STATE AUDITOR JANSSEN ANNOUNCES HE WILL NOT RUN FOR ANOTHER TERM, LT. GOVERNOR FOLEY TO SEEK OLD JOB

LINCOLN - Nebraska State Auditor Charlie Janssen announced Thursday that he won't seek reelection, and he endorsed his predecessor to the position, Lt. Gov. Mike Foley, who plans to run for his old office.

While Janssen is not running again or planning to in the immediate future, he does not plan to step away from politics as a whole. He said he will be more of a "free agent" in the immediate future and could potentially run for office in the future.

“I've been elected for 16 straight years, but I'm by no means saying I'm getting out of it,” said Janssen who served in the Legislature from 2009 to 2015. 

As auditor, Janssen was able to work with lawmakers from both parties which allowed the securing of funding for additional workers within his office. These workers tracked state government spending and investigated waste. Janssen also successfully lobbied for a policy that gave the auditor's office subpoena power, allowing for better access to financial information. He also hired a Democrat, former state Senator Russ Karpisek, as his top deputy. 

Both Republicans, Foley and Janssen, have held their current jobs since 2015. They also both ran for governor in the state's Republican primary where Janssen dropped out and Foley lost to Governor Pete Ricketts. Foley has previously held the title of auditor from 2007 to 2015 and served as a state senator from 2001 to 2007.

“I intend to ask the citizens of Nebraska to grant me an additional opportunity for public service,” Foley said.

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NEBRASKA'S SEN. FISCHER PART OF NEW BIPARTISAN EFFORT TO BOOST CASH SALES OF CATTLE

WASHINGTON D.C.- Sen. Deb Fischer and a bipartisan group of senators have come together on a plan intended to address the growing disparity between the price that ranchers are paid for their cattle and what consumers pay for beef.

The Nebraska Republican and the other lawmakers said that their compromise measure would require meatpackers to acquire more of their cattle through open bidding and also promote more transparency in the nation’s cattle markets.

Fischer said it’s important that everyone along the beef supply chain — cow-calf producers, feeders, packers, and consumers — be treated fairly. That starts with robust cash sales for cattle, she said.

“We are looking for ways that everyone can profit, and for consumers to be able to benefit from getting good beef,” Fischer said in an interview. “I’m hearing from people all over the country, not just Nebraska, on the importance of getting this done.”

While consumers are paying record prices for beef — and packers are often making record profits — farmers and ranchers have endured years of declining prices for their cattle. Many producers blame the market conditions on the extreme consolidation in the nation’s meatpacking industry.

Fischer, Grassley, and Democrats Ron Wyden of Oregon and Jon Tester of Montana announced they had reached an agreement on a “Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act.”

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OMAHA CITY COUNCIL APPROVES MORE THAN $340,000 TO ADDRESS HOMELESSNESS, RAPID REHOUSING

OMAHA- The Omaha City Council approved more than $340,000 in grants to address homelessness and rapid rehousing at a meeting earlier this week.

Four area agencies and shelters were allocated money by the city through a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant.

The Siena Francis House was awarded $167,487 to provide emergency shelter for about 3,500 people experiencing homelessness. The agency, at 17th and Nicholas Streets, is Nebraska’s largest provider of services to individuals experiencing homelessness.

Heartland Family Services was allocated $68,221 for the rapid rehousing of homeless individuals and families.

The nonprofit Together was given $63,221 to provide rapid rehousing.

And the Stephen Center, at 2723 Q St., received $45,000 to be used for emergency shelter.

In its annual count, the Metro Area Continuum of Care found that 1,405 people in Omaha and Council Bluffs were homeless on Jan. 22.

About 900 people are on a housing waitlist on any given day in Douglas, Sarpy, and Pottawattamie Counties, and of those 300 to 400 are chronically homeless, the Metro Area Continuum of Care estimates.

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NEBRASKA CORRECTIONS WORKERS GET HEFTY RAISES IN HOPES OF SOLVING STAFFING CRISIS

LINCOLN — The Ricketts administration announced generous raises for state corrections officers and other state security workers to address the growing staffing crisis at state prisons and institutions that house the mentally ill and developmentally disabled.

Assuming the union approves the agreement, starting wages for corrections corporals and prison caseworkers will rise from $20 an hour to $28 an hour. Sergeants will get a bump from $24 an hour to $32 an hour.

