MASKS IN THE LEGISLATURE NOT FOR ALL

LINCOLN - Masks on in the Nebraska Legislature. Masks off? Some of the time? All of the time? Mask messages were confusing at the beginning of the pandemic, although now the World Health Organization and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend people wear them. And still there are political messages — and people — that downplay or even scoff at the use of masks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

So maybe it’s no wonder that as 49 senators gathered at the Capitol two weeks ago from all parts of the state, they brought with them a variety of perspectives about if and when they would wear masks in the hard-to-avoid close confines of the chamber, where they spend hours a day debating. Or at hearings where they sit several feet apart and listen to impassioned speeches from people.

Yes, the state Capitol is in Lincoln, where a mask mandate is in effect. But the Legislature is excluded from the requirement. So you see senators, many wearing masks while at their desks, seldom wearing masks as they speak into microphones during debate. And leaning in close for private conversations, sometimes one or both senators unmasked.

About 15% of senators don’t wear masks in the chamber or elsewhere in the Capitol.

View article HERE.

UNL ALTERING DORM MOVE-IN PROCESS

LINCOLN - Residence hall move-in will look a little different this year at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

UNL said Monday that it expects about 4,000 students to move in to its 14 dorms between Aug. 13 and Aug. 16. To speed the move-in process and reduce crowds and increase safety, it is instituting a curbside process.

The university has contracted with University and Student Services, a national company that specializes in moving residence hall students. Company crews will unload students’ belongings from their cars and deliver their items to their rooms.

Keith Zaborowski, UNL Housing’s associate director for operations and support, said safety is the main driver of the new process, which unlike previous years will not utilize any student volunteers.

“We want to promote social distancing, less contact with others and minimize touching of shared surfaces for students and parents," Zaborowski said.

View article HERE.

DOUGLAS COUNTY TO SPEND $1.85 MILLION OF COVID RELIEF

OMAHA - Douglas County plans to spend $1.85 million in federal coronavirus relief aid to buy a mobile command center for the county sheriff.

One Douglas County board member described it as “a tool in our toolbox” for fighting COVID-19. The board voted 4-2 Tuesday in favor. Mary Ann Borgeson, Clare Duda, Jim Cavanaugh and Chris Rodgers voted yes. Mike Boyle and P.J. Morgan voted no. Marc Kraft spoke against it, but couldn’t vote because he was not present and was attending the meeting by Zoom because of health concerns.

Officials with the Sheriff’s Office said the vehicle could help with traffic and coordination in small towns and rural areas of the county, and that other public safety agencies in the county could borrow it for emergencies.

“The Douglas County Health Department would be able to perform their critical public health function directly from the field because of the many capabilities within the mobile command center,” Hudson said. “Just what are those capabilities? They’re able to do this because the mobile command center is a self-contained unit that is capable of operating remotely for up to three days without refueling. All functions of the Douglas County Health Department can be done remotely at the scene of any public health emergency.”

View article HERE.

OMAHA PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD URGES CITY COUNCIL TO MANDATE MASKS

OMAHA - In a press release sent Saturday night, members of the Omaha Public Schools board urged the Omaha City Council to implement a mandatory mask ordinance before the school year begins Aug. 11.

The request comes after Douglas County Health Director Adi Pour backed off a mask mandate for Omaha on Friday, citing “legal disagreements” between the state and the Omaha City Attorney’s Office.

The board noted that a mask ordinance doesn’t have to be a “criminal offense with the potential of jail time,” and “Lawmakers and leaders can never allow the threat of a lawsuit to keep them from doing the right thing.”

OPS has decided to start the school year by dividing students into two groups and having them attend classes on alternate days.

The school board voted 9-0 in June to approve a resolution requiring anyone engaging in any activity on district property to wear a mask when other people are present.

