OMAHA-BASED BUILDERTREND ACQUIRES COCONSTRUCT; CREATES LEADER IN CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

Buildertrend, an Omaha-based provider of cloud-based construction management software for homebuilders, remodelers and specialty contractors, announced Wednesday the acquisition of CoConstruct, a complementary provider of construction project management software for the residential construction industry.

CoConstruct was founded in 2004 in Charlottesville, Virginia, with a mission to bring residential construction project management into the 21st century. The company has been recognized as Constructech’s No. 1 software platform for construction collaboration for more than 10 years in a row. The transaction makes Buildertrend the largest construction management software dedicated to empowering independent and custom homebuilders, contractors and remodelers with the tools to better coordinate projects, control finances and communicate with clients and crews, according to a release.

Buildertrend co-founder and co-CEO Dan Houghton will lead the combined company, and CoConstruct founder Donny Wyatt will serve as an advisor to lead integration efforts. The combined business served 23,000 clients, more than 1.1 million users and facilitated more than $200 billion in annual residential construction project value in 2020.

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NEBRASKA'S PLAN FOR TWO-TIER MEDICAID EXPANSION PROGRAM SUFFERS SECOND BLOW

LINCOLN — Nebraska’s top Medicaid official announced Thursday that a second major part of the two-tier Medicaid expansion program has been put on hold. The decision means that low-income, working-age adults — the bulk of those covered under the expansion — will have no way to receive dental, vision and over-the-counter medication benefits for the foreseeable future.

Those benefits are automatically part of traditional Medicaid. But state officials had planned to require that expansion patients meet six wellness and personal responsibility goals to qualify for the benefits. The qualification period was to start April 1.

Now, State Medicaid Director Kevin Bagley said federal officials have indicated that they have concerns about the plan and are unlikely to approve it in time for an April launch. That leaves the future of the two-tier plan, called Heritage Health Adult, up in the air.

Earlier this month, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services alerted Nebraska officials that the Biden administration was looking to withdraw approval for another key part of the two-tier plan.

That part, which was to start in 2022, would have required most expansion patients to work, volunteer or do other specified activities for 80 hours a month to get full benefits. The “community engagement” requirements were to be in addition to the wellness and personal responsibility requirements.

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GUN RIGHTS ADVOCATES BACK BILL THAT WOULD BAN NEBRASKA FROM ENFORCING ANY NEW FEDERAL GUN LAWS

LINCOLN- Gun rights advocates expressed fears of 'losing their constitutional rights' with President Biden pushing for increased gun safety laws. 

“We’re at a dangerous point of losing our constitutional rights,” said Anthony Arnold of Ashland.

Sen. Steve Halloran, the introducer of the measure, describes his bill as a "Second Amendment Preservation Act" although he is not aware of any federal moves to seize guns from Nebraskans. Similar laws have been passed by a handful of states and are currently being discussed in Texas and Missouri. Opponents of the bill says Nebraska is not above the law and should follow any federal regulations that are handed down.

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FORMER NEBRASKA CONGRESSIONAL, LEGISLATIVE, SENATE, AND GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE FILES TO ESTABLISH THE MAGA PATRIOTS PARTY

LINCOLN- Mark Elworth Jr., a former candidate for many offices, filed to establish a new political party in Nebraska for the second time. On Monday, Elworth announced the MAGA Patriots Party — a name for a new party proposed by former President Donald Trump — on his personal Facebook page and said he has chosen North Platte to be the party headquarters. 

“People in the 3rd District have been disenfranchised from state politics, and we are going to change that,” Elworth said in the Facebook post. “... The Nebraska Republicans have failed us. They no longer work or compete for your votes. They have ulterior motives without your best interests in mind.”

Elworth also said the state Elections Division rejected the first filing for the MAGA Patriots Party, a claim Secretary of State Bob Evnen disputed. “If Mr. Elworth Jr. claims that our office made up new rules for him, he is mistaken and that is inaccurate,” Evnen said. “We apply the laws that the Legislature has passed, and that is what we did with respect to Mr. Elworth’s Jr. petition.”

