Greetings from Lincoln! We have reached the end of Committee hearings for the 2011 Legislative Session and will begin full-day floor debate on March 22nd. We are at the point of the Session where priority bills have been declared and those are the bills which we are debating. The Appropriations Committee is working hard on a budge proposal to present to the body for debate, and the re-districting committee is also hard at work preparing options for us to discuss.

This week we debated several priority bills, including LB 544, introduced by Senator Rich Pahls of Omaha, which would amend our civics education requirements to include active participation in the improvement of a citizen’s community, state, country, and world, and also the value and practice of civil discourse between opposing interests.

LB 230, introduced by Senator Kate Sullivan of Cedar Rapids, would narrowly modify the Public Records Act to provide clear exceptions that allow the state’s public utilities to withhold information regarding utility infrastructure specifications, design drawings and maps, and specific customer use data, in order to protect sensitive public utility information. This could be important for the future protection of the people in the State.

One bill which I think is very good, and possibly overdue, is LB 100, introduced by Senator Colby Coash of Lincoln. LB 100 would take away the option of letting a defendant in a criminal case plead “not guilty by reason of temporary insanity” due to the person being drunk or high. This is important because a person who becomes voluntarily intoxicated or high should be responsible for the consequences of their actions. The bill would still allow for an insanity defense for people with long-term alcohol or drug abuse issues and would exclude those who become involuntarily intoxicated or high.

Another bill we debated but did not advance was LB 490, introduced by Senator Russ Karpisek of Wilbur, which would change restrictions on Keno gambling and horseracing in Nebraska. What the bill would do is remove the requirement that access to Keno machines is restricted to attendants. It is expected that this would lead to an increase in revenue, a portion of which would then be credited to the Live Horseracing Endowment Fund, created by the bill. I am not in favor of this idea, but no matter your views, I am not sure that this change can be made without amending our Constitution. We have requested an opinion from the Attorney General on this subject.

Greetings from Lincoln! Priority bill designations were due this week and I have chosen LB 35 as my priority bill. This bill is very important for Scottsbluff and Western Nebraska as it will allow Western Sugar to obtain permits to use their longer trucks for the entire beet harvesting and re-hauling season.

The General Affairs Committee indefinitely postponed LB 554, the bill I introduced which would have prohibited open containers of alcohol in boats. LR 2CA, the proposed constitutional amendment to allow counties to vote on whether to adopt a county manager form of government will likely not be voted out of committee this Session. Another bill which may not get to be debated this year is LB 507, the bill I introduced which would make it easier for recipients of Aid to Dependent Children to obtain their high school diplomas or GED’s.

On Thursday, March 10, we passed several bills on Final Reading. LB 284, which I have previously discussed, would require protestors at funerals to stay at least 500 feet away. LB 164 would require people to give notice to the local authority and electric utility of a vehicle moving an oversized object or building (15’6”) on a county or township road. Notification must be given 10 days in advance of the move, and should include a description of the vehicle, specifications of the object being moved, the route being used, and the date and time of the move. Also passed was LB 281, which allows people to drink alcohol in chartered limousines and buses, an exception to our open containers in motor vehicle laws.

Another bill of note which we have been discussing is LB 260, the Concussion Awareness Act, introduced by Senator Steve Lathrop of Omaha. This bill would provide information to parents, schools, and other youth sports organizations about recognizing and treating concussions in children and young adults. The bill would also require that if there is reason to believe a child has suffered a concussion, the child must be removed from a practice or a game and the parents must be notified. The bill advanced from General file to Select File on Wednesday.

We also adopted LR 37, a legislative resolution to keep the Developmental Disabilities Special Investigation Committee going. I have served on this committee, which has mostly dealt with the situation at the Beatrice State Developmental Center, and I am pleased with the progress which has been made there, but there is still work to do.

Greetings from Lincoln! On Friday, March 4, 2010, the Legislature passed over thirty bills, including LB 36, the bill I introduced regarding fluoridation of water in towns which reach a population of one thousand or more; LB 197, which allows women to breastfeed their babies in public places; and LB 383, which eliminates state aid to cities, counties, and natural resource districts.