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RICKETTS SAYS IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT TO GET KIDS BACK INTO CLASSROOMS ACROSS THE STATE

OMAHA - "There's a wide variety of things that go into the overall health of a child," Ricketts said at a press conference with Nebraska Education Commissioner Matthew Blomstedt.

Ricketts quoted Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who said last week that suicides and deaths from drug overdoses have surpassed deaths from COVID-19 among high school students.

Ricketts said schools provide students with opportunities to socialize and are important for their physical, mental, behavioral and nutritional health.

School-age children have been relatively less impacted by COVID-19, Ricketts noted. Annual deaths from influenza are five to 10 times greater among that age group, he said.

The governor was asked if he believes schools are ready to reopen. "Absolutely," he said. He cited the thoughtful work school districts have done.

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CAN THE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS BE TRANSMITTED THROUGH THE AIR? UNMC STUDY SUGGESTS THAT IT CAN.

OMAHA - University of Nebraska Medical Center researchers report that they have found, for what appears to be the first time, intact and potentially infectious coronavirus in some tiny airborne particles collected from the rooms of COVID-19 patients.

The researchers say their study supports evidence indicating that the virus, formally known as SARS-CoV-2, can be transmitted in an airborne fashion.

“I hope this says, ‘The concern over airborne transmission is legitimate enough that we need to really start taking it seriously and not just pay lip service to it,’” said Joshua Santarpia, an associate professor of pathology and microbiology at UNMC.

Airborne transmission doesn’t mean that the virus is lurking everywhere. Most transmission occurs when people are close to an infected person for at least 15 minutes, particularly in a crowded, poorly ventilated room, not just passing on a street or in a hallway.

View article HERE.

MASKS WON'T BE REQUIRED IN OMAHA, DOUGLAS COUNTY HEALTH DIRECTOR SAYS

OMAHA- Douglas County's health director said Friday that the Nebraska Attorney General's Office challenged her ability to implement a mask requirement in Omaha, so she is backing off her plan to do so.

Adi Pour said she will continue review data every day, "but for now, I have to trust everybody in this community to do the right thing moving ahead." Pour said last week that she thought it was time to require masks in indoor public spaces in Omaha.

"We need to get our cases under control if we want to get our schools open, Pour said at a press briefing with Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert last Thursday.

Stothert, who was at the Friday briefing where Pour announced the decision, said wearing a mask is very important and will control the spread of the coronavirus. But she said wearing a mask will be "a simple request we want to make to citizens of Omaha," not a requirement. Stothert said she had talked to the president of the Omaha City Council, Chris Jerram, about drafting a resolution that would let the council send a statement to the community strongly supporting the wearing of masks in public places. 

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SENATE FLOATS NEW FUNDING FOR TRIBES, DOE

Senate Republicans’ $306 billion coronavirus spending proposal includes emergency funding for American Indian tribes and the Energy Department. It would send $1.6 billion to tribes, which have been hard hit by the pandemic, and $307 million to DOE for an array of science efforts.

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KEYSTONE COPS

WASHINGTON - The Alberta government is weighing whether it should intervene in an ongoing U.S. court case involving the Keystone XL pipeline, according to James Rajotte, the province’s senior representative in Washington. "There’s a dialogue going on internally," Rajotte told Lauren. "That’s something the government of Alberta will decide going forward."

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has sweetened the deal for Keystone builder TC Energy to continue with the project despite a decade of delays and cross-border legal hang-ups. Kenney’s government has provided $1 billion for construction and promised billions more in credit. President Donald Trump supports the pipeline, while presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden opposes it.

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WILL MIDLANDS HOSPITALS HAVE TO RETURN SOME OF THEIR COVID RELATED STIMULUS MONEY?

LINCOLN - As the coronavirus pandemic spread across the country, federal relief efforts directed billions toward hospitals and health clinics. But providers are now worried they might be asked to return some of that money. At the time, lawmakers and administration officials were trying to get money out the door as quickly as possible. They wanted to ensure hospitals kept operating with full staffing in the face of the outbreak.

