Heavican calls for expanded resources for 24-hour provider access

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 to lawmakers. He began by noting the “extraordinary measures” taken to fill the approximately 1,600 vacant judicial positions across the state by offering salary upgrades, bonuses and increased education opportunities for advancement. In addition, he noted that efficient and economical management of both adult and juvenile probation has allowed the Nebraska Supreme Court to return $35 million to the state’s General Fund in the last two state budget cycles. With those successes, however, Heavican noted that challenges remain – most notably in the area of mental health. The legislature has increased provider reimbursement rates in recent years, he said, but the need to expand provider access remains, particularly in 24-hour care facilities for the mentally ill. Currently, county jails are the default 24-hour facility. This problem has festered for many years, with Heavican calling for additional resources to clear out the backlog.

The Revenue Committee considered LB 706 by Sen. Moser, which would authorize the State Highway Commission, upon recommendation of the Nebraska Department of Transportation, to issue up to $450 million in bonds between 2023 and 2029 to accelerate completion of highway construction projects under the Build Nebraska Act. The act, passed by the legislature in 2011, dedicates one-fourth of 1% of state sales tax revenue to road projects, including the expressway system, until 2033. Governor Jim Pillen testified in support of the proposal, saying it would allow the department to complete needed highway projects on a “much faster timeline.”

Pillen said Nebraska has sacrificed economic growth and public safety by using a pay-as-you-go method to fund the long-delayed expressway and other highway projects. NDOT and Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry testified in support of the proposal as well.

Meanwhile, the Health and Human Services Committee advanced LB 626 and LB 574 to the floor for full debate this week on 4-2 votes. LB 626 would adopt the Nebraska Heartbeat Act and restrict abortion in Nebraska to when a fetal heartbeat is first detected, thereby reducing the current 20-week abortion time window to about six weeks. LB 574 would adopt the Let Them Grow Act and block any gender-altering procedures prior to a person’s 19th birthday. I expect both bills to be up for debate in the next couple of weeks.

On the floor, the legislature considered LB 140 by Sen. Brandt, which would create a new specialty license plate celebrating Czech heritage. The fee for alphanumeric plates would be $5 and a personalized license plate would cost $40. During debate, an amendment was proposed to remove the “Choose Life” specialty license plates from state law. The “Choose Life” plates were created by the legislature in 2018 to give Nebraskans an opportunity to express pro-life values or support for the protection of children if they so choose. After about three hours of debate, the amendment was struck down on a 4-26 vote. I then voted with 43 of my colleagues to advance LB 140 to the second round of debate.

LB 140 and others are being filibustered or being drawn out into the wider debate on LB 626 and LB 574. Opponents of both bills have vowed to eat up time the legislature could use to pass other bills, with one senator expressing that they would rather burn the session to the ground and have nothing advance than to see the legislature debate LB 626 and LB 574. Other senators have raised concerns that this tactic would delay discussion on senators’ priority bills and topics such as school finance reform, tax reform, corrections reform, the budget, medical cannabis and voter ID.

The last few weeks have generated many contacts via email, phone and letters. I welcome and encourage you to keep these lines of communication open. Feel free to call my office anytime to 402-471-2801 or email me at [email protected]. My mailing address is: Senator Barry DeKay, District #40, P.O. Box 94604, State Capitol, Lincoln, NE 68509.