The deal, reached with the union that represents such security workers, also includes an increase in overtime pay, from 1½ times regular pay to 2 times. There also are new incentives for members of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 88 to recruit new employees and cut into the high turnover rates — which have exceeded 30% — in such positions.

“It’s a new day,” said Gary Young, a Lincoln attorney who is the chief negotiator for the FOP.

State Corrections Director Scott Frakes said in a statement that the agreement reflected the state’s efforts to attract and retain critically important employees.

“My staff works long hours with some of the most dangerous people alive, and they deserve to pay that recognizes how important their work is for public safety,” Frakes said.

After the increases, Young said, the starting pay for state corrections security staff will be higher than that paid at county jails, most local police departments, and the Nebraska State Patrol. The FOP has long complained that the state loses too many employees to jails in Douglas, Sarpy, and Lancaster Counties with better pay.

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NEBRASKA FILES LAWSUIT TO STOP COVID VACCINE MANDATE FOR HEALTH CARE WORKERS

NEBRASKA- Attorney General Doug Peterson filed a multistate lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement for health care facilities that receive Medicaid or Medicare funding.

“The lawsuit asserts that state health officials and local hospital administrators are in the best position to address appropriate COVID-19 issues in Nebraska health care facilities,” a statement from Peterson’s office reads. “We hope to avoid the detrimental impact that the mandate threatens to healthcare services in Nebraska.”

More than 90% of employees at eight Omaha and Lincoln health systems that already have required their workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 have gotten their shots.

The health systems’ chief medical officers jointly announced that they would require vaccination in early August, well ahead of the mandate for health care facilities that receive Medicare and Medicaid dollars. All eight health systems have granted exemptions to a small percentage of their employees on medical or religious grounds.

Among many arguments in the 58-page filing, the states allege that the mandate puts health care workers’ jobs at risk and threatens to exacerbate a worker shortage that’s especially worrisome in rural areas.

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LINCOLN DIOCESE DECLARES FASTING DAY AFTER SEX ABUSE REPORT

LINCOLN- The Catholic Diocese in Lincoln has declared a day of fasting for its priests in response to a report that identified hundreds of cases of church sex abuse in Nebraska going back decades.

A message sent to Lincoln-area parishioners said Bishop James Conley proclaimed Friday, November 12th as a day of fasting and abstinence “in reparation for offenses” highlighted in the report by the Nebraska Attorney General's Office.

The message said priests were also to offer “three Masses for the healing of victims." It said fasting allows for one meal and two smaller snacks, and abstention from all meat.

Attorney General Doug Peterson released the report last week, expressing frustration that no accused offenders in the church would face charges because the statute of limitations has passed in the vast majority of cases. In some cases, accused priests have died or their whereabouts are unknown, and in one case, an accuser declined to participate in a prosecution.

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REP. DON BACON DEFENDS INFRASTRUCTURE VOTE AGAINST CRITICS WITHIN GOP

LINCOLN — GOP Congressman Don Bacon has come out swinging against Republicans who labeled him a “traitor” for voting in favor of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill.

“The Republicans have always been the party of infrastructure,” he said in a Facebook post. “Abraham Lincoln brought the transcontinental railroad and waterways ... Eisenhower put in the interstate system. Our district needed this bill and I did what was right for my constituents.”

In a second post, he added, “This is NOT the Bernie Sanders Socialist Reconciliation Bill that we’re going to be voting on in two weeks. I will be a hard NO.”

The measure passed on a 228-206 vote and headed to President Joe Biden for his signature. It passed the U.S. Senate in August on a 69-30 vote. Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska and 18 other Republicans voted in support of the bill.

The legislation boosts funding for roads, bridges, broadband, water systems, and other traditional infrastructure projects, which typically generate broad support. But the bill’s passage also gave Biden, a Democrat, a hard-fought win, even as he continues pushing for a larger package of social spending and climate programs.

Republicans immediately focused their ire on the 13 in the House, blaming them for allowing the infrastructure bill to pass after some of the most left-leaning Democrats voted no.

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NEBRASKA AG: DOCS PRESCRIBING IVERMECTIN, HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE WILL NOT FACE DISCIPLINE

LINCOLN - Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson has issued an opinion saying that doctors won't be disciplined for prescribing unproven or controversial treatments for COVID-19, as long as they have the informed consent of patients.

Peterson's opinion will likely cover other potential "off-label" treatments for COVID-19 as well.

