Happy New Year! This month has been an exciting, eventful and valuable time for my office as we start the 2022 Legislative Session. I would like to express that it is an honor to represent District 45 here in Lincoln. I will be sure to keep you informed on current legislation, news, and events happening here at the State Capitol. 

The Legislative Process

The Nebraska Legislature has two regular sessions in every biennium. As we have the same membership in our body as we did during last session, we call this the Second Session of the 107th Legislature.

The process remains the same – bills must still be introduced and heard at a public committee hearing before potentially advancing to the entire Legislature for debate on General File, Select File, and Final Reading. If passed on Final Reading, the bill must be signed by the Governor, OR, the body must override the Governor’s veto, for a bill to become law.

This year brings a unique challenge that the Legislature has never faced: how to spend over 1 billion dollars from the federal government – also referred to as ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds. The Appropriations Committee sat through a hearing for eight hours listening to billions of dollars of proposals for the funds.

Senator Sanders’ Introduced Legislation

This year, I have introduced 9 legislative bills, 2 more bills than last year! To view the full list of the legislation introduced, you can find it here. However, I would like to highlight a few of the bills I am introducing in this newsletter! These specific bills have been introduced for the floor and are awaiting hearing dates, but when those hearing dates are scheduled, I will be sure to inform you. 

• LB 928 requires closed captioning or transcripts of certain campaign advertisements. This bill is designed to make political advertisements more accessible and transparent, especially to those who may be deaf or hard of hearing.
• LB 1080 supports 100% disabled Veterans by reducing burdensome application requirements when applying for a homestead exemption. 
• LB 1158 modernizes our academic transparency policy AND makes learning materials more accessible to parents and guardians. 
• LB 1170 supports school districts by encouraging cooperation between public schools and patriotic youth organizations to provide character and citizenship development. 
• LB 1233 gives state support to one of Nebraska’s crowning jewels – Offutt Air Force Base. 

Senator Sanders’ Co-Sponsored Legislation

Senators can support their colleagues’ bills by co-sponsoring them. This means that I support the language, intent and function of that bill. Oftentimes, I like to co-sponsor legislation that I know will directly benefit District 45. 

I am a co-sponsor to bills that will benefit District 45 and the entire state of Nebraska. I am co-sponsoring more visible bills that tend to catch more news headlines, these are examples of the more functional and less-reported-on bills that the Legislature discusses every year that makes our state better.  With this being said, I would like to highlight some of my colleagues’ legislation that I am proudly co-sponsoring:

• LB 1232: Appropriate funds from the Cash Reserve Fund to the Department of Economic Development for a capital construction grant for the United States Strategic Command Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications public-private partnership facility (Senator McDonnell) 
• LB 1246: Require confidentiality for victims of sexual assault and sex trafficking in criminal proceedings prior to the filing of charges (Senator Pansing Brooks)
• LB 1037: Require the Department of Administrative Services to contract for an evaluation of the state’s procurement practices (Senator Arch)

Thank you for taking the time to follow my work in your Legislature! If you would like to contact my office, please email us at rsanders@leg.ne.gov or call us at (402) 471-2615.

Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay interested in your government!