NEBRASKA SENATOR WANTS RULES ON INITIATIVE PETITIONS CLARIFIED AFTER COURT RULING TORPEDOED MEDICAL MARIJUANA

LINCOLN- The people of Nebraska have the right to the initiative process which allows for laws and constitutional amendments to be enacted independently of the unicameral. Since just 2014, those initiatives have raised the state's minimum wage, reinstated the death penalty, expanded Medicaid and most recently legalized casino gambling at horse tracks. 

Proposed initiatives, such as legalizing medical marijuana, have been thrown out by the court. The initiative did not make the ballot because it violated the state's single-subject rule. The initiative language was approved by the Secretary of State Bob Evnen but was challenged by Lancaster County Sherriff Terry Wagner. The Supreme Court decision was 5-2 and sided with Wagner. 

Senator Anna Wishart was an organizer of the initiative, and she says, "My goal is for people to be able to introduce petitions that have one general subject, but also include provisions that connect to that general subject so you can have a well-thought out and well-developed petition." 

The constitutional amendment she is proposing will help eliminate the 'gray area' which she feels stopped the initiative. LB475 is being introduced and would require the AG to issue a legal opinion on whether the petition's language would meet the single-subject rule. LB477 would require the Secretary of State to provide an advisory opinion.

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TRUMP IMPEACHMENT TO GO TO SENATE ON MONDAY, LAUNCHING TRIAL

WASHINGTON (AP)- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be sending the article of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate on Monday which will begin the investigation of insurrection over the Capitol riot. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says it will be a full, fair trial.

Donald Trump is the first president to be impeached twice and is the only president to be impeached after leaving office. The Senate will soon be tasked with the impeachment trial and also approving of Biden's cabinet members. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell says Republicans want a full and fair trial as well, many saying a trial is needed before the country and lawmakers can move on. 

McConnell proposed an extended timeline in which the president't team will have two weeks to file briefs with arguments beginning mid-February. Trump has begun to hire his defense team with Butch Bowers representing him. Bowers has served as counsel to Nikki Haley and Mark Sanford. 

Pelosi noted that Trump's second impeachment is for a very public insurrection that everyone watched on national television. Democrats will need the support of 17 Republicans to convict Trump. A handful of these senators have already said they are open to conviction. 

“I guess the public record is your television screen,” Graham said. “So, I don’t see why this would take a long time.”

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'WE RETRACT AND DISAVOW OUR STATEMENTS': SETH RICH'S BROTHER WINS APOLOGY FROM CONSPIRACY THEORISTS

WASHINGTON- In a crime that remains unsolved, Seth Rich, who worked for the Democratic National Committee, was murdered in 2016. His family then watched as a politically motived, baseless, theory was being passed around online saying that Seth, not Russia, had given DNC emails to WikiLeaks. This theory has been widely discredited by cybersecurity experts as 12 Russian intelligence agents have been indicted for the leak. The most notable person being Julian Assange of course. 

As the family tried to clear Seth's name, more rumors began to swirl that the Rich family all had something to do with the leaks-- without a shred of evidence. Two of the loudest proponents of this baseless theory was Ed Butowsky, a former Fox News guest, and conservative blogger Matt Couch. Both were sued by the Rich family. 

Now, Butowsky and Couch retract all claims they had made about the 2016 DNC hack. The Rich Family recently settled on the lawsuit, with reports showing a seven-figure payment. 

Rich, a former Kissel, Kohout, ES Associates intern is greatly missed, and our thoughts continue to be with his family and friends.

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MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS AS NEBRASKA GEARS UP FOR BIGGEST VACCINATION CAMPAIGN IN HISTORY

OMAHA- Nebraska is in the midst of the most complicated vaccination campaign in history. The governor all the way down to local health departments are doing all they can to assure the anxious public. On Wednesday, the vaccination pool grew to 400,000 people with the addition of seniors and people with certain medical conditions. Right now it is looking like the general public will not get the opportunity to get the vaccine until May or June. 

Officials say every time a new group is added to the mix, things only get more complicated. AARP Nebraska says they have received no information about how members should go about getting the vaccine. The state's vaccine administered per capita is still in the top 10 in the country. Nebraska currently has close to 83,000 doses not administered in the pipeline. 

