SCHOOLS OPPOSE BILL REQUIRING NEBRASKA VOTERS TO APPROVE SPENDING FUNDS FOR MAINTENANCE PROJECTS

LINCOLN- A bill that would require school districts to seek voter approval before spending more than $250,000 from the special building fund,LB1063 introduced by Sen. Steve Halloran, received wide opposition from education leaders during a hearing on Tuesday. Halloran argued that the bill would promote accountability, transparency, and "appropriate use of the special building fund," which he said has been abused by some school districts.

"I think it's necessary to have a bill acknowledging the fact that we shouldn't be using the special building fund without, at some level, approval of the voters," Halloran said. Despite this, school board members and administrators from across the state said the measure would hamper local control and potentially increase costs for taxpayers.

Scott Wieskamp, director of operations for Lincoln Public Schools, said the district would need to seek voter approval to complete even routine annual maintenance work on its 81 facilities if the bill passed. Ashland-Greenwood Public Schools board member Suzanna Sapp said voters have already empowered their local school boards to make tough decisions on how best to spend resources in the district's best interests.

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POVERTY ELIMINATION IS GOAL OF PROPOSAL AIRED BEFORE NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE

LINCOLN- The Poverty Elimination Act, introduced to the Nebraska Legislature by Sen. Terrell McKinney through LB840, aims to urge cities in the state to create a five-year anti-poverty plan. The bill received resounding support from the body during a legislative hearing on Tuesday, but a few opponents worried such an undertaking would be too expensive for smaller towns.

The North Omaha lawmaker, in testimony to the Legislature's Urban Affairs Committee, said he grew up poor. "It wasn't easy," he told committee members. But, McKinney said he hoped a mandate such as LB840 would help to establish a more concerted, purposeful strategy to spare thousands of Nebraska youth from a similar economic journey.

Lynn Rex, executive director of the League of Nebraska Municipalities who was among the opponents of the bill, said her objection was not a sign that poverty elimination was not important. Rather, Rex argued that such poverty elimination endeavors would require a consultant and adequate staffing, which might prove a financial struggle for smaller cities and towns.

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BILL TO HELP ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN SMALLER CITIES ADVANCES, DESPITE QUESTION ABOUT FUNDING

LINCOLN- An amended form of last year's LB600, an economic development bill designed to help cities such as Grand Island and Ralston, moved forward on Tuesday despite concerns over the bill's $10 million fiscal impact. The measure was touted as a way to help Grand Island extend sewer and water infrastructure to the site of the former Cornhusker Ammunition Plant, thereby making the area more attractive to new businesses.

If passed, LB600 would allow communities with less than 100,000 inhabitants to obtain state grants of up to $5 million for infrastructure projects. However, communities must first demonstrate to the state the benefits of the proposed projects and provide a 25% financial match. While state lawmakers voted 41-0 to advance the bill, Sen. Rob Clements questions whether the initial $10 million in state funding for grants would even be available.

"Today, I'm not in support of that funding," Clements said during debate, "We'll see how we are in budgeting close to the end of the session." LB600, introduced by Sen. Loren Lippincott, would transfer the $10 million out of the state's cash reserve fund and into a "municipality infrastructure fund" administered by the Department of Economic Development.

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NEW SENATOR TRIES AGAIN TO MAKE TEXTING WHILE DRIVING A PRIMARY OFFENSE

LINCOLN- A record-high 19 Nebraskans lost their lives in distracted driving crashes in 2020, and a state legislative committee was urged on Tuesday to do something about it. However, based on the response from members of the Legislature's Transportation and Telecommunications Committee, one step to do that, making texting while driving a primary offense, faces a tough road, as in past years.

"Where do you draw the line?," asked Sen. Mike Moser, who chairs the committee. What would a law enforcement officer have to witness, how could you prove someone was texting, and why not go after other forms of distraction were among the questions aired at the hearing. These questions have helped to derail several past legislative attempts to make texting while driving a primary offense.

Currently, texting while driving in Nebraska is a secondary offense, for which a driver can be ticketed only if stopped for another infraction or involved in an accident. To change this, Sen. Loren Lippincott introduced LB1033, stating to the committee that Nebraska ought to join the growing number of states that are cracking down on cell phone use.

