, LB 312 makes a minor change in reporting the minutes of cemetery board meetings. Under my bill, those minutes would be delivered to the resident county of the cemetery, instead of the county in which the meeting was held. This bill is a great example of how effective you can be as a constituent. The President of the Fairview Cemetery Board in Papillion, Gene Stoltenberg, suggested this change, and we were glad to help him.

Bellevue First

On Monday, Senator Blood’s LB 5 was signed by the President and will become law 3 months after Sine Die. Along with Senator Gragert, Senator Brandt, Senator Lindstrom, Senator Day, Senator Murman and I are proud co-sponsors of this legislation. This legislation is great for Bellevue and passed the Legislature unanimously. LB 5 allows for public, private, or parochial schools to apply for an annual “purple star school” designation. In order to qualify for this designation, a school must have a designated staff member to be the military liaison between military students and their families. Additionally, this bill promotes the addition of online resources for military families, such as a program that helps children transition into a specific school.

COVID – 19

All statistics as of 5:30 PM on 4/14/2021
Confirmed cases in Sarpy County: 21,200
Active cases in Sarpy County: 529
Deaths in Sarpy County: 118

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

Thank you for reading!

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Stay safe, and stay healthy!