Different health systems around the state are approaching the vaccine rollout differently as there is little communication coming from government officials. 

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LEGISLATURE WILL SHIFT TO ALL-DAY COMMITTEE HEARINGS STARTING JANUARY 25TH

LINCOLN- The Legislature will adjust its normal procedures to meet pandemic concerns by moving to all-day committee hearings on Jan. 25 while postponing a return to usual morning floor proceedings involving all senators until later in the session.

Speaker Mike Hilgers of Lincoln said he is making the change in advance of what is likely to be "the two worst months for spread of the virus" not only in the interest of safety but also to make it more likely the Legislature can continue to meet and complete its work this year. All-day committee hearings will begin on Jan. 25.Hilgers said he will have an announcement next week detailing how Nebraskans can communicate their views on bills without coming to committee hearings if they don't feel safe testifying in person because of the coronavirus.

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NEBRASKA'S HOUSE MEMBERS REJECT IMPEACHMENT OF PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP

OMAHA- The state's all-Republican House delegation, Jeff Fortenberry, Don Bacon and Adrian Smith, unanimously opposed the impeachment of President Trump on Wednesday. The impeachment alleges that the president incited the storming of the Capitol while Congress was certifying election results. 10 House Republicans voted to impeach, making it the most bipartisan impeachment ever. 

Nebraska's House members say the impeachment was rushed and should not have received a vote before proper hearings. Representative Fortenberry said if impeachment can be done this quickly, it will deepen the trauma of the country. Jane Kleeb, the chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party said the Republican delegates are too weak to stand up to the president. 

Similar discussions are happening in our neighboring state of Iowa.

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LINCOLN'S CORONAVIRUS RESTRICTIONS EXTENDED TWO WEEKS AS LANCASTER COUNTY RISK DIAL REMAINS IN RED

LINCOLN- Current pandemic restrictions in the county will remain in place for at least the next two weeks as the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department remains worried about COVID-19 numbers. Right before the holidays, the county relaxed restrictions on bars and will remain in place. However, the relaxation of these restrictions have allowed for cases to be heading in a concerning direction yet again. 

"Because we know that COVID blips can turn into COVID surges, like we are seeing in other parts of the country, I want to remind everyone how important it is to stay strong, stay smart and to stay safe," Gaylor Baird said.

Coronavirus patients in Lancaster County are now taking up 23% of hospital beds.

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DOUGLAS COUNTY BOARD ALLOCATES $2 MILLION OF COVID RELIEF MONEY FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

OMAHA- The board approved measures to allocate an additional $2 million in utility bill assistance, plus $2 million to aid for-profit businesses hurt by the pandemic. The money is coming from county budget reserves generated by COVID-19 relief funding. 

It is not clear which businesses will quality for the $2 million. The money will be distributed "to locally owned small businesses in Douglas County in the food, beverage, entertainment and hospitality industries, that have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic," says Board Member Jim Cavanaugh. The funds will be given to the Omaha Community Foundation to distribute it. 

By the end of 2020, Douglas County had only distributed $7.7 million out of its $10 million in CARES Act money allocated for rent assistance for people affected by the pandemic. The people who did not receive their grants could not meet the federal requirements for documenting their inability to pay rent because of the pandemic. The unspent money is now in the county's general fund meaning it can now be distributed without federal requirements. 

Nebraska is expected to receive $200 million for rent/utility help from the recently approved legislation with $20 million going to Douglas County.

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STATE WOULD TAKE OVER 'CLASSROOM EXPENSES' IN LOCAL SCHOOLS UNDER PROPOSED MEASURE

LINCOLN- Legislative Resolution 21CA, proposed on Wednesday, could allow voters to take a dramatic step toward reducing local property taxes. Sen. Briese of Albion is proposing that the state take over all 'classroom expenses' of K-12 schools. This will relieve property taxes from funding teacher salaries, books and other costs. This would address what the senator thinks is one of the main drivers of the state's high property taxes. The crisis comes from the lack of support for local schools as Nebraska ranks near the bottom nationally. 