Not only did the opinion say there would not be disciple for prescribing unproven or controversial treatments, but it actively defended doctors and health professionals freedom to prescribe such drugs. "Allowing physicians to consider these early treatments will free them to evaluate additional tools that could save lives, keep patients out of the hospital and provide relief for our already strained health care system."

The opinion's 48 pages included mentions of the controversy surrounding these alternative treatments. Specifically, it cites an article form a British medical journal which claimed there was no benefit from hydroxychloroquine. This was later retracted due to alleged fraud committed by the main authors of the article.

"We find that the available data does not justify filing disciplinary actions against physicians simply because they prescribe ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine to prevent or treat COVID-19" due to conflicting data on treatments, the opinion stated.

In her letter requesting an attorney general's opinion, Health and Human Services CEO, Dannette Smith, said "it may become difficult to discern the quality or validity of the information." While the state Board of Health can recommend disciple of a physician or other health professional in Nebraska, the Attorney General has the final say in the matter.

Many are uncertain as to why Smith requested the attorney general's opinion given that it does not appear either of the drugs are in wide use in Nebraska.

Dr. Les Spry, a Lincoln kidney specialist who is on the Lancaster County Medical Society board, said he has heard of local doctors prescribing one or both drugs to patients, but also said he was not aware of any formal complaints against the doctors who have done so.

LARGE RESERVOIR BETWEEN OMAHA AND LINCOLN EYED FOR POSSIBLE PANDEMIC FUNDING

LINCOLN - A large reservoir between Omaha and Lincoln funded by federal coronavirus recovery assistance is on the table for possible consideration.

The potential project could benefit recreation, tourism, flood control, economic development and water sustainability. Other potential projects, including Lake McConaughy, Niobrara State Park, and Lewis and Clark Lake, are on the legislative study committee's project list as well.

"It's a concept now, not a proposal," Speaker of the Legislature Mike Hilgers of Lincoln, chairman of the Statewide Tourism and Recreational Water Access and Resources Sustainability, or STAR WARS, Committee, emphasized during an interview in his Capitol office.

Hilgers also noted that Governor Pete Ricketts has been kept closely informed on the developing concept.

However, many questions regarding the impact of the reservoir have yet to be answered. The potential impact on water supply or the environment could prevent a great idea from coming to fruition, said Hilgers.

Multiple proposals have been made for a lake between Lincoln and Omaha in the past 50 years. Multiple of these would have done so by constructing a dam on the Platte River and rivers nearby, which would have resulted in flooding Ashland.

This time is different. "Absolutely no impact on Ashland or other areas that are being developed around Ashland," he said. "No flooding and no dams."

The committee would ideally meet again before November's end and have a finished proposal by mid-December before the 2022 Legislature convenes, but Hilgers recognizes that "it could take longer."

$1 billion of federal pandemic recovery funding, accompanied by Governor Ricketts and senators finishing out their terms, is a recipe for action within the state, says Hilgers.

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MORE PEOPLE APPLYING TO WORK FOR HHS AFTER BONUSES AND RAISES, STATE SAYS

LINCOLN- More people have been applying for nursing jobs at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, the CEO said, but still not as many as she would like.

Among the 17 goals in the department’s business plan for the fiscal year 2022 — July 2021 through June 2022 — is recruitment and retention in positions with high turnover rates. CEO Dannette Smith said many of those targeted positions are in benefit support areas, child welfare areas, and 24-hour facilities. She and Gov. Pete Ricketts unveiled the business plan at a press conference early this week.

Employees in some health care and food service positions at 24-hour facilities in HHS were slated to receive retention and sign-on bonuses as part of a state incentive program Ricketts announced in July.

Last month, Ricketts announced a tentative labor agreement with the Nebraska Association of Public Employees that includes pay raises for employees in 24-hour facilities. The Governor’s Office said that deal, when finalized, will result in over 7,500 employees receiving $47 million in new compensation. Within HHS, the tentative deal includes some employees in the Divisions of Children and Family Services, Behavioral Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Public Health, according to spokeswoman Khalilah LeGrand.

Smith said that the department is starting to see nursing applications roll in and that more people are interviewing for jobs in youth programs and child welfare programs.

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RAISE THE WAGE IS CIRCULATING PETITION TO INCREASE MINIMUM PAY IN NEBRASKA TO $15 PER HOUR

LINCOLN - Supporters of a petition drive to raise the minimum wage in the state to $15 say the effort would improve lives and boost economic security for Nebraskans.