Elworth is working on getting the Legal Marijuana Now Party recognized as well.

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NEBRASKA'S PROCUREMENT PROCESS MISSED UNDERBID BY ST. FRANCIS MINISTRIES

LINCOLN- Most Nebraskans saw a disaster in the making when the state signed a contract for 40% less than what they were paying in the past. The state's procurement process did not question any of the reasonableness of the five-year $197 million proposal. Now, The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services signed an emergency contract to keep St. Francis Ministry from running out of money. The new contract wiped out the 40% cost different and boosted payments the state would be making. 

LR29, introcuded by Senator Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha, seeks to create a special legislative committee to investigate how the state signed that contract and all events that transpired from that.

DHHS CEO Dannette Smith defends the decision to sign with St. Francis citing the now-terminated St. Francis officials for the situation. The state does not submit cost proposals to the evaluation teams everyone else does, they merely check the math and rate the proposal accordingly. At the time, many people believed PromiseShip was being overpaid, which has now been disproved. 

St. Francis has yet to meet the caseload requirements laid out in state law.

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STATE SENATORS AT ODDS OVER NEED FOR COVID LIABILITY PROTECTION BILLS

LINCOLN- The sponsor of one bill to protect Nebraska businesses, health care providers and other entities from most coronavirus-related lawsuits called the measure a substantial step toward recovery from the pandemic. 

State Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said he introduced LB52, the immunity proposal, to spark discussion and find out whether legal protections are needed. He concluded a public hearing on the bill by saying he had not heard evidence of a problem. "There's a fear of a threat of a possibility" of lawsuits, he said, but no one at the hearing could point to actual COVID-related cases in Nebraska.

On the other hand, Sen. Tom Briese of Albion argued that his measure (LB139) is needed to give business owners and other entities the confidence to reopen. Even if lawsuits have not been filed yet, he said, he expects to see them in coming months. He also said the perception of legal risk is a concern.

Mark Schorr, testifying for the Nebraska, Omaha and Lincoln Chambers of Commerce, as well as several other groups, said the measure represents a balancing act. It provides protection but doesn't completely block lawsuits, he said.  As evidence of the need, he pointed to similar legislation passed by 20 other states and to a wave of notices from liability insurance companies that either exclude coverage for COVID-related risks or raise premiums for that coverage. He also said there have been attorneys advertising around the country seeking to represent people harmed by COVID-19.

Opponents to LB139 included trial attorneys, labor unions and AARP Nebraska, which represents older Nebraskans.

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BILL WOULD ALLOW NEBRASKA VOTERS TO USE RANKED-CHOICE VOTING FOR SOME ELECTED OFFICES

LINCOLN- Under a proposal by Senator John McCollister, voters in the Cornhusker State to rank their preferences in elections for the Legislature, governor, Congress and the Senate. The bill (LB125) would put ranked-choice voting in place in Nebraska for elections to those offices where three or more candidates are running.

McCollister told the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee he believed ranked-choice voting would increase voter satisfaction, provide for efficiencies by eliminating the need to hold separate runoff elections and ensure fairness in elections. The system allows voters to rank candidates by preference — they would indicate their top preference in the first column, second preference in the next column, and so on — with any candidate gaining more than 50% of the votes being declared the winner.

If no candidate gains a majority after the first-preference votes are counted, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated, elevating the second-preference votes on those ballots. The process would be repeated until a candidate wins a simple majority of the votes cast.

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COUNTY OFFICIALS TESTIFY AGAINST PROPOSAL TO REDUCE NEBRASKA'S INHERITANCE TAX; NOTE PROPERTY TAX INCREASES WOULD BE NEEDED TO OFFSET LOSS OF REVENUE

LINCOLN- County officials came to oppose any change in the inheritance tax during the hearing of the Revenue Committee on Thursday. They said that counties use the funds generated to reduce property taxes, finance special projects or respond to emergencies likes floods. If it was drastically reduced, as presented in LB310 by Senator Clements they said, counties' only option would be to increase property taxes, which is the top target for complaints, not the inheritance tax.