But as time went on, the Department of Health and Human Services adjusted the formula it was using to allocate the money. In some cases that has meant providers receiving less than they expected — and it has left others wondering whether the overpayments from previous allocations will have to be returned.

Reps. Don Bacon, R-Neb., and Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, recently sent a letter to officials at the Department of Health and Human Services laying out the problem. They wrote that providers had been assured the money was for immediate financial relief and are now in limbo wondering how much they will owe and when they will owe it.

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STATE OF NEBRASKA IGNORED DRUG MANUFACTURERS DEMANDS TO RETURN EXECUTION DRUGS

LINCOLN - Less than three weeks before the fentanyl made by a company based in London was used to carry out an execution in Nebraska in 2018, its top executive fired off a letter to Gov. Pete Ricketts, Attorney General Doug Peterson and Corrections Director Scott Frakes.

The letter was to "remind you again" on Hikma's position on the misuse of their products.

"We object in the strongest possible terms to the use of any of our products for the purpose of capital punishment," said Daniel Motto, executive vice president of Hikma/West-Ward Pharmaceuticals.

He asked for the immediate return of the drugs "unless the State of Nebraska is prepared to provide to us an original raised-seal copy of an affidavit signed by the governor or attorney general certifying it would only be used for patient care.

Gov. Pete Ricketts said Friday at a news conference his administration will continue to carry out the sentences the court ordered and the people of Nebraska support using the current execution protocol.

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NEBRASKA FIRST LADY SUSANNE SHORE CRITICIZES ERNIE CHAMBERS FOR COMMENTS ABOUT SEN. JULIE SLAMA

LINCOLN - Nebraska first lady Susanne Shore criticized State Sen. Ernie Chambers on Saturday for comments he made about fellow Sen. Julie Slama.

On the floor of the Legislature on Monday, Chambers criticized Slama and Gov. Pete Ricketts for a campaign mailer that former Gov. Dave Heineman and Bob Kerrey, a former governor and U.S. senator, have called racist. The mailer juxtaposed a photo of Slama’s opponent, Janet Palmtag of Nebraska City, with a photo of Chambers.

He said if Slama wanted to engage in dirty politics, she should not be surprised if people repeat rumors about why Slama, whom he called a young woman with little life experience, was appointed by Ricketts.

“How are the young women of Nebraska to receive Mr. Chambers’ message and the lack of response by most of the leaders of our state?” Shore wrote.

“I wonder how I can ask my daughters to make their home and build their careers in a state where that type of comment goes unchallenged? This comment isn’t hurled at one woman — it’s hurled at us all. But it is especially insulting to the smart, talented and amazing young women of our state.”

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‘SUPER SEVEN’ WORKING TO FIND 11TH HOUR COMPROMISE ON THREE KEY BILLS IN NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE

LINCOLN - State Sen. Jim Scheer of Norfolk, the speaker, pulled together a group of seven leading state senators this week in hopes of striking an 11th hour Plan B compromise. The goal: Pass the top priorities of the 2020 session — property tax relief and tax incentives for business growth.

Those two measures stalled during debate last week, and with only eight days left in the 60-day session that was suspended because of the coronavirus, there are worries. Will the perennial debate about lowering property taxes be put off another year? Could the state be left without an incentive program to help businesses expand or locate in Nebraska? The Advantage Act, the state’s current incentive program, expires at the end of the year.

Besides the speaker, the state senators involved are: John Stinner of Gering, chairman of the budget-writing Appropriations Committee; Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, who heads the Revenue Committee; Mark Kolterman of Seward, the main sponsor of the ImagiNE Act, the stalled replacement for the Advantage Act; Mike McDonnell, a former Omaha fire chief; Tom Briese of Albion, a leading rural senator on tax issues; and Steve Lathrop of Omaha, who helped work out several big compromises in his previous service in the Legislature.