The group Raise the Wage Nebraska began collecting signatures to put the wage increase in front of voters come November 2022.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, roughly 195,000 Nebraskans would benefit from the increase.

Omaha Senator Terrell McKinney said the pandemic has highlighted than many Nebraskans "are not paid adequately." He went on to say "We rave about a low unemployment rate, but forget that many people are working multiple jobs and not being paid very much."

Many of the workers deemed "essential" during the COVID-19 pandemic are those who could most benefit from the increase, said McKinney.

Raise the Wage Nebraska, consisting of ACLU Nebraska, Nebraska Appleseed, the Nebraska State AFL-CIO and the NAACP Lincoln Branch, has already collected a few thousand of the 87,000 signatures needed by July 2022.

If the petition were to receive the signatures needed and succeeded in November 2022, wages would increase $1.50 annually upon reaching $15 in 2026.

Bryan Slone, president of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, noted that employers have already increased many starting hourly wages in response to the lack of workers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially making the initiative a moot point. Other opposition stems from those defending small-businesses who have already had trouble filling open positions.

Governor Pete Ricketts has defended small-businesses as well, saying "The $15-per-hour campaign benefits big businesses at the expense of Main Street job creators."

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NEBRASKA WILL RELEASE MORE COVID DATA AS HOSPITALIZATIONS RISE, RICKETTS SAYS

LINCOLN- Nebraska will immediately return to daily releases of more extensive COVID-19 data as hospitalizations have crossed a key threshold, according to Gov. Pete Ricketts.

The state averaged 400 people hospitalized with COVID last week, up from 386 the week before, according to a World-Herald analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. That is at or close to 10% of the state’s staffed beds — a number the state has used as a trigger for how much data it releases on its public dashboard and how often.

The dashboard had been scaled down for the last 2½ weeks. The pared-down version has been updated weekly rather than daily and has not included county-specific or demographic data.

At a press conference, Ricketts looked to Dr. Gary Anthone, the state director of public health, who confirmed that Nebraska would return to daily data releases effective November 8th.

Ricketts said the state was not, however, planning to reinstate the pause on elective surgeries.

“We think the hospitals have been able to manage it, with regard to their personnel and so forth,” he said. “So, we’re not planning on doing that. But we will be going back to … updating the dashboard daily.”

The dashboard will include the same data on COVID-19 as was included before the latest scaling back, he said, plus data related to flu and RSV in the state.

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ELKHORN SCHOOL BOARD OKs BUYING LAND FOR A POSSIBLE NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

ELKHORN- The Elkhorn Public Schools board has approved an agreement for the district to buy land for more than $900,000 for a possible future elementary school.

With the board's OK, Superintendent Bary Habrock has the authority to move forward with closing the sale and finalizing the purchase.

The land is west of Nebraska Highway 31 between Fort and Ida Streets, according to Kara Perchal, a district spokeswoman. The agreement approved by the board is for 13.9 acres at a cost of $65,000 per acre.

Perchal said the money to build the elementary school on the land would be part of a bond issue that will happen in 2022.

In the 2020-2021 school year, Elkhorn Public Schools had 10,642 students, according to information from the Nebraska Department of Education. The district already has 12 elementary schools.

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CUBS CO-OWNER TODD RICKETTS STEPS DOWN AS FINANCE CHAIR OF THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE

CHICAGO- Chicago Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts has stepped down after nearly four years as the finance chair of the Republican National Committee.

Ricketts, who also was finance chair of former President Donald Trump’s reelection committee, was replaced by Trump’s ambassador to Spain, Richard “Duke” Buchan III, at a meeting of RNC members.

Ricketts, who lives in Wilmette, Illinois, and is part of his family’s ownership of the Cubs, said he was “privileged” to serve as national finance chair and having been entrusted “to advance our party’s values and promote our pro-growth, conservative agenda.”

“I’m excited by all the Republican candidates we helped elect during my tenure as well as the investments we made and the infrastructure we developed as a party,” Ricketts said in a statement. “I’m confident the RNC will continue to be an outstanding organization to serve Republicans across the country and I look forward to continuing to help the cause.”

Ricketts took on the party finance role after withdrawing as a potential deputy commerce secretary in the Trump administration because he was unable to unwind his family’s complex finances enough to satisfy the federal Office of Government Ethics.

In February, Ricketts was reappointed to the party post he held since January 2018. He has often been mentioned as a potential GOP candidate for office in Illinois, though he has previously denied any interest in that.