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NEBRASKA TO MOVE FORWARD WITH CONTROVERSIAL DRAFT REGULATIONS FOR YOUTH GENDER CARE

LINCOLN- DHHS will move forward with controversial proposed regulations to govern access to gender-affirming care for the state’s transgender youth, marking a blow to advocates who had sought changes to the regulations they say create a burden on trans youths and their families. The restrictions will now be sent to the Attorney General’s Office for review.

An HHS spokesman confirmed later Monday that Nebraska’s chief medical officer opted not to make substantial changes to the regulations he drafted in October, which faced backlash at a 12-hour public hearing in November. Crafted by Dr. Timothy Tesmer, the restrictions require that patients under 19 undergo at least 40 hours of therapy and wait another seven days after having their prescription approved before receiving any puberty-blocking or hormone medication.

“I can’t imagine having sat and listened to what was shared at that hearing and not make changes,” Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha said. “And maybe that’s part of the problem — that Dr. Tesmer wasn’t there in person. But there are some very serious flaws with the regulations that have been put forward.” The permanent regulations will remain in effect until March 29.

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NEBRASKA BILL TO REMOVE BARRIERS TO WORKFORCE LICENSES ADVANCES IN LEGISLATURE

LINCOLN- A bill that would remove existing barriers to occupational licensure has made it through the first round of debate in the Nebraska Legislature. Lawmakers advanced Legislative Bill 16 in a 41-1 vote Monday. The bill includes multiple proposals to ease regulations on obtaining individual work licenses in Nebraska in an attempt to help the state’s ongoing labor shortage.

“This is about removing needless red tape,” said State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln. LB16 was originally introduced last year by former Sen. Tom Briese, who has since resigned from the Legislature to take up the post of state treasurer. Conrad, who was a co-sponsor of the bill last year, took ownership of the bill in Briese’s absence and made it her priority bill for this session.

Among other things, LB 16 would make it easier for the state’s licensing boards to issue licenses to experienced workers outside Nebraska and would clarify what criminal offenses would exclude someone from getting a license. Officials said the bill would pave the way for skilled workers entering Nebraska, therefore aiding the state’s economy.

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NEBRASKA LAWMAKERS ADVANCE PROPOSAL TO CONSIDER WHETHER BIDS ARE 'RESPONSIBLE' AND 'REASONABLE'

LINCOLN- State lawmakers quickly advanced a bill Monday designed to avoid future multimillion-dollar mistakes in awarding state contracts. The proposal grew out of the failed contract with Saint Francis Ministries, which underbid its lone competitor by 40% in 2019 to obtain the contract to handle child welfare services in eastern Nebraska. Eventually, the contract was cancelled amid financial mismanagement and under-performance by Saint Francis.

State Sen. John Arch of La Vista, the speaker of the Legislature, said his LB461 would allow the state to discern whether a bid is “reasonable” and “responsible” and not just the lowest bid. The bill advanced Monday from first-round debate on a 45-0 vote.

The experience with Saint Francis, Arch said, illustrated “a huge red flag” in the state contract procurement process, as did some other contracts that experienced cost overruns and failure to deliver services.

Arch said that the state’s procurement statutes hadn’t been updated in 20 years and have placed too much emphasis on accepting the lowest bid. “This was a terrible, terrible, terrible lesson learned ,” said Fremont Sen. Lynne Walz of the Saint Francis contract. LB 461, Arch said, allows the state to reject a bid if it is deemed not reasonable or realistic.

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NEBRASKA STATE SEN. CAROL BLOOD POISED TO RUN AGAINST REP. MIKE FLOOD FOR CONGRESS

BELLEVUE- Two years after running for Nebraska governor and securing 36% of the statewide vote as a Democrat, State Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue appears poised to run for Congress. Blood, who represents a Republican-leaning slice of Sarpy County in the Legislature, tipped her hand in recent social media posts encouraging people to attend an announcement this weekend.

An Instagram account called Carol Blood for Congress shared a campaign poster from 1st District U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb. The “F” in Flood is marked out and replaced with a “B.” Scrawled above it is a simple message: “Fixed it!” “In case you haven’t heard, we are going to rock this campaign,” the post says. It invites people to her kickoff at the electrical workers’ union hall in Lincoln at 1 p.m. Saturday.

A campaign website at www.carolbloodforcongress.com also briefly went live, including a not-yet-activated link to raise funds against a congressional incumbent. Political observers say Blood could make Flood work in the GOP-leaning 1st District, which includes Lincoln, Norfolk (Flood’s hometown) and Bellevue, but they consider him the favorite.