We spent a significant amount of time discussing LB 543, a bill introduced by Senator Tanya Cook of Omaha, which would require the Department of Health and Human Services to develop and implement an outreach plan for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly called food stamps. The money for this plan will come from private and/or federal funds. The bill itself was not controversial, but Senator Jeremy Nordquist, also of Omaha, introduced an amendment to the bill which would remove the asset limit test in order to qualify for SNAP. Thirty-six other states have already done this. There was much debate because no one wants people to defraud the system, but all this amendment actually does is to allow people to keep some savings during temporary rough times, such as after a job loss. We want to encourage people to save, and to be able to bounce back after a life set-back, and sometimes during the downtime a family needs a little extra help. This bill, and the amendment, will help struggling families.

There was also much debate over LB 22, the Mandate Opt Out and Insurance Coverage Clarification Act, which states that Nebraska opts out of the part of the new federal health care law that says insurance plans which cover abortions can participate in health insurance exchanges. The bill would also provide that coverage for elective abortions (those not performed to save the life of the mother) would be prohibited unless the insured purchases an optional rider. The point of the bill is to make sure that public money is not being used to pay for abortions or insurance for abortions. The bill, introduced by Senator Beau McCoy from Omaha, advanced to Select File.

The Judiciary Committee heard testimony on immigration bills on Wednesday, March 2, including LB 48, the Arizona-style bill introduced by Senator Charlie Janssen of Fremont. They also heard testimony on LB 569, introduced by Senator Colby Coash of Lincoln, which would require employers to e-verify the immigration status of new employees.

And finally, LB 284, which would require those picketing at funerals to stay at least 500 feet away, advanced to final reading. This bill is very timely after the United States Supreme Court ruled that the rights of those people to picket is protected as free speech under the first amendment. The court allowed, however, that states and local governments can place restrictions on the time and manner of their protests.

Greetings from Lincoln!  Though we had a short week in the Legislature this past week, it was a busy one!  We continue with floor debate in the mornings and committee hearings in the afternoons.  The Appropriations is conducting agency hearings, where each state agency comes before our committee with their proposed budgets.

On the Legislative Floor we have also had budget discussion, through a series of revenue bills which have been debated.  One major bill advanced this week was LB 383, introduced on behalf of the Governor, which would eliminate state aid for municipalities, counties, and natural resource districts.  We are unfortunately in a place where the State simply does not have the money to fund everything we have previously funded.  It is a difficult decision for us to cut aid to local governments when many of them are struggling financially as well, but this Session is full of such difficult decisions.

On Tuesday we advanced a bill which would create a prescription drug monitoring program in Nebraska.  The bill would direct the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a program where medical professionals would be able to share and monitor patient prescription information.  This would help to better manage patient care by ensuring people are receiving the proper prescriptions and also help prevent misuse of prescription drugs.  This bill was introduced by Senator Gwen Howard, of Omaha, whose daughter committed suicide two years ago after becoming addicted to painkillers.  Hopefully this bill will help prevent other families from experiencing such a heartbreaking loss.

Several bills of note were advanced from Select File to Final Reading on Thursday.  One was LB 36, the bill I introduced to allow cities to vote on whether to prohibit the addition of fluoride to their water supply if they reach a population of one thousand inhabitants.  Also advanced was LB 197, which would specifically state the right that women have to breastfeed their babies in public places.  LB 114 would provide a standard for labeling of honey.  This is an interesting bill, which was introduced by Senator Annette Dubas, of Fullerton, requiring that any substance labeled and sold as honey in Nebraska actually be honey.  It seems that in some places, “honey” can actually be a combination of other ingredients, such as corn syrup.  Products sold should be what their labels say they are.

On Monday, February 28, 2011, I will be introducing LB 554 in front of the General Affairs Committee.  This bill would ban open containers of alcohol on boats.  I think this is important now that alcohol is allowed in State Parks and Recreation Areas.  Alcohol and boats are a dangerous combination, there are many distractions, even more than in a motor vehicle, where open containers are already banned in our state.  The marine environment, with sun glare, waves, currents, noise, etc. can intensify the effects of alcohol, contributing to loss of balance, focus, and judgment among other things.  And falling in the water is more dangerous when a person has been drinking.  I believe this is a discussion we need to have.

Greetings from Lincoln!  I am excited to report the passage of LB 122, the bill which I introduced to add Jack G. McBride’s name to the Terry M. Carpenter Educational Telecommunications Building.  LB 36, the bill I introduced which would allow cities which reach a population of one thousand or more to vote on whether to prohibit the addition of fluoride to their water supply, advanced from General File to Select File on Monday, February 14^th.