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NEBRASKA RECORDS SECOND WEEK OF INCREASING COVID CASES

NEBRASKA- Nebraska recorded the nation’s fifth-highest percentage increase in COVID-19 cases last week, part of a surge of infections occurring in the upper Great Plains.

For this week, the state recorded 5,104 new cases, up from 4,177 the previous week, according to a World-Herald analysis of federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

That tally marked the second straight week of increased cases for the state, following weeks of flat and slightly falling cases.

Also last week, families began lining up for the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, days after it cleared the last federal regulatory hurdle for emergency use.

Adding the nation’s 28 million children — including 186,000 in Nebraska — to the list of those eligible to get the shots has been hailed by medical experts as another way of slowing the pandemic.

Nebraska’s case growth over the past week and the past two weeks both rank fifth-highest in the country. Minnesota ranks second for both of those time periods; Iowa is 10th. All of the states in the upper Great Plains, including the Dakotas, now rank in the top 20 nationally in weekly per-capita cases. Per-capita cases in Nebraska are running about 65% higher than the U.S. average.

Nationally, cases were up 5% last week — the first weekly increase in the United States after two months of falling cases. Increases in the upper Great Plains and some Western states, including Colorado, California, and New Mexico, appear to be offsetting ongoing declines in some Southern states hit hard by the delta variant over the summer.

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'TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY' IN NEBRASKA: NEXT YEAR SERIOUS POLICE MISCONDUCT WILL BE PUBLIC

OMAHA - Next year, Nebraskans will be able to find a list of some trouble officers online.

Governor Pete Ricketts signed Legislative Bill 51 this spring that includes several police reform measures; one of which is a requirement for a public list of officers who have been decertified, have a serious misconduct on their record, or were found guilty of a felony or Class I misdemeanor.

The list will include the officer's name, rank, agency, reason for being on the list, how they were disciplined, and a signature from the chief of police or sheriff that affirms the accuracy.

Currently, if one were to request misconduct records from Omaha Police, they would be denied due to exemptions in public records law. Exemptions in public records law allow the Omaha Police to deny the request, but their contract with the police union forbids it unless the officer specifically allows it or it is appealed beyond Human Resources.

State Senator Terrell McKinney of Omaha said, "Police misconduct shouldn't be a secret."

The serious misconduct that must be listed are actions that "have a rational connection to the person's fitness or capacity to serve." Specifically, fabrication of evidence, repeated excessive force, bribery, fraud, perjury, and sexual assault.

Police agencies did not have to report serious misconduct to a state agency up until recently.

Incidents having taken place after January 1 of this year will be included and must be online before July 1, 2022.

"It's important for the public to know who the good and bad officers are in the community, to create a level of transparency and accountability," McKinney said.

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NEBRASKA SENATORS COME UP SHORT IN CALL FOR SPECIAL SESSION TO BAN VACCINE MANDATES

LINCOLN- Nebraska legislators aren’t headed back to Lincoln to consider a prohibition on vaccine mandates — at least not yet.

An effort to convene the Legislature for a special session failed to garner enough support from state senators to move forward.

State Sens. Ben Hansen of Blair and Rob Clements of Elmwood led the push. They delivered a letter, signed by 26 state senators, to the Secretary of State’s Office on Oct. 19.

The letter requested a session to consider “legislation to prohibit employers from mandating COVID-19 vaccines,” according to a press release from Hansen’s office, as well as legislation to bar government or educational entities from mandating the vaccines “as a condition of receiving services.”

At least 33 (two-thirds) of the state’s 49 senators have to join the call to trigger a special session under state law — that’s also the number of senators needed to overcome a filibuster by opponents.

Secretary of State Bob Evnen notified the senators who hadn’t signed the letter and two additional senators ultimately did sign on, according to the Secretary of State’s Office: Sens. Rich Pahls of Omaha and Matt Williams of Gothenburg. The deadline was Novemebr 1st.

The effort fell five senators short.

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NAVY VETERAN SEEKING SARPY COUNTY SEAT IN NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE

LINCOLN - A 28-year Navy veteran and retired aerospace executive has jumped into the race for a legislative seat newly added to Sarpy County.

Rick Holdcroft announced his campaign for the District 36 seat. The district encompasses the rural southern and western parts of Sarpy County, including Gretna and Springfield, and a small section of Millard.

The district was moved from central Nebraska to the metro area this year to accommodate the rapid population growth. It is currently represented by State Senator Matt Williams of Gothenburg, who is term-limited.

