Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Sorted by date Results 26 - 48 of 48
As the harvest finishes and we enter the upcoming holiday season, senators remain hard at work preparing for the looming legislative session in January. One such topic I am investigating is the future of electrical generation in Nebraska. Currently, Nebraska Public Power District's energy generation resource mix consists of the following: 42.3% nuclear, 30.1% coal, 7.4% wind, 6.4% hydroelectric and 13.8% from all other sources, such as natural gas or purchase agreements. However, as market press...
The Legislature adjourned shortly after Memorial Day, but my duties as your representative continue at a fast pace. In the interim between the adjournment of the previous session and the convening of the next session, senators remain hard at work serving on special and select committees, studying subjects of local importance and addressing issues brought forward by constituents. During the session, I was appointed to serve on the LR178 Small Modular Nuclear Reactors Select Committee with six of...
During the interim, I have talked to many constituents who had questions regarding a bill enacted by the Legislature earlier this year: LB583. LB583 makes adjustments to the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act formula for state aid to Nebraska's public schools. As reported in the Unicameral Update, "Under LB583, introduced by Bellevue Sen. Rita Sanders at the request of Gov. Jim Pillen, the state will pay public school districts $1,500 in foundation aid per student beginning...
The 108th Legislature, First Session, has adjourned sine die. This past year, lawmakers passed some important bills and failed to agree on other critical issues. Excluding A bills, of the 820 bills and 274 resolutions introduced this year, only 33 bills and one resolution actually received a final vote. However, the bills passed included many expansive Christmas tree packages, meaning the Legislature actually passed 291 bills in total, including A bills. This figure is comparable to the last...
A legislative proposal to make various changes to Nebraska’s tax system received second-round approval this past week. LB 727 is a Revenue Committee omnibus package that contains provisions from nearly 30 bills. The bill includes several provisions that I support, including: • LB 577, which would prohibit home equity theft by requiring personal service to property owners that their taxes are delinquent, making sure they know they are at risk of losing their home or land via the purchase of a tax...
This week saw the Legislature continue to work late into the night to complete its business before adjourning in June. Although only a few bills have advanced thus far, a tremendous amount of work is going on behind the scenes by various legislative divisions such as the clerk’s office, transcribers, bill drafters, information technology, research, and committees to ensure bills are ready for the floor. With all the budget bills sitting on final reading, senators spent several days working to p...
The Legislature gave second-round approval to the budget bills this past week. This effort will allow the budget to be read on Final Reading next week, meeting the requirement to have it pass by the 80th legislative day. The budget would provide money for capital construction projects such as the Perkins County Canal Project and a new prison facility. Additional funds are appropriated to cover salary increases recently negotiated with the state employee’s union and for staff at correctional f...
This week saw the Legislature debate the mainline state budget. The latest projections from the Economic Forecasting Board lowered revenue projections for the current fiscal year by $80 million to $6.36 billion. The adjustment was based on anticipated decrease of $200 million in individual income, sales and use tax receipts, offset in part by projected increases of $120 million in corporate and miscellaneous tax receipts. Total projected revenue receipts for Fiscal Year 2023-24, however, were ra...
The Appropriations Committee advanced its finalized recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 biennial budget to the full Legislature. This proposal calls for an average increase of 2.3% in spending over the next two fiscal years. The main differences between the governor's proposal and the Appropriations Committee proposal are that lawmakers included an additional $80 million to increase both (A) the reimbursement rates for providers of Medicaid services by 3% this year and...
This week saw the Legislature pass the first four bills of the year. LB 376 would create a brand registration for the state Liquor Control Commission to accurately identify and track alcoholic products imported into Nebraska. LB 296 would both (a) create a framework for pet insurance and (b) require that the reimbursement rate for any telehealth service shall, at a minimum, be the same as a comparable in-person health care service in order to ensure there is no disincentive to health care...
Many major issues were debated this past week in the Legislature, with LB 626 and LB 574 being the two most highly-contested bills considered by senators. LB 626 would adopt the Nebraska Heartbeat Act and restrict abortion to when a fetal heartbeat is first detected, thereby reducing the current 20-week abortion time window to about six weeks. This bill includes exceptions for rape, incest, sexual assault, medical emergencies (such as ectopic pregnancies and the removal of the remains of an...