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BAN ON CERTAIN SECOND-TRIMESTER ABORTIONS STALLS IN LEGISLATURE

LINCOLN - State senators spent three hours Wednesday afternoon debating Lincoln Sen. Suzanne Geist's "dismemberment abortion" bill to ban the second-trimester procedure that tears "a baby limb from limb."

Most doctors call the procedure dilation and evacuation, a surgical procedure that uses suction to remove the fetus, forceps, and a curette to scrape the lining of the uterus and remove tissue.

Early last week, Geist succeeded in a motion to pull the bill from committee to the floor for debate, which was guaranteed Wednesday when Speaker Jim Scheer designated a specific time for it on the agenda.

"LB814 would end the practice of killing a live baby in the second trimester of pregnancy by pulling off its arms and legs piece by piece until it either bleeds to death, its spinal cord is cut or its skull is crushed," she said. "It's an unthinkable way to dispose of a child."

Omaha Sen. Megan Hunt moved to kill the bill, saying there is much more important business for the Legislature during a pandemic.

"Here we are at the hallowed hour of 1:30 (p.m.), as foretold by the speaker of the Legislature, who in the midst of a pandemic, a public health crisis ... thought we'd better get this bill ... into its own hallowed and sanctified time slot," Hunt said.

The bill was filibustered and got three hours of debate but no vote was taken. Geist can bring the bill back if there's time and she can show she had 33 votes to break the filibuster.

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EDITORIAL: LAWMAKERS’ DITHERING ON TAXES, INCENTIVES RISKS GREAT HARM TO NEBRASKA

LINCOLN - When the Nebraska Legislature recently resumed its session, property tax relief and business incentives towered as two of the lawmakers’ central obligations. Yet, this week the Legislature is staring failure in the face on those very issues. This needless stalemate risks enormous harm to Nebraska.

The cries for property tax relief from many quarters in the state are unmistakable and legitimate. Additionally, the Legislature’s dithering on business incentives issues risks putting a dunce cap on Nebraska economic development, making ours the only state next year without an incentives program.

To get beyond the current deadlock, the Legislature must show leadership, be willing to negotiate, be and flexible. Nebraska lawmakers stand at the brink of a terrible failure for themselves and the state. Senators mustn’t let that happen. They have an all-important duty to find the final compromises for tax relief and a sound business incentives strategy. Get it done now.

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MEATPACKING WORKERS WIN LEGISLATIVE HEARING NEXT WEEK

LINCOLN - Meatpacking workers and their advocates will get a legislative hearing to air their workplace concerns related to COVID-19 next week despite the Legislature's decision on Wednesday denying Sen. Tony Vargas an opportunity to introduce a new bill. The hearing will be focused on an amendment, introduced by Sen. Vargas, to an existing bill. 

Sen. Matt Hansen of Lincoln said he has scheduled a hearing for next Thursday before his Business and Labor Committee that will provide a forum for consideration of measures that might be taken to provide safeguards in Nebraska meat processing plants, where nearly 5,000 workers have been infected by the virus.

The amendment prepared by Vargas would require 6 feet of distancing between workers, conforming to the norm of 6 feet of social distancing expected outside those plants as a protection against the virus.

Although the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has authority over standards in meat processing plants, states are empowered to add their own requirements.

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NO VOTE THIS YEAR, BUT EFFORTS TO REPEAL NEBRASKA’S AFFIRMATIVE ACTION BAN WILL CONTINUE

LINCOLN - Leaders of an effort to repeal Nebraska’s ban on affirmative action will keep pushing to remove it from the state constitution, even though they were unable to put the issue before voters this fall.

Omaha City Councilman Ben Gray and Douglas County Board member Chris Rodgers had launched a hurried effort to get a repeal of the ban onto the November ballot. They were hoping that an urgency to address racism would help reverse Nebraskans’ overwhelming vote — 58% to 42% — to adopt the measure, Initiative 424, in 2008.

