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Dist. 40 Report
The 109th Legislature’s first session has adjourned sine die.
As of the day of adjournment, the Legislature had passed 175 bills, excluding “A” bills, and 1 proposed constitutional amendment.
Without going into my legislative accomplishments (that I will address in next week’s newsletter), I’d like to deviate from my normal newsletters and just provide my own personal assessment of how the Legislature did this session.
In my mind, there were three major successes and one disappointment from this
session.
In terms of successes, the Legislature completed its first and foremost constitutional duty and passed a balanced budget for the biennium covering fiscal years 2025 to 2027.
When the Legislature convened in January, senators initially faced an estimated $432 million shortfall for the next two years, a number that soon grew.
Over the course of the session, the Appropriations Committee grappled with unexpected additional expenses for the Medicaid program followed by a pessimistic forecasting board review which dropped expected state revenues.
In response, senators voted to shift funds or cut spending by over $600 million to cover the deficit and balance the state’s budget.
Second, the Legislature successfully passed LB89, the Stand with Women Act. LB89 was championed by Senator Kauth after her previous effort last year, LB575, failed to receive the necessary votes during debate.
The bill’s goal was to define the terms “male” and “female” and require school sports to be restricted based on a student’s sex assigned at birth. There is an exception if the sport is (1) coed or mixed or (2) there is no female equivalent team, such as football. As a high school and college basketball official of over 40 years, I am very pleased LB89 passed this year since the measure reaffirms women have a right to fair competition and opportunities in sports.
Third, the Legislature built upon its efforts from last year to address the national security challenges posed by foreign adversarial countries such as Russia, China, and Iran.
This year saw the passage of three bills: LB378, LB644, LB660.
LB378 requires Nebraska colleges and universities to disclose funding from foreign adversarial countries to the Attorney General.
Until 2020, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln had the Confucius Institute which taught Chinese language, culture, and society. However, Confucius Institutes and similar programs across the country have been criticized for both compromising academic freedom and placing the national interests of the People’s Republic of China ahead of the United States.
LB660 creates the Secure Drone Purchasing Act and requires state agencies and organizations receiving state tax dollars to only purchase drones that comply with certain federal security standards. The intent of the legislation is to ensure drone technology used or paid for by the State of Nebraska does not become avenues for surveillance by foreign adversarial nations like Russia and China.
LB644 creates the Foreign Adversary and Terrorist Agent Registration Act and requires people engaging in political activities for, consulting, raising or spending money, or representing those deemed to be foreign adversarial countries to register with the Nebraska Attorney General and describe their activities. Penalties for violations include fines of up to $50,000, or if a student or employee at a college or university, possible termination.
By far the biggest disappointment this year was the failure of the Legislature to pass any meaningful, significant property tax relief legislation.
Several bills and constitutional amendments proposed on this subject, including LB170 by Senator Brandt devoted new tax revenue from eighteen luxury goods and services to property tax relief as well as Senator Hughes’ LB303 to drop the maximum property levy for schools from $1.05 to $1.02 per $100 of taxable valuation. LB170 failed to pass while LB303 was stripped down to just creating a School Financing Review Commission to review the TEEOSA state school funding formula. Our inaction as a Legislature is expected to result in an annual statewide property tax increase of another $300 million this year.
As we end this first session of a two-year cycle, any bills not acted upon this session will be carried over into next year. There were 106 priority bills and resolutions designated this year, and not all of them had an opportunity to be debated by the full Legislature. Based on tradition and prior precedent, it is likely some of this year’s priority bills that failed to advance this year will be among the first measures considered when the Legislature reconvenes next January.
I want to thank everyone who contacted me and my office this session.
Now that the Legislature is adjourned, I will be spending more time back in Niobrara.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve in the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature. During the interim, I will try to get around the district as much as possible.
I will still travel to Lincoln periodically for meetings and office work.
If I am not in Lincoln, my staff will be able to assist you. Feel free to call my Capitol office anytime at (402) 471-2801 or email me at bdekay@leg. ne.gov. My mailing address is: Senator Barry DeKay, District #40, P.O. Box 94604, State Capitol, Lincoln, NE 68509.