Also passed by the Legislature on Wednesday were bills which would:  ban the use of K2 substances (LB 19), permit certified nurse midwives to have clinical privileges at hospitals and clinics (LB 68), and change the process for obtaining handicapped license plates and introduce an electronic application system (LB 163).

Another bill of note debated this past week was LB 197, which would create a right for mothers to breastfeed their babies in public places.  I have heard from many of you on this topic and I thank you for your input.  I think this is a very important bill and I am excited that it finally has a chance to be passed.  We have learned that breastfeeding is the best way to nourish a baby and it is important that mothers feel no censure for doing what comes naturally in the way of providing for their child’s well-being.

This coming week I will be introducing two bills at Committee hearings.  The first, LB 35, is a very important bill for our district.  This bill would extend the permit time, from 120 days to 200 days, for which trucks can exceed the weight limits.  This is important because the sugar beet harvest rarely lasts less than 120 days.  In the past beet haulers have been given extensions, but as this will no longer be the case, it is necessary for this law to be updated.  The bill will be heard on Tuesday, February 22^nd, before the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee.

On Friday, February 25^th, I will introduce LR 2CA before the Government, Military, and Veterans’ Affairs Committee.  This bill could very likely be my priority bill for the 2011 Legislative Session.  LR 2CA is a proposed Constitutional Amendment which would place on the ballot the question of whether to allow counties to vote on whether to adopt a County Manager form of county government.  Adopting a County Manager form of government would be completely optional for each county, and would require a majority vote of the people in order to choose this type of government.  Having a county manager could be a more efficient form of government for many counties.  The manager would be responsible for the day to day operations of county government in much the same way that many cities have hired city managers.  This would give the County Board more time to make policy and decisions about what is best for the county, as they are charged with doing.    If LR 2CA is passed by the Legislature and the Amendment is adopted by the people of Nebraska, then the Legislature would next make laws regulating this newly allowed form of county government.

Greetings from Lincoln!  On Monday, February 7, 2011, the Legislature took what I believe is a very important step in the area of Child Welfare.  I am saddened by the state of our Foster Care system in Nebraska.  It is difficult to understand how things have gotten to where they are now, with kids in limbo, with providers not being paid, with services not being provided as promised.  It is unfortunate that our Department of Health and Human Services has not been able to get this very important program under control.

In 2009, The Department chose six provider agencies to be lead agencies for Child Welfare Reform, creating a private based care system in Nebraska.  By October of 2010, four of these agencies had ended their contracts with the Department, leaving only two lead agencies.  In the fall of 2010, the Health and Human Services Committee of the Legislature held public hearings, under LR 568, to attempt to figure out what has been happening.  They found that there are very serious concerns about the long-term sustainability of child welfare in Nebraska.  They found a lack of documentation records, failure to pay foster care parents and service providers, confusion regarding work responsibilities, and a lack of training and quality of care.  All of these things are threatening the safety and protection of the children who are in the Foster Care system.

Now we are at a place where decisions are being made very quickly, which makes it seem as though the Department has not put as much thought into them as is necessary.  As I have stated on the Legislative Floor, I am frustrated by what is happening in DHHS.  Again, it seems that the Legislature is being called to provide oversight of a program.  Thankfully the issues at the Beatrice State Developmental Center are being resolved after several years of work, and I am hopeful that our Foster Care system will get there too.  Now is the time to make good, well-informed, well-thought-out decisions, and not the time to rush into implementing a process which could leave us where we are or possibly make things worse.

For this reason, we, the Legislature, have taken the first step towards adopting LR 37, introduced by Senator Kathy Campbell of Lincoln.  Senator Campbell is our Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, and has been diligently monitoring the child welfare reform being implemented by the Department.  LR 37 charges the Health and Human Services Committee with reviewing, investigating, and assessing the effects of the Department’s child welfare reform process.  They will be authorized to consult with a broad array of public and private stakeholders, and utilize any information, reports, documents, and studies relating to the child welfare system, including holding public hearings.  They will consider issues surrounding the implementation of this reform process, including goals, outcomes, cooridination, planning, effectiveness of public/private partnerships, accountability, funding, financial stability, and permanency of child placement through adoption.  The Health and Human Services Committee could also request that the Legislature’s Performance Audit Committee and the State Auditor assist in the review of the foster care system.