State Sen. Justin Wayne was willing to try to introduce a bill in the Legislature this month, but decided not to when it became clear it was too late. He said he would focus instead on Legislative Bill 1218, which seeks to make minority-owned businesses more likely to obtain state contracts.

Governor Ricketts opposes the idea. “Governor Ricketts is opposed to racial discrimination, and especially state-sponsored discrimination, which is why he continues to support the amendment which the people of Nebraska passed in 2008,” said his spokesman, Taylor Gage.

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RURAL SENATOR SAYS PROPERTY TAX RELIEF MORE IMPORTANT THAN TAX CUTS FOR BUSINESSES

LINCOLN – Senator Tom Briese stated that he’s “reasonably confident” he has the votes to pass a bill allowing Nebraska to not implement some federal tax cuts aimed at helping distressed businesses impacted by COVID-19. Briese, a farmer, said that “decoupling,” or declining the federal tax changes, would free up nearly $250 million in revenue over three years that could be used for a higher tax priority for Nebraskans — property tax relief.

Decoupling is seen as a key negotiating chip in discussions underway about a “grand compromise” this legislative session to permit passage of a property tax relief/school aid reform bill — highly sought by farmers and ranchers — as well as a new state business incentive program — the top priority of the State Chamber of Commerce and other business groups.

Decoupling, however, was opposed Monday by every major business group in the state, including the groups that represent the state’s banking, accounting, auto dealers and small-business industries. They argued that the CARES Act tax cuts were aimed at the businesses that have struggled most in recent years, and are at the highest risk of closing unless they get an infusion of cash via the tax breaks.

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OWNER OF PAYCHECK ADVANCE SEEKS CHANGE TO BALLOT LANGUAGE ON PROPOSED CAP OF PAYDAY LOAN INTEREST RATES

LINCOLN- The owner of Paycheck Advance has filed a lawsuit seeking to keep a ballot initiative, which would cap the rate cash advance businesses such as hers can charge, off the ballot as currently worded.

If put on November's general election ballot and approved, the measure would cap payday loan rates at 36%, rather than up to 400% as currently allowed under state law. In a complaint filed this week in Lancaster County District Court, Trina Thomas says the ballot title and explanatory statement prepared by the Nebraska Attorney General's Office is "insufficient and unfair." 

As sent, it would say: A vote "FOR" will amend Nebraska statutes to: (1) reduce the amount that delayed deposit services licensees, also known as payday lenders, can charge to a maximum annual percentage rate of thirty-six percent; (2) prohibit payday lenders from evading this rate cap; and (3) deem void and uncollectable any delayed deposit transaction made in violation of this rate cap.

Thomas' attorneys, J.L. Spray and Stephen Mossman, say she proposes dropping payday lenders from the language.

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NO VOTE THIS YEAR, BUT EFFORTS TO REPEAL NEBRASKAN'S AFFIRMATIVE ACTION BAN WILL CONTINUE

OMAHA-  Leaders of an effort to repeal Nebraska’s ban on affirmative action will keep pushing to remove it from the state constitution, even though they were unable to put the issue before voters this fall.

Omaha City Councilman Ben Gray and Douglas County Board member Chris Rodgers had launched a hurried effort to get a repeal of the ban onto the November ballot. They were hoping that an urgency to address racism would help reverse Nebraskans’ overwhelming vote — 58% to 42% — to adopt the measure, Initiative 424, in 2008.

The City Council and County Board both passed resolutions in mid-July asking the Nebraska Legislature to put an initiative on the November ballot to repeal the amendment. But it was too late, even if legislation could have cleared a steep uphill climb during a pandemic-shortened session. The language needed to have been submitted by July 2, Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen said.

Now the soonest that the issue could be put before voters would be November 2022, the next general election in Nebraska. Rodgers said it may be better to wait even longer, until the next presidential election in 2024, and in the meantime make greater use of measures currently available.

Read the full article HERE