"I've found county board members to be as conservative as anybody, and they don't want to raise taxes," said Larry Dix, the former executive director of the Nebraska Association of County Officials. Some county officials also said that with proper estate planning, the inheritance tax can be avoided entirely.

While the inheritance tax paid varies widely each year, it has averaged about $65 million statewide in recent years, including about $12.7 million a year in Douglas County and about $5 million a year in Lancaster County.

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RICKETTS SAYS NEBRASKA ON COURSE FOR GENERAL PUBLIC COVID VACCINATIONS IN SPRING

LINCOLN- But Nebraska remains on course to move into inoculation of the general public in April or May, Gov. Pete Ricketts said Thursday during a coronavirus news briefing. Not only are current vaccine allocations to the state being increased, new data shows that six doses rather than five can be administered from each vial of Pfizer vaccine, production of both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines is being increased, and a vaccine from Johnson & Johnson may soon be approved and added to the supply.

"Good news," the governor said.

Nebraska is expecting 18,720 doses of Pfizer and 18,400 doses of Moderna next week, Angie Ling, incident commander at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, said. People 65 and older will continue to remain the focus for now, Ricketts said, pointing once again to statistics demonstrating that the vast majority of COVID-19 deaths in Nebraska occur in the older population. To that end, Ricketts said that once vaccinations in the current priority group are completed, the state will move to vaccinate Nebraskans age 50 and over. 

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LAWMAKERS TO SCHEDULE HEARINGS WITH PUBLIC POWER, NATURAL GAS COMPANIES FOLLOWING BLACKOUTS

LINCOLN- A pair of state lawmakers said Wednesday they plan to call on Nebraska’s largest public power districts and natural gas entities to testify before legislative committees following this week’s rolling blackouts. Thousands of Nebraskans briefly lost power this week during scheduled times as the Southwest Power Pool had difficulty meeting demand amid record-breaking low temperatures.

Sen. Bruce Bostelman of Brainard, chair of the Natural Resources Committee, said the fact-finding hearing with the Nebraska Public Power District, the Omaha Public Power District and the Lincoln Electric System will help the Legislature better understand why they happened. Omaha Sen. Justin Wayne, who leads the Urban Affairs Committee, also plans to hold a hearing with Black Hills Energy and the Metropolitan Utilities District, the two largest natural gas distributors in the state. 

“We’re in a weird dynamic where we have public and private (energy companies),” Wayne said. “So I want to know who operated more efficiently in serving their customers.”

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SKEPTICAL SENATORS QUESTION NEBRASKA CORRECTIONS CHIEF ON PROPOSED $230 MILLION PRISON

LINCOLN — Nebraska’s Corrections Department director faced a string of tough questions, and a line of opponents, during a Thursday hearing on the proposal to build a $230 million prison.

While Director Scott Frakes said chronic overcrowding and aging facilities require the “tough” decision to build a 1,600-bed maximum-medium-security facility, legislators, as well as advocates for sentencing reforms, questioned the need for such a costly construction project when crime rates are falling.

State Sen. John Stinner of Gering, who chairs the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee, which weighs budget requests, grabbed his throat and said flatly that he had “a gag problem” with such a request. “That’s a lot of money,” he said. “And it’s a lot of ongoing money.” The prison might be the most expensive complex ever to be funded by state tax dollars, and would require about $34 million in annual operating expenses.

“I may be convinced by the right information, but I’m not there yet,” said Sen. Anna Wishart of Lincoln. Frakes responded “We can’t afford to wait and see if other options come forward.”

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DHHS: TRANSITIONING CHILD WELFARE IN OMAHA-AREA WOULD TAKE 6 MONTHS

OMAHA- The director of the Children and Family Services in the DHHS said there is no backup plan if St. Francis Ministries fails. If this were to happen, a mobile crisis team of 40 people from around the state would be called to help. 