This week saw the Legislature continue the discussion of the governor’s school finance and tax package. LB 243, as amended by the Revenue Committee, would make a series of changes aimed at easing the financial impact of increasing property tax valuations on Nebraska’s local property taxpayers. Among changes proposed, the measure would increase the minimum amount of relief granted under the Property Tax Credit Act to $388 million in tax year 2024 and $560 million by tax year 2029. This amo...
It is the last week of March and the Legislature has moved on to all-day debate. At this point in time in the prior 2021 90-day long session, the Legislature had passed 31 bills with 16 signed into law by the governor. This year, a grand total of zero bills have been passed into law and only one resolution - my resolution LR 13 - affirming the Legislature’s support for including the names of the Sage brothers and other 71 sailors of the USS Frank E. Evans on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial W...
The Legislature has completed Day 50 of this 90-day legislative session and is in the middle of debate on bills that have been designated as a priority by senators, committees and the speaker. This past week, the Legislature gave initial first-round approval to LB 574 which would adopt the Let Them Grow Act and prohibit the performance of gender-altering procedures on minors. This legislation has been the focus of discussions and filibusters in the past few weeks as opponents of the bill raised...
The Legislature is now past Day 40 and is almost halfway through the current Legislative session. In floor debate, only a couple of bills have been discussed in depth. LB 753 would adopt the Opportunity Scholarships Act and provide education scholarships to assist eligible students to attend a qualified, nonprofit, private elementary or secondary school. Under the act, individual and corporate taxpayers would qualify for a non-refundable tax credit equal to the amount the taxpayer contributed...
The schedule of morning debate on the floor and afternoon public hearings continues for a few more weeks. At times, the days seem long, but soon the Legislature will begin all-day debate before finally adjourning later this spring. Three of my bills were heard in committee last week. On Tuesday, LB 453 and LB 454 were heard before the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee. LB 453 would allow the Nebraska Department of Transportation to change how the administrative costs of the Divisio...
We are now past the one-third mark of this 90-day legislative session but still have a great deal of work to do. The various standing committees are busy holding public hearings on the 820 bills and 22 substantive resolutions that were introduced in January. We have around four more weeks of hearings yet to go. Thus far, two of my bills have been presented before committees. The week began with Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Heavican delivering the State of the Judiciary address...
This week saw the Legislature resume floor debate and consider several gubernatorial appointments and reappointments. The following people were confirmed this week: Jim Macy as director of the department of environment and energy, John Bolduc as the superintendent of the state patrol, John Hilgert as director of the department of veterans affairs, Jason Jackson as director of the department of administrative services and Sherry Vinton as director of the department of agriculture. Additionally, I...
This week saw the Legislature conclude the second and final week of all-day committee hearings. The schedule will return to a traditional format, where floor debate is in the mornings and committee hearings in the afternoon. The question of whether Nebraska should legalize medical marijuana will again be considered by the Legislature. Sen.Wishart introduced LB 588, the Medicinal Cannabis Act, which would provide a regulatory framework to establish access to cannabis specifically for medical...
This week saw the Legislature begin the first of two weeks of all-day committee hearings. Traditionally, senators would meet as a body in the morning and split into different committees in the afternoons. However, Speaker Arch wanted to try to front-load the session with hearings so there will be more time for debate later in the session. Therefore, senators will not have an opportunity for floor debate until the week of Feb. 13. Two of my bills are scheduled for a public hearing later this...
On Wednesday, Jan. 25, Gov.Jim Pillen delivered his first State of the State address to the Legislature. The beginning of his speech focused on his team’s transition since the November general election and the strong state of Nebraska today. He emphasized how our state’s greatest asset - people - continually show perseverance, grit and determination to solve tough problems and overcome difficult obstacles. Although the state is strong and growing, Pillen argued more needs to be done to ret...
Late last week I learned of my appointment to three special committees: justice reinvestment oversight, state-tribal relations, and statewide tourism and recreation water access and resource sustainability. I am pleased to both be the vice chair of State-Tribal Relations (Committee) and be able to provide the 40th District with continued representation on the STAR WARS Committee. As a member, I hope to bring the proposed event center and lodge at Niobrara State Park, boat launch near the...
I'd like to introduce myself. I am Senator Barry DeKay, newly elected to represent District 40 in the Nebraska Legislature. District 40 consists of Antelope, Cedar, Dixon, Holt, Knox and Pierce counties. I am a lifelong resident of rural Niobrara, a fourth-generation rancher and a longtime high school basketball referee. My wife Brenda and I have two children. I am honored to serve the residents of northeast Nebraska in the Legislature. The 108th Legislature began Jan. 4. Thirteen newly-elected...