“For far too long the State of Nebraska has shirked its obligation to provide for the ‘free education’ of its students. Instead, the state has continually chosen to pass on the bulk of the cost of public education to its property tax payers,” Briese said.

This comes after the state failed to boost state aid to local schools. He realizes the state may have to look at new/higher taxes to pick up these classroom expenses. The state provides around $1 billion to public education now.

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NEBRASKA OPENS VACCINES TO PEOPLE 65-PLUS, WILL CONSIDER THOSE WITH MEDICAL CONDITIONS

OMAHA- As part of the next vaccination plan phase, Nebraska will start opening doses of the vaccine to anyone over 65 and will consider people with serious medical conditions with emphasis. One UNMC expert warns this expanded rollout could only cause more confusion to a already frustrating situation for many. This move comes after the vaccine guidance shifted from Operation Warp Speed-- the federal effort to roll out vaccines-- with the Trump administration urged states to open up vaccines for people over 65 rather than 75 and older in this phase. 

The second part of this change deals with people with medical conditions. The state is working with health care officials to determine which conditions will qualify in this group. Dr. Mark Rupp from UNMC says he isn't sure how much this will help anything and goes on to say that more vaccines are being sent out than what are actually being put into people's arms. 

“I would just plead with folks to continue to have patience,” Rupp said. “We’re working through this as quickly as possible. And overall, the public health services are doing a really good job with this.”

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REPORT: SPACE COMMAND DECISION WAS POLITICAL; COLORADO LAWMAKER URGES BIDEN TO REVERSE IT

OMAHA- A complaint from Colorado Springs is being made loudly after President Trump hurried the decision to make Huntsville, Alabama the permanent headquarters of the U.S. Space Command. Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs and Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska were both frontrunners for the new base. 

Rumors out of Colorado are saying the president overturned the Air Force Secretary's recommendation to name Peterson Air Force Base as the site for a political favor to deep-red voters in Alabama. Huntsville has been the center of the Army's missile program, as well as NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Backers of the Peterson and Offutt bids claim that this is located in Rep. Mo Brooks district, one of Trump's biggest supporters to date. Colorado Springs representative Doug Lamborn, a Republican who was once a Trump loyalist, called the decision "horrendous."

Nebraska's congressional delegation declined to comment on the situation but are intending to ask Biden to take another look. Former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who represented Nebraska in the Senate, said he would not be surprised if political trumped military necessity in this decision. 

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UNAUTHORIZED STAFFER MAY HAVE OK'D ROBOCALLS URGING CAPITOL PROTEST, NEBRASKA AG SAYS

LINCOLN- Doug Peterson, Nebraska Attorney General said Monday that he was unaware that a group of national attorney's that he is a member of sent out robocalls urging people to descend on the U.S. Capitol. He suspects that a staffer with the Republican Attorneys General Association, without permission, authorized these calls.

State Senator Megan Hunt filed a public records request seeking to discover if public funds were used to support these robocalls. Over the weekend, Peterson's spokeswoman said there were no records to support or deny Hunt's question. Hunt then took to the Legislative floor to ask how that conclusion could have been found so quickly. 

Peterson himself has called the attack on the Capitol an 'affront' on the U.S. Constitution.

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NEBRASKA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COVID-19 UPDATE

LINCOLN- So far, 76,882 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to the Phase 1A priority group in Nebraska. This priority group includes health care workers and residents and staff of long-term care facilities. The Federal Pharmacy Partnership Program for Long-term Care Program was adopted in the state and 100% of the Pfizer allocation has been received. First doses have been given to 40% of hospital staff and 10,000 people have received a second dose. 

Nebraska receives around 23,000 first doses per week in addition to some shipments of second doses. The Phase 1B group mostly contains vaccinations for those 75 and older and will begin in the second half of January. Other groups included in this phase are first responders, educators, those in the transportation industry, food processing and agricultural workers. 

Nebraskans are urged to continue the same precautions they have been taking the entire pandemic.

