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Dist. 40 Report
Thursday, Feb. 20 marked the last day for senators and committees to designate priority bills for the year. A total of 107 bills and resolutions were prioritized.
With the Unicameral now in the latter half of this short 60-day legislative session, the majority of the bills that will be debated from this point on will be priority bills and the budget.
My personal priority for this session is LR283CA. Currently, the Nebraska Constitution specifies every citizen of the United States shall be eligible to vote in Nebraska. LR283CA proposes an amendment to Article VI, Section 1 of the Nebraska Constitution to specify only a U.S. citizen shall be an elector in Nebraska. Elsewhere in the nation, municipalities in California, Maryland, and Vermont, as well as Washington D.C., permit noncitizens to vote in local elections. It is necessary to proactively clarify and reaffirm, in the state’s constitution, that only citizens may lawfully register and vote in Nebraska now that there is a patchwork of laws nationwide.
Three other bills of mine were also prioritized. As I mentioned last week, Senator Dorn prioritized LB1187 to address brand inspection fees. Senator Moser prioritized LB1261 to create a carefully defined pathway for a large load customer to come into the state, pay for their own generation, and interconnect with public power while preserving the state’s unique public power model. Additionally, Speaker Arch designated LB826 as a Speaker priority. LB826 would establish a late-filing window for disabled veterans or their spouses seeking a veteran homestead exemption. The purpose of this bill is to address cases where paperwork from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs gets delayed and arrives after the June 30th deadline to apply for a homestead exemption. I would like to thank these three senators for prioritizing these bills.
Other bills that were prioritized include: LB468 by Sen. Clements to reduce the state’s inheritance tax; LB512 by Sen. Holdcroft to adopt additional screening requirements before a physician can provide an abortion- inducing drug; LB525 by Senator Jacobson to adopt the Agricultural Data Privacy Act, a law intended to protect the data privacy of agricultural producers in Nebraska; LB762 by Sen. Dungan to require insurance providers to cover the treatment of the pediatric autoimmune disorder commonly known as PANS or PANDAS; LB803 and LB901 by the Revenue Committee which are placeholder bills intended to be vehicles for future property and sales tax legislation; LB997 by Senator Andersen to require state agency directors to provide copies of no-bid emergency contracts to the State Auditor’s office; LB1032 by Sen. DeBoer to recognize tribal customary adoptions in state law; and LB1219 by Sen. Brandt to limit the amount of property taxes levied by a political subdivision to two percent plus real growth; I invite you to let me know your thoughts or concerns.