I do not give up hope that we can bring our Foster Care System to the place it needs to be.

Greetings from Lincoln!

On Monday, February 7, 2011, I will be presenting testimony before the Business and Labor Committee on a bill which I have introduced, LB 555. This bill deals with our conflict resolution and collective bargaining process in Nebraska, specifically for the State, the State College System, and the University of Nebraska. The bill adds into our statutes certain standards for appeals which are currently in use but are not codified. The bill would also streamline the appeals process by eliminating the Special Master and the step of appealing to the Nebraska Court of Appeals. It would allow both parties, if there was an impasse, to submit their information to the Commission on Industrial Relations, and from the Commission the appeal would go directly to the Nebraska Supreme Court.

I think these are good changes. It seems pretty clear to me that there needs to be some changes made to our collective bargaining process. The Business and Labor Committee will be hearing nine bills on this subject on February 7th, and then will discuss and debate the merits of each and most likely advance a combination of them to the floor for debate by the full Legislature.

I am also excited to report that LB 36, my bill which would allow cities which reach a population of one thousand people to be able to vote on whether to prohibit the addition of fluoride to their water supply, was advanced to General File by the Health and Human Services Committee. I am hopeful that we can get this bill passed this year.

Friday, February 4, was a productive day for us on the floor as we advanced several bills from General File to Select File. One of these, LB 68, I believe is long overdue. LB 68, introduced by Senator Tony Fulton of Lincoln, would grant hospital and clinical privileges to Certified Nurse Midwives. Many women choose to have midwives be a part of their prenatal and birth care, and this bill would make it easier for a midwife to be part of the birth process by having privileges to practice at the clinic or hospital where the birth takes place.

Another bill advanced on Friday was LB 163, introduced by Senator Deb Fischer of Valentine, which streamlines the process of obtaining handicap permit license plates. LB 163 authorizes the DMV to create an electronic application process for handicapped permits, allowing a person or certified health care provider to apply for the permit using the online process. A certified health care provider includes a physician, physician’s assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse. The bill also allows a person to hold up to two permits at one time, allows an application for a renewal permit to be filed within 180 days prior to the current permit’s expiration, and extends the validity of permanently issued handicapped permits from three years to six years.

Greetings from Lincoln! We are at the point in the Legislative Session where we have floor debate on bills in the mornings and then committee hearings in the afternoons. The Appropriations Committee is currently being briefed by our Legislative Fiscal Analysts. This is an important part of our budgetary process as we begin to analyze the budgets of each state agency and prepare a balanced state budget.

My bill, LB 122, which would add Jack G. McBride’s name to the Terry M. Carpenter Educational Telecommunications Building at the University of Nebraska had its first round of floor debate on Tuesday, January 25th. We advanced this bill to the second round of debate after some discussion and I am hopeful that we can bestow this honor on Jack McBride in recognition of him being a pioneer in Educational Television.

On Tuesday we also discussed a bill, LB 19, which would ban K2 products in Nebraska. This is an incredibly important bill. K2 is a name which covers a class of drugs which are sprayed onto an herb and then smoked, thus mimicking the effects of marijuana. They are promoted as being a safe and legal alternative to marijuana, but in reality, these drugs are very dangerous. Young people are dying from smoking K2. Last year, the Federal Government took steps to ban K2, as have some states, but in doing so, they specified certain formulations of the drug and the manufacturers get around the ban by tweaking the formulations slightly. LB 19 would ban the entire class of drugs and not allow these slight tweakings to get around our ban. This bill has widespread support in our Legislature and, if passed, will take effect as soon as it is signed by the Governor.

My bill, LB 507, which makes changes to our Aid To Dependent Children program will be heard by the Health and Human Services Committee on Thursday, February 3, 2011. I am excited about this bill and its potential to help people in our state break the cycle of poverty. Two years ago, we passed a similar bill, LB 458, which amended Nebraska’s regulations regarding Temporary Assistance to Needy Families/Aid to Dependent Children. We made it easier for people receiving this aid to pursue an associate’s degree. We know that education leads to higher salaries and greatly reduces a person’s chance of ever returning to public assistance. LB 507 would make it easier for people to work towards completing their High School Diploma or General Equivalency Diploma (GED) while Nebraska still meets our Federal work participation rate. We need to do whatever we can to help people get out of poverty, and do whatever we can not to keep them bound in the vicious cycle. For that reason, I hope that the Committee chooses to advance this bill to General File so the whole Legislature can debate this subject.

