'KNOCK THE ROUGH EDGES OFF': SEN. DAY SEEKS STUDY OF NATIVE AMERICAN VOTING RIGHTS

LINCOLN- The Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs could consult with an expert for a dedicated review of Native American voting rights if LB1262, introduced by Sen. Jen Day, advances this week. Under the proposal, the Commission would contract with a consultant with expertise in tribal matters to study and determine any barriers to voting and equal representation for Native American tribes in Nebraska.

"Because Native voters are profoundly diverse, we thought it best that we explore this within our own state," Day told the Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee on Wednesday. An initial report, should the bill pass, would be due December 1st, 2025. Judi gaiashkibos, executive director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs, said Day's bill would be beneficial for the state's first peoples.

Earlier this year, two Nebraska tribes successfully negotiated a new, court-approved redistricting plan before the Thurston County Board of Supervisors, arguing that past redistricting maps intentionally diluted Native voices. The new plan now conforms with the federal Voting Rights Act, providing Native voters a fair opportunity in four of the seven board districts to elect their preferred candidates.

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SEN. RAYBOULD PROPOSAL TO RECOGNIZE TRIBAL MENTAL HEALTH, PROTECTIVE ORDERS NARROWLY ADVANCES

LINCOLN- LB1288, a bill introduced by Sen. Jane Raybould that would require law enforcement and hospitals to recognize and honor tribal courts' emergency protective custody agreements, narrowly advanced last Thursday after several hours of debate. LB1288 now faces two more possible rounds of debate.

Sen. Raybould said she was grateful to her colleagues for their support, and even thanked Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Heavican for his assistance in locating a solution to this issue. "Passing this legislation will allow an individual at risk of harming themselves or others to receive the timely care they need," said Raybould, "It is a bill that will save lives."

Sen. Joni Albrecht, whose district includes the Winnebago and Omaha Tribes of Nebraska, opposed the bill, arguing that Thurston County has fewer sheriff's deputies compared to other parts of the state, potentially complicating transportation needs. "I think it would be easier to bring the doctors in than to have to transport out," said Albrecht, "I'm in support of an answer, but I don't think this is the answer for us."

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WATCHDOG CHALLENGES $535,500 AWARD FOR BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT AS 'OVERLAPPING' LOCAL EFFORT

LINCOLN- The Nebraska Public Serice Commission is being asked to reconsider its granting of $535,500 to provide high-speed internet service to Beatrice after Nextlink Internet, which was previously hired by Gage County to expand high-speed internet in the area, argued that the grant was duplicating its work and is an inefficient use of taxpayer funds.

Emily Haxby, a member of the Gage County Board, altered the PSC to the duplication, saying also that such an "overlap" of funding is a waste of government grants that are intended to provide broadband to areas that lack high-speed service. "These are taxpayer dollars," said Haxby, "That money should be devoted to people who don't have internet."

In response, the PSC's telecommunication department director, Cullen Robbins, said the situation is complicated. Robbins said that there is a formal process to challenge grant awards, but that Nextlink failed to file. "We try to make sure that we're not overlapping funding to build out similar networks to the same location," said Robbins, "That being said, we rely on the participating companies to be diligent and follow the process in place."

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SENATORS ADOPT COMPROMISE ON BILL CONCERNING TENANT AND LANDLORD RIGHTS, bill fails to advance

LINCOLN- Tenants who faced eviction but were never ordered to abandon a rental property would be able to keep that information private from future landlords under a compromise adopted Wednesday by the Nebraska Legislature. However, despite the compromise made on Sen. Dungan's LB175, the Residential Tenant Clean Slate Act, a filibuster led by Sen. Julie Slama continues.

"This is an attack on private property rights, even in this slimmed down version," said Slama. Dungan, an attorney, argued that the Clean Slate Act would mