Legislative session enters final days

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 pass the bills and send them to the governor for approval. Passage of the budget is a constitutional requirement for the legislature and it will be good to have that accomplished as we close out the last nine working days left in this session. Overall, the budget calls for $10.7 billion in General Fund spending over the next two years, a 2.2% increase, and leaves nearly $780 million in the Cash Reserve Fund. Notable expenditures include $575 million for the Perkins County Canal Project, $366 million for a new prison and $1.25 billion for the governor’s proposed education future fund. Additional money is allocated for Medicaid service providers as well as expending the remaining federal pandemic American Rescue Plan Act money to support projects, such as finding a second source of water for the City of Lincoln. An estimated $892 million is left in the state’s General Fund for tax cuts and other uses over the two fiscal years. The Economic Forecasting Advisory Board anticipates Nebraska can comfortably afford the increase in spending and proposed tax cuts while leaving a healthy cash reserve.

As the legislature moves into the interim, we will keep watch of the state’s economic situation and can make adjustments to the budget next year.

Meanwhile, LB 574, which would adopt the Let Them Grow Act, was debated by senators over the course of a couple days this week. On Tuesday, Senator Hansen moved to attach a new amendment AM 1658 in an effort to win support from 33 senators for the overall bill. With regard to transgender care, AM 1658 focuses a ban on transgender surgeries for minors. Instead of outlawing puberty blockers and hormone therapies for minors, the amendment would authorize the chief medical officer with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to adopt rules and regulations around those procedures.

AM 1658 also includes sections that would create the Preborn Child Protection Act. This act would reduce the time window to get an abortion to 12-weeks’ gestation and includes exceptions for rape, incest, sexual assault, medical emergencies (including ectopic pregnancies and the removal of the remains of an unborn child who has already died), and in vitro fertilization or another assisted reproductive technology. In comparison, LB 626, the Nebraska Heartbeat Act, would have restricted abortions at 6 weeks from fertilization but contained similar exceptions.

It is said that a good compromise is when both parties are dissatisfied, and I think that’s exactly what we have here. There were some concessions made that have brought us to this point. Neither side got all of what they wanted. It was not everything either side had hoped for. LB 574 survived an unusual five-hour long filibuster on Final Reading and was successfully amended with AM 1658 on a 33-14 vote. Following the required layover, LB 574 was picked up again on Friday where it survived another filibuster before being passed on a 33-15 vote. As a co-sponsor of LB 574 and LB 626, I voted to support the amendment and to advance the bill to the governor’s desk. While LB 574 is likely to be challenged in court, I cannot think of anything much more important than trying to protect the lives of the next generation.

Additionally, I have received some questions from constituents on when bills take effect once passed into law. According to Nebraska State Constitution Article III, Section 27, no bill or act shall take effect until three calendar months after the adjournment of the session at which it passed, unless in case of emergency. This year, the legislature is scheduled to adjourn for the year on Friday, June 9. For bills like LB 77 that lack an emergency clause, this means those bills will take effect around Sept. 9. Bills that have an emergency clause, such as the budget bills and LB 574, will take effect the day after they are signed by the governor.

With the end of the regular session fast approaching, feel free to call my office anytime at 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.