Holdcroft is a registered Republican who has backing from Governor Pete Ricketts and several sitting senators. Holdcroft plans to focus on gun rights, quality education, health care, lowering taxes on retirees, homeowners, and small businesses, as well as opposing abortion.

During his 28 years in the Navy, Holdcroft was assigned to U.S. Strategic Command as well as the command of Spruance-class destroyer. He then went on to become an aerospace executive after retiring from the military. Since then, he has been named the 2019 Knight of the Year for the Nebraska Knights of Columbus and received the 2019 Distinguished Service Award from the University of Nebraska Alumni Association.

This is not Holdcroft's first campaign; he ran an unsuccessful campaign against State Senator Carol Blood of Bellevue two years ago. So far, his only competition for the District 26 seat is Democrat Angie Lauritsen, a former Gretna City Council member, and small-business owner.

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ROSY REVENUE FORECAST BRINGS CALLS FOR TAX RELIEF, NEW PRISON IN NEBRASKA

LINCOLN - Nebraska policymakers got sunny news from the state’s economic forecasting board — $902 million worth of sunny news, to be exact.

That’s how much the board raised its projections of state tax revenues for the two-year budget period that ends June 30, 2023.

The new projected increase means that $313 million will be available for spending or tax cuts in the second year of the budget period, as opposed to the previously predicted shortcoming. The increase is also significant because $475 million will be put towards the state's rainy day fund, making the projected total $1.47 billion, a record-high.

Governor Ricketts commented on the new projection, saying "Nebraska's big economic momentum continues to translate into stronger and stronger tax receipts. Today's news means that there is even more room to work on tax relief and important projects, including replacing the aging Nebraska State Penitentiary."

The Nebraska State Penitentiary referenced is a 1,512 bed facility that Ricketts has been pushing for. In 2020, it was estimated to cost $230 million. Lawmakers approved nearly $15 million to design the facility but made no commitments to building the prison.

State Senator Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, chair of the Legislature's Revenue Committee, said “Now we are in a position to make our income taxes more competitive with neighboring states while we continue to provide significant property tax relief to all Nebraskans. We are in a fortunate fiscal position compared to most states. We need to continue to reduce the tax burden on Nebraska’s taxpayers.”

If tax revenues match the latest predictions, school property taxes could be offset by a state program that offers income tax credits. Legislative Bill 1107 established that $548 million would be set aside for credits in 2022 and 2023. In the program's first year, $125 million was set aside and future amounts are based on the growth of state tax revenue.

Despite the optimistic projections, OpenSky Policy Institute Executive Director, Renee Fry, urged lawmakers to proceed with caution. “While today’s increased revenue forecast is encouraging, the fact is federal dollars are propping up our economy considerably,” Fry said. “Eventually those funds will stop flowing and our economy will have to stand on its own. For this reason, we urge caution because enacting ongoing tax or spending proposals will force tough choices in the future when revenues fail to keep up with our state’s obligations.”

Senator John Stinner echoed Fry's comments, saying "We have to make sure we don't make long-term decisions with short-term increases in tax revenue."

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REPRESENTATIVE JEFF FORTENBERRY BARRED FROM HANDLING EVIDENCE IN WORKING ON HIS DEFENSE

LINCOLN - A federal judge has signed a pretrial order barring U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry from possessing or being left alone with evidence gathered by confidential informants in a case alleging the congressman lied to the FBI during an investigation into illegal campaign contributions.

While Fortenberry’s defense attorney said that such a protection order is “not an unusual step at all” in cases involving confidential informants, a Lincoln trial attorney — who is also a former state Democratic Party chair — said it didn’t look good in a case involving an elected official.

Vince Powers practices in federal courts in Nebraska and said that he has only seen one other protection order of its kind approved which was in the case of a drug dealer and fear of harm to a witness. Powers went on to say "It’s not a good sign when a judge doesn’t trust a United States congressman to follow the rules."

John Littrell, Fortenberry's defense attorney, disputed Powers' claim, saying that such motions are not "at all" unusual in California. “The prosecution proposes an order like this in any case involving the use of confidential informants,” Littrell said. “The protective order does not limit the Congressman’s access to information, and it will not inhibit our ability to defend this case.”

The order states that Fortenberry can only view evidence and statements in the presence of his defense attorneys. He is also barred from taking any of the materials with him, memorizing, or writing down any of the information.

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