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'APPRENTICESHIP GRANT ACT' AIMS TO RAISE NEBRASKANS OUT OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE

LINCOLN- A workforce development proposal that would direct an annual $4 million in state funds to a new apprenticeship initiative received mostly positive feedback during a Monday legislative hearing. State Sen. Teresa Ibach of Sumner introduced Legislative Bill 993 to create the Apprenticeship Grant Act.

Under the program, a business would apply to the Department of Economic Development for reimbursement of wages or tuition for apprentices, who also must be in a public assistance program such as SNAP Next. Ibach said the participating business, in turn, is to have a full-time job waiting for the apprentice that offers wages high enough to reduce the worker’s reliance on government economic aid.

Grants are limited to $37,000 per apprentice and 100 apprentices per business. The business must certify that the apprenticeship is part of a registered program. The initiative is modeled after the Ignite Nebraska program launched at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska in 2022. A few who spoke during the legislative hearing before the Business and Labor Committee suggested tweaks to the bill, including raising the state’s annual contribution and providing more flexibility in the post-training hiring process.

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LAWMAKER PROPOSES BILL THAT WOULD AVOID SKYROCKETING VALUES FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS

LINCOLN- Proponents of a bill that tweaks how county assessors value certain affordable housing projects say it addresses problems that resulted in skyrocketing values for some Lancaster County properties last year. But the bill (LB1217) doesn’t appear to directly address constitutional issues raised in an appeal now before the Nebraska Supreme Court, though that issue could be moot.

Earlier this month, the Nebraska attorney general’s office filed a brief in the case, arguing that the existing law is constitutional, and it appears, at least at this point, that the high court doesn’t plan to hear the constitutional issues. The current approach alarmed affordable housing advocates and others who say the lack of affordable housing makes such housing a priority.

Lancaster County Commissioner Sean Flowerday, who works for Lincoln Sen. Eliot Bostar and was part of a group looking for a legislative fix, said the bill adds a provision requiring assessors to use a three-year rolling average of income and expenses. “I believe this will solve the problem of zero values, and that’s really the crux of the issue,” Flowerday said. “That’s the thing no one can live with.”

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OMAHA'S EPPLEY AIRFIELD TO GET $950 MILLION MAKEOVER BY 2028

OMAHA- Roomier boarding gates. Larger baggage claim. One unified passenger concourse. More restaurants and shops. A giant glass-domed entrance. All that is in the works at Eppley Airfield as part of the airport’s $950 million terminal modernization program, announced by the Omaha Airport Authority. The expansion will add 646,000 square feet.

“We are transforming Eppley Airfield,” said Dave Roth, the airport authority’s chief executive officer. “I don’t think there’s a square foot (of the terminal) we aren’t touching.” Work will start within a few weeks and be completed in 2028, although travelers will use some parts of the new terminal well before that. The expansion comes as the yearly traffic continuously increases.

But the transformation won’t be cheap. The cost has risen sharply from the last published estimate of $600 million, in 2022. Roth said the earlier estimate actually dates to 2013 and the current price tag reflects inflation that has affected the building industry since then, including post-pandemic construction and labor costs.

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$90M BUSINESS PARK GRANT AND MORE DISCUSSED AT OMAHA FORUM ORGANIZED BY NEBRASKA AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMISSION

OMAHA- A North Omaha community forum that drew three elected officials and around 25 people touched upon an array of topics on Saturday and dug further into discussions surrounding a $90 million state grant for an airport area business park. The event, which was organized by the Nebraska Commission on African American Affairs, was held in part to hear how the state's Black community can work together to have more influence on high-dollar projects.

Some on the commission were concerned because elected leaders of North Omaha, Sens. Justin Wayne and Terrell McKinney, were not invited to be part of a dignitary lineup on January 10th that announced the recipients of nearly $125 million in public funding going towards North Omaha. Both senators, as well as Omaha City Councilwoman Juanita Johnson, were in attendance at Saturday's event.

"The community is last to the table," said Sen. McKinney, who also questioned why officials did not engage with members of the community during the planning and funding allocation process. Michael Maroney of the Omaha Economic Development Corp., which is helping to lead the development of a proposed business park in North Omaha, said that the development team did not want to reach out to members of the community to create "undue expectations" and "fear" before funding had been awarded.