Greetings from Lincoln! Committee hearings are in full swing, and the Appropriations Committee (of which I am Vice-Chair) has been very busy already. My colleagues have selected me to Chair the Performance Audit Committee and the Legislature’s Planning Committee. I will also continue to be a part of the Education Commission of the States.

Today I would like to talk about some of the bills which I have introduced this Session. LB 35 would extend the number of days, from 120 to 200, that permits can be given for trucks which exceed the weight limit. This bill will help our sugar beet industry. LB 36 would allow cities and villages which reach a population of 1,000 to be able to vote on whether or not to add fluoride to the water. In 2008, the Legislature voted to allow cities or villages of 1,000 inhabitants or more to be able to vote on this subject by June 1, 2010 and this bill would extend that right to towns which reach 1,000 after that date. LB 36 will be heard before the Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday, January 26, 2011.

I introduced LB 37 on behalf of the Performance Audit Committee and I feel this bill is very important for the function of both the Legislature’s Auditor and the State Auditor. This bill would clarify that when information is requested from a State Agency by an auditor, that the agency must provide the information within four days or give a reason why this is not possible. The bill also says that the cost of providing the information will be borne by the Agency. This bill was heard before the Government, Military, and Veteran’s Affairs on Thursday, January 20, 2011.

LB 122 would add Jack G. McBride’s name to the Terry M. Carpenter Educational Telecommunications Building at the University of Nebraska. I think this is an honor long overdue. Jack McBride was the founder of Educational Television in Nebraska and was instrumental in making it so successful in the United States and all over the world. His vision made a name for our great state in this field and this change would honor both his and Senator Carpenter’s work in broadcasting. LB 122 was heard before the Government, Military, and Veteran’s Affairs Committee on Wednesday, January 19, 2011, and has been placed on General File.

LB 507 makes changes to our Aid To Dependent Children program, LB 554 would prohibit open containers of alcohol on boats, LB 555 would make changes to our collective bargaining process, and LR 2CA would place on the ballot a proposed Constitutional Amendment which would allow counties to vote on whether or not to adopt a County Manager form of county government. I will be discussing all of these bills in future columns.

Greetings from Lincoln! The 2011 Legislative Session has begun! Our interim last year was quite busy as we had much discussion about LR 542 – the Resolution which directed the Committees to review agencies under their subject-matter jurisdiction in order to identify services, programs, and obligations that may be reduced or eliminated during the 2011 session.

Much of my focus over the interim was on my work as Chair of the Legislature’s Planning Committee and I’d like to give you some background and an update of what we’ve been up to. In 2009, I introduced LB 653, which created the Legislature’s Planning Committee. The committee was formed in June 2009, consisting of: Senator John Harms, Chair; Senator Mike Gloor, Vice-Chair; Senator Mike Flood, Speaker of the Legislature; Senator John Wightman, Chair, Executive Board; Senator Lavon Heidemann, Chair, Appropriations Committee; Senator Greg Adams; Senator Beau McCoy; Senator Heath Mello; and Senator Kate Sullivan.

We, as a committee, decided that, in order to achieve our goals, we would be assisted by the Legislative Research Office and the College of Public Affairs at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. We adopted a Mission Statement and chose nine categories for data collection: Agriculture, Economy, Education, Health & Human Services, Natural Resources, Public Safety, State & Local Government, Telecommunications, and Transportation. We adopted goals for each category and then chose benchmarks for each category. Jerry Deichert and John Bartle, of the College of Public Affairs at UNO, with the assistance of grad student Skiarn Issarachaiyos, collected data for each benchmark. They also prepared summaries of data and made note of policy considerations for each category. We have issued a report which consists of the data, summaries, and policy considerations for each of the nine categories. We will also have an executive summary of the Report and all of this will be available on our web page http://news.legislature.ne.gov/lpc/

During this time, the Legislative Research Office prepared binders, for each of the nine categories, which contain a history of legislation passed in Nebraska for each category during the last thirty years, as well as what is currently being done in other states – compiled from organizations such as the National Conference of State Legislatures. These binders are available for Senators and Staff to check out and will be updated each year.

The Planning Committee will also be in charge of updating the data and policy considerations each year for all benchmarks in each category. We are hopeful that this will be of great assistance to Legislators and staff as they craft and debate legislation each Session.