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LINCOLN JUDGE UPHOLDS LAW REQUIRING APPOINTMENT OF ELECTION COMMISSIONERS

LINCOLN- The constitutionality of the law requiring election commissioners in Lancaster, Douglas and Sarpy counties to be appointed rather than elected has been confirmed. Lancaster County District Judge Lori Maret released her 14-page decision on Thursday. This ruling is counter to a 2019 opinion by Attorney General Doug Peterson, his opinion was nonbinding. 

At the time, Civic Nebraska agreed with Peterson's opinion, saying voters should be able to elect who runs elections in their counties. The AG's office then took this issue to the Supreme Court where the parties were unable to come to a decision, so the case was dismissed and given to a district court. 

The decision noted that the issue was whether election commissioners are county officers under Article 4 in the Nebraska Constitution. Maret cited an Ohio law that suggests officers should take an oath and give a bond. 

"In this way, a constitutional provision meant to empower the people to choose their county officers could leave them with nonelected officers performing the same job, now without oaths or bonds," Maret said.

The governor has appointed election commissioners for more than 100 years. Sen. Matt Hansen of Lincoln agrees with the AG's analysis and is interested to see if any other steps are taken. A spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office says they will be taking the case to the Supreme Court to decide the constitutionality of the statute. It would require a supermajority vote before the court could strike this down. 

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6 KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM GOV. RICKETTS' BUDGET PLAN

LINCOLN- On Thursday Governor Pete Ricketts presented his annual State of the State address. Historically this has become the date during bill introduction that the Governor announces his annual legislative priorities. This year was no different, with Governor Ricketts a number of steps he will be perusing during the 2021 session including tax relief, a new prison, and broadband deployment, among others. Here are 6 key takeaways from the Gov. Ricketts State of the State Address:

Property tax relief. In the governor's State of the State Address, he laid out a two-pronged approach to tackle property tax relief, which he deems as the top priority for Nebraskans. He is planning to approve $1.36 billion in credits for tax relief. 

In the proposed budget, $275 million a year will be provided in the state property tax credit program and $107 million will go to homestead tax exemptions. $88 million will be transferred into the state's cash reserve fund which would then have over $500 million in funds. This would trigger the additional property tax credits according to LB1107, a bill passed last year that created a new income tax credit. LB1107 is expected to allow for a 17% growth in tax breaks over five years. 

Property tax cap. Ricketts is seeking a legislative approval of a ballot issue to restrict local government tax increases to 3% a year without authorization from voters. 

Broader broadband. The governor wants to see $20 million a year going to expanding broadband's reach. The two-year increase would be enough to get an additional 30,000 homes connected as it is estimated that 80,000 homes lack access.

New prison. Governor Ricketts is proposing taking $230 million from the cash reserve to build a new state prison. This would replace the Nebraska State Penitentiary and would aid in curing the state's overcrowding issue. 

Veterans and military. The budget has $50 million ready to help lure the U.S. Space Command headquarters to Offutt Air Force Base even after the federal decision to put the site in Alabama. He also hopes to see the state exempt all military retirement benefits from income taxes, up from 50%. 

Spending growth. The governor's plan calls for a 1.5% growth in state general fund spending over two years. The state benefited from one-time factors, such as higher federal matches for Medicaid and a low school aid increase with federal coronavirus relief as well. The calculation does not include money used on property tax credits.

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EDITORIAL: LAWMAKERS MUST HEAVILY SCRUTINIZE THE CALL TO BUILD A $230 MILLION NEW PRISON

LINCOLN- The Ricketts administration has proposed a costly idea to build a new state prison-- something that hasn't been done in over two decades. Lawmakers are sure to have many questions about whether this costly of an investment will be heavily considered. 

Scott Frakes, the state corrections director, will have a hearing about prison overcrowding and deserves a fair hearing to promote this prison. Nebraska has the second-highest overcrowding problem in the nation. The overcrowding problem has already cost the state $170 million in expansions over the past six years. 

The facility would add 1,512 beds to the state's prison system and would hold all different levels of security. This would bet he first prison built in the state since 1998, when the Tecumseh prison was built. 

Many questions are sure to be brought, but a huge hurdle legislators will have to discuss is that $230 million price tag. Budgeting has already been a top issue in the state, so adding this project will be quite a feat. 

