Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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Nebraskans are reminded to check the mail this week if they regularly vote early in Nebraska elections and filed a standing request with their county election commissioner to do so again. Election commissioners in Douglas, Lancaster and many other Nebraska counties recently mailed ballot request cards to people on their regular early voter lists. Douglas County has mailed out 160,000 cards. Lancaster County mailed out 64,000 of its blue postcards Friday. People can return the early voting...
Nebraska’s new voter identification law, which takes effect in the May 14 statewide primary, requires Nebraska voters to present a photo ID before voting. In an effort to ensure all Nebraskans are prepared, the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office is mailing letters to voters who may not have an acceptable form of photo ID to vote. About 97% of registered voters in Nebraska already have a driver’s license or state ID, according to information from county election offices and the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles. The letters are a proac...
The 108th Legislature First Session was a hot mess. The fact that three senators could derail the work of 46 others in the nation's only one-house, allegedly nonpartisan Legislature, speaks volumes. What went wrong? Most everything that could. There were 17 new senators (two of them who served terms before being reelected in November). A new clerk of the legislature stepped up after two years as an assistant. A new governor and a new lieutenant governor who is the presiding officer of the...
The voter ID measure, a solution in search of a problem, has been thankfully watered down in legislative action that clearly indicates the wheels on the Republican juggernaut are wobbly, if not ready to come off. Turns out the chief opponent to the bill and an amendment that came from the Government Committee was Republican Sen. Julie Slama, who was the poster child for a ballot initiative that got the topic before lawmakers. The initiative was largely funded by recent-Governor Pete Ricketts'...
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 Nebraska family has plowed more than $1.6 million into the Lincoln mayor's race, an unprecedented sum and latest burst in a multi-year deluge that, at the federal level, rivals the political spending by a famed Las Vegas casino magnate and a Silicon Valley titan. It's not the Nebraska family you think. It's the Peed family and its business, Sandhills Global – not the Ricketts family – that have eclipsed all other donors while trying to help former State Sen. Suzanne Geist, a Republican, ous...
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...
Three proposals to cover the solution looking for a problem -- voter ID -- have proven to be about as confusing as the proponent’s explanation as to why the idea was necessary. After a lot of listening and a bunch of head scratching, I’m still not convinced. The only thing I know for sure, in Sen. Steve Erdman’s world there would be no mail-in ballots. Tell that to the 11 Nebraska counties that hold mail-only elections right now. Better yet, convince my 85-year -old neighbors that it’s a good idea. I’ve been voting by mail since Covid and...
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...
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 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...
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...
Two initiative measures - one requiring photographic identification, one increasing minimum wage - were passed by Nebraska voters during the Nov. 8 General Election. Initiative 432 amends Nebraska's constitution, to require voters to "present valid photographic identification" prior to voting. Nebraska's Legislature will hammer out the details, according to language in the measure. Voters also approved Initiative 433, which will gradually raise the state's minimum wage from the current rate of...
LINCOLN — Nebraska does not require people to present a photo ID at a poll booth on Election Day. Ballot Initiative 432, a bill that caused contention for members of Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District, is designed to change that. The last of three hearings for this initiative took place Tuesday, Oct. 16, when seven proponents and 11 opponents testified in front of Secretary of State Bob Evnen. Appearing on Nebraska’s ballot in the Nov. 8 election, this initiative would require a physical ID, with photo identification, to cast a vote, which...
Dialogue between Antelope County Commissioners and members of the Antelope County Patriot group became contentious, at times, during the Oct. 11 commissioners’ meeting in Neligh. Prior to the Patriots’ presentation, county attorney Joe Abler suggested the board enter executive session to review a letter from Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson, regarding clarification of terms in the state’s election statutes. Following executive session, which lasted approximately 15 minutes, audie...
Senators approved an increase in state spending on initiatives such as broadband, foster care reimbursement rates, pay for people who provide services under Medicaid and rail industrial parks during Nebraska’s 107th legislative session, which adjourned on May 27. Senators also focused on cutting taxes and designated a portion of the state’s FY 2021- 2022 $4.8 billion budget toward tax relief, according to the 2021 general fund budget summary. Sen. Dan Hughes of Venango said this session was different because there was more money to work wit...
The Legislature passed the one-third mark this week in the 90-day legislative session. The Appropriations Committee also presented its preliminary recommendations for the biennial budget. This provides a starting point for discussion of the various budget actions suggested so far. After the Appropriations Committee finishes its committee work, it will develop formal recommendations to be presented to the Legislature by mid to late March, at which time floor debate will take place. Although we...