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DAN FREI MAKES IT OFFICIAL, FILES TO CHALLENGE REP. DON BACON IN 2ND DISTRICT

OMAHA- Former Tea Party member Dan Frei filed last week to challenge U.S. Rep. Don Bacon in the 2024 GOP primary in the state's 2nd Congressional District. Frei has no immediate comment upon filing the challenge, but Frei had previously expressed interest in ousting Bacon from the seat.

Some leaders in the Nebraska GOP have stated that they prefer candidates who express more loyalty to former President Donald Trump than Bacon does. Although Bacon backed Trump in 2016 and 2020, he has since stated that he will not support the former president in 2024. Frei previously lost a narrow GOP primary bid in 2014 against then-Rep. Lee Terry.

Frei said that he was frustrated by a lack of progress by Congress on national debt, border enforcement, and the repeated use of short-term funding measures. He described himself as a fiscal and social conservative. Rep. Adrian Smith, who represents the state's 3rd District, also picked up a contender last week after John Walz of Hastings, an engineer who has worked in the biofuels industry, filed to run.

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GRETNA VOTERS TO HAVE MAJOR SAY IN EXPANSION OF NEBRASKA CROSSING MALL

OMAHA- Voters in Gretna will have a major say in whether a $3.2 billion proposal moves forward to expand Nebraska Crossing into a major destination for shoppers, businesses, and tourists. That's according to legislative bill 1374, which requires local voter approval to allow sales tax generated by the mall to be used for bond financing of the expansion.

The proposed expansion, which would come in tandem with the area being designated a "Good Life" District, would be major according to graphics released earlier this month. "This would be a huge economic boom to Sapry County and Gretna in particular," said Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, who introduced the bill.

The introduction of LB1374 comes just a year after lawmakers approved a measure that allowed for the creation of these "Good Life" Districts, in which half of the 5.5-cent state sales tax revenue generated by shopping there could be used for the cost of development and expansion. However, backers of LB1374 argue that last year's bill fell short with regard to the level of local government involvement, prompting Sen. Linehan to seek local voter approval.

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NEW 7,000-SEAT UNION OMAHA DOWNTOWN SOCCER STADIUM TO ANCHOR $300 MILLION ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT

OMAHA- A new 7,000-seat Union Omaha soccer stadium is the centerpiece of a planned $300 million housing and entertainment district was announced for the downtown riverfront area in Omaha. The outdoor stadium is to be home to the state’s first and only professional soccer club, which has been sharing Sarpy County’s Werner Park with a minor league baseball team.

Poised to take shape southeast of Abbott and Riverfront Drives, the new development would be near two other major entertainment and sports facilities: the CHI Health Center arena and convention center and Charles Schwab Field, home of the College World Series.

The project also is to give rise to a future women’s soccer team that will call the stadium home. A youth training academy also is planned.

If all goes as planned, ground would be broken this fall, and the stadium would open to the public in spring 2026. The stadium is to span about half of the 18-acre district. Restaurants, bars, shops, a 140-room hotel and more than 300 residences set to rise on the broader site are expected to enhance the draw for local and regional crowds.

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SUPPORT OUR SCHOOLS LETTER SAYS ITS BALLOT MEASURE IS LEGAL, SHOULD BE PLACED BEFORE VOTERS

LINCOLN- Nebraska advocates for public schools defended the legality of their ballot initiative, answering a push seeking the measure’s removal by State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Omaha, author of the state’s new Opportunity Scholarship Act. Support Our Schools Nebraska wrote to Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen this week, saying his office, as required by law, has already approved the legality of letting voters decide the future of a state tax credit for donors funding scholarships for students in need attending private K-12 schools.

“Consistent with this requirement, you have determined that ‘the constitutional requirements have been met to place the referendum on the November 2024 ballot,” the group wrote. Support Our Schools responding to Linehan’s Jan. 9 letter to Evnen. She argued that the approved ballot measure violated the Nebraska Constitution’s powers granted expressly or solely to the Legislature to set and raise revenues.

Lawyers for school choice advocates argued that a referendum could not repeal a revenue law already in place. The Linehan letter cited Article VIII, Section 1 of the Nebraska Constitution, which says the “necessary revenue of the state and its governmental subdivisions shall be raised by taxation in such manner as the Legislature may direct.”