"This will put a strain on the other service areas and may cause a delay or disruption and other areas of the state during the transition period," Stephanie Beasley said. 

The state just signed a new 25-month emergency no-bid crisis with St. Francis after the CEO told Nebraska they were almost out of money, just barely into the five year contract. Moving the cases back to the DHHS would take a minimum of 6 months. Senator Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha says it would be negligent for the Legislature to not investigate the company. The contract ends in February 2023, a spokesperson for DHHS says if the state continues contracting with a private organization, it will begin the process of bidding a year in advance.

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LANCASTER COUNTY EASES RESTRICTIONS ON WIND TURBINES

LINCOLN- Lancaster County had some of the strictest rules in the country when it comes to wind turbines. Thursday, Lancaster County commissioners eased some restrictions, making it easier to develop renewable energy. Sean Flowerday, Christa Yoakum and Rick Vest carried the vote, saying this provides opportunities to help farmers and diversify the county's energy sources. 

In November, the County Board asked the Planning Department to draft new rules since no projects had been proposed, following changes made in 2019. A representative for southwest Lincoln and Lancaster County says she supports green energy, but believes relaxing restrictions will reduce property values and quality of life for people living near turbines. Turbine projects will require a special permit and public hearings before being approved for development. 

"Lancaster County is an attractive place for wind energy development," David Levy said.

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LANCASTER COUNTY TEACHERS SLATED FOR VACCINES IN EARLY MARCH; HEALTH DEPARTMENT SAYS SUPPLY REMAINS CONSTANT

LINCOLN- 21,000 Lancaster County educators and staff will be receiving COVID-19 shots in early March, around the time of Lincoln Public Schools' spring break. State teachers unions expressed concern about their members not being among the first to be vaccinated. UNL and LPS, along with other school districts, have allowed staff to begin signing up for the vaccine. The state prioritization splits school staff into K-12, preschool, support staff, higher education and licensed child care provider groupings. 

Before teachers are vaccinated, the Health Department plans to vaccinate homeless shelter staff and corrections workers. This week 2,000 Lincoln residents who are 73 and older will be receiving their first doses and many will also be receiving second doses. Daily new cases in Lancaster County has fallen 63% from 135 per day in January to 49 mid February. 

New variants of the virus have been making their way to Nebraska, so Dr. James Lawler from UNMC says there could be a surge in new cases. 

"Yes, I think we've turned one corner," Lawler said. "But it doesn't mean that more corners are not ahead of us."

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PARENTS FILE LAWSUIT AGAINST BENNINGTON SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR UNEQUAL SPORTS FUNDING

BENNINGTON, Neb. Parents from Bennington High School have filed a federal lawsuit, claiming girls versus boys sports funding is completely uneven. The allegations show that school officials have violated title nine and are a part of a federal law suit by a Tennessee attorney who has argued 100 similar cases. There are eight areas of unequal treatment listed by the attorney. The families are not looking for any money from this case.

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CDC PRESSES K-12 SCHOOLS TO REOPEN

NEW YORK CITY- The CDC is urging K-12 schools to reopen schools while adhering to the precautions also laid out by the organization. By wearing masks, social distancing and breaking children up into smaller groups even if the transmission is high in the community, spread at the school will be slow. 

President Biden promised to reopen schools within his first 100 days of office, calling the lack of school time, a national emergency. Under these guidelines, teachers will not have to be vaccinated to be safe if all measures are followed. 

“We are talking about your children, about your family who they come home to, about the most precious things you have,” said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky. “Our operational strategy is science-based with the goal of protecting students, teachers, and staff and their families while getting back to the classroom safely.”

In-class instruction is much more beneficial for students and many have not had that opportunity since schools shut down last March. The National Education Association, the largest teacher's union, applauded the CDC's stronger tone on preventative measures. The CDC is not mandating schools open, rather they are setting guidelines as to how schools should do it if they choose. Large schools will have more trouble bringing the entire student body back, especially those with mobile classrooms. 203 children in the United States age 18 or younger have died from coronavirus.