Reform efforts have been seen at both federal and state levels but many have failed. This includes a bill in front of the Legislature last year that would allow prison inmates to become eligible for parole two years before their release date, give inmates incentives to complete rehabilitation programs and to get more inmates under parole supervision. Many of those ideas are supported by law enforcement officers. This effort failed. 

Nebraska leaders will need to make this very tough decision in 2021.

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EDITORIAL: STATE SENATORS MUST BRIDGE THE TRUST GAP AT THE NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE

LINCOLN- The Nebraska Legislature opened its 90-day 'long session' on Wednesday and will surely be an unusual one. There are three needs that need to be met this session. Protection of lawmakers, staff and the public from COVID-19. Building trust between lawmakers and the public and responsible leadership by new committee chairs and the speaker. 

The threat of COVID is still very real and public health must be a top priority. It is possible that an extended recess will be taken to provide time for lawmakers and their staff to be vaccinated. The atmosphere in the Capitol has been very strained in recent years. Some partisan-minded Senators have made it harder for the officially non-partisan Unicameral to function. All members, regardless of party, must be open to forming relationships on both sides of the aisle in order to best serve constituents. 

The new speaker, Sen. Hilgers, will be a key person to form those relationships needed to be successful in this 2021 session. 

"The Legislature has much work ahead if these three key needs are to be met and success achieved for the 2021 session."

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EDITORIAL, 1/1: REDISTRICTING MUST BECOME A NONPARTISAN EFFORT FOR STATE

LINCOLN- In 2021 the officially nonpartisan body of the Legislature will be tasked with redistricting. In the previous attempt to successfully redistrict, the unicameral botched the job. The odds of one of the current senators being around the next time redistricting comes up is virtually impossible, yet long-term ramifications will ensure. 

The process of redistricting should be done by an independent nonpartisan agency or commission, which a handful of states have already done. Gerrymandering also should have no place in redistricting-- especially in a nonpartisan body. Our neighbor, Iowa, shows how redistricting should be done. The state has an independent state office which draws up maps strictly on population and presents their maps to legislators for a simple vote. 

With coronavirus throwing off census numbers, the final census figures will not be available until spring at the earliest, meaning the legislature will be deep into session. This also means that the unicameral will have to wing it. According to those numbers, three counties will hold 27 of the 49 seats. Senators are lining up to serve on this redistricting committee, as it has a powerful responsibility.

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EDITORIAL, 12/31: PETERSON DESERVES CREDIT FOR LEADING ON FACEBOOK, GOOGLE SUITS

OMAHA- Nebraska's Attorney General Doug Peterson spearheaded a 38-state antitrust lawsuit against Google that alleges the company has a monopoly over the online search market. This goes beyond the search engine domination and includes the company's attempts to monopolize how consumers access search engines (now through smart speakers, TVs, cars and specialized search providers). 

The lawsuit is rooted in consumer protection and hopes to create a free market that will allow for greater competition among search engines. This is happening after decades of only light regulation over giant tech companies. This lawsuit has bipartisan nationwide support. 

Google's defense is that of every monopoly-- simply stating that consumers simply choose to use Google over alternatives.

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LOCAL VIEW: SPENDING CAP BAD FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

LINCOLN- Amid an unprecedented pandemic, Gov. Ricketts recently said that a 'big priority' for the Nebraska Legislature this session will be approving spending limits on schools across the state. 

"The simplest argument against such an overreach was best echoed by Sen. Adam Morfeld in a tweet: 'We already have spending limits on schools - It's called the local school board'". 

Across the state, school boards have approved budgets that the state government is aware of. The boards have done an outstanding job with what they have and the governor wants to strip that power from them. The state already has many regulations that boards must follow while creating a budget. During a pandemic is not the appropriate time to place more restrictions on the already overworked and underpaid education system. 

The aim of capping school budgets is to create more property tax relief for Nebraskans. There is absolutely a property tax problem in the state, but why does the solution have to come from schools?

Most Nebraskans understand that when education is properly funded, the state only improves. A prime example of this is incredibly successful University of Nebraska system.

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