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CHIEF JUSTICE CALLS FOR MORE PROBLEM-SOLVING COURTS AND JUVENILE DETENTION CENTERS, IMPROVED CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

LINCOLN- The chief justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court used an annual speech to highlight a shortage of problem-solving courts and juvenile detention centers, and an outdated case management system “held together with baling wire and bubble gum.” Chief Justice Mike Heavican, in his annual “State of the Judiciary” address, said that despite an increase in drug courts and other problem-solving courts, a survey indicated that only 5% of eligible accused offenders are being served.

Nebraska now has 33 problem-solving courts in every judicial district in the state, which served almost 1,600 individuals during the last fiscal year. Participation has expanded 27% since 2020, but the judge says the state could do more for what is a “viable” and lower-cost alternative to incarceration.

Another issue, he said, is an outdated, in-house-produced judicial case management system that was launched in 1993 using COBAL programming code and an AS400 operating system. He added that it’s also a cybersecurity issue. Last year in Kansas, a foreign cyberattack shut down the state’s electronic management system for months, requiring a return to paper filing for a time and costing millions of dollars.

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CAREGIVERS SAY TAX CREDIT WOULD HELP THEM AFFORD CARE OF LOVED ONES AND REDUCE STATE COSTS

LINCOLN- Joyce Beck, a hospital CEO, was forced to retire early to provide the almost constant care her husband needed. That made it even harder to afford the estimated $10,000 a year in out-of-pocket costs for medications and his health care. Beck and others told a state legislative committee that a proposed state tax credit would help her and other family caregivers afford care for their loved ones, keeping them out of nursing homes and off taxpayer support.

State Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln said it only makes sense to help family caregivers because of “a surge in older adults” and a decrease in those available to care for them. “We must develop methods to enable caregivers to continue to support their loved ones at home … in the most comfortable environment,” Bostar told the Legislature’s Revenue Committee.

His LB937, patterned after an Oklahoma “Caring for Caregivers Act” passed last year, would allow caregivers who care for an aged, sick or disabled loved one at home to claim a state income tax credit of $2,000 a year. The credit would rise to $3,000 a year if the person being cared for was a military veteran or suffered from dementia.

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PILLEN AMONG 25 REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS SUPPORTING TEXAS BORDER EFFORTS

LINCOLN- Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen is among 25 GOP governors behind a letter supporting Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the state’s “constitutional right to self-defense” at the nation’s southern border. In their letter, the members of the Republican Governors Association blame President Joe Biden’s administration for refusing to take action addressing the border crisis, instead suing the state.

The U.S. Supreme Court this week ordered Texas to allow federal border agents access to the border, where the state has placed miles of razor wire to deter migrants. Texas had sued the federal government after Border Patrol agents cut some of the wire. The governors said that because the Biden administration has failed to stop the “historic levels of illegal immigrants, deadly drugs like fentanyl, and terrorists entering our country, Texas has a constitutional right to defend itself and the nation.

“We stand in solidarity with our fellow Governor, Greg Abbott, and the State of Texas in utilizing every tool and strategy, including razor wire fences, to secure the border. We do it in part because the Biden Administration is refusing to enforce immigration laws already on the books and is illegally allowing mass parole across America of migrants who entered our country illegally,” the governors wrote.

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PILLEN URGES ACTION ON PROPERTY TAX 'CRISIS' AND ENDING 'THE ERA OF SPECIAL INTEREST TAX BREAKS'

LINCOLN- On Thursday, during his annual State of the State Address, Gov. Jim Pillen pitched to the Legislature his proposal for "transformative" property tax relief, calling for broader sales tax, a "hard cap" on local spending, and the elimination of unfair tax breaks. Pillen also used his speech to tout the accomplishments of the Legislature and his administration, including the passage of a billion-dollar trust fund for K-12 education and the passage of an income tax cut that will eventually reduce the state's highest rate to 3.99%.

Pillen also called on the Legislature to increase its efforts to attract more workers to the state. The Governor described the state of property taxes in Nebraska as a "crisis," which Pillen maintained was pricing seniors out of their homes and "hurting Nebraska farmers, ranchers, homeowners, and business for most of our lifetimes."

Gov. Pillen did not, as many expected, express interest in raising the state sales tax by 2-cents in an attempt to decrease property taxes, perhaps because the proposal was panned by conservative and progressive groups alike. Responding to this criticism, Pillen said at a Wednesday briefing that, "If someone wants to call me a tax raiser, they're smoking something funny." Pillen did, however, say that he supported a $2-a-pack increase in cigarette taxes.

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