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BITCOIN TO COME TO AMERICA'S OLDEST BANK, BNY MELLON

NEW YORK CITY- The nation's oldest bank, Bank of New York MellonCorp, is making the leap into bitcoin, an obvious sign of acceptance of the once-fringe digital currency. The bank said it will transfer and issue bitcoin on behalf of its asset-management clients. MellonCOrp keeps track of money managers' assets- whether those be physical of cash housed in other banks. 

BNY Mellon will allow digital assets to pass through more traditional holdings-- from Treasurys to technology stocks and is using a platform which is now in prototype. 

“Digital assets are becoming part of the mainstream,” said Roman Regelman, chief executive of BNY Mellon’s asset-servicing and digital businesses.

In the past, money managers have used separate custodians for cryptocurrency as regulatory, legal and stability risks left them reluctant to come into direct contact with the crypto market. This week, Bitcoin hit an intraday high of $48,635,84. Other big-name financial firms such as Fidelity Investments have also declared interest in digital assets. However, MellonCorp is the first bank to unveil an actual plan to treat cryptocurrency as it would any other asset. 

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EPA TO JETTISON MAJOR OBAMA CLIMATE RULE, AS BIDEN EYES A BIGGER PUSH

WASHINGTON- An announcement by the Biden Administration indicated it will not try to resurrect the Clean Power Plan, a controversial Obama-era policy. The Clean Power Plan set climate pollution targets for each state and gave officials flexibility on how they would make those reductions by the end of the decade. Instead, the administration is seeking court approval to propose a new rule aimed at limiting gas pollution from power plants. Biden pledged for the electricity sector to be carbon-neutral by 2035.

The Obama-era policy ran into legal trouble in 2016 and was eventually forgotten after President Trump's more lenient plan was signed. New data released by the EPA shows that emissions from the power sector are continuing to fall, declining by 8.3% in just one year. Transportation, the largest source of greenhouse gas pollution, is on the rise, though. The legality of the administration aggressively curbing carbon emissions from the power sector has not been resolved and will remain a challenge for this administration, “anything the Biden administration does to regulate carbon emissions from power plants will almost certainly go to the Supreme Court.”

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NEBRASKANS ENCOURAGED TO TEST THEIR SPEEDS WITH AIM OF EXPANDING BROADBAND ACCESS

LINCOLN- Officials are asking Nebraskans to test their internet speeds with a one minute test.  “Results from this study will give local and state officials a better understanding of where underserved and unserved Nebraska residents are located,” said CJ Poltack, president of the Nebraska Regional Officials Council, an organization of economic development leaders from across the state. 

Individuals can go to nebraskaspeedtest.org from any internet-enabled device, including cellphones. No personal information will be collected, but the data gathered will provide the most comprehensive view of actual upload and download speeds available to residents across the state. 

The service does not collect any personal data and will help provide a more comprehensive view of internet speeds throughout the state. The group aims to bridge the so-called digital divide between urban and rural areas by providing decision-makers a better understanding of where internet accessibility is limited or not available, and where speeds are not meeting the needs of today’s users. 

The project is funded through a federal coronavirus response stimulus grant.

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ALL NEBRASKANS SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEND TEXT PHOTOS TO 911 BY END OF 2022

OMAHA- The state is transitioning to a Next Generation 911 system, which will allow Nebraskans to have the option to send text messages, photos and videos to emergency dispatchers. The system will also improve location services by using geospatial data rather than a person's distance from the nearest cell tower. The State Public Service Commission allocated $8 million for a contract with Lumen to provide these services. 

The conversation around these new emergency services started in Nebraska after it took responders 40 minutes to find the location of what turned into a double homicide and 12-hour standoff in Douglas County. 

Officials do not recommend using this option unless the person has an impairment or is in a situation where they cannot speak. Parts of the Panhandle could see this service being incorporated by the end of 2021. 

Worries have been voiced about the issues Lumen has had with outages, but the contract includes language holding the company accountable for those outages which only equate to 5 minutes of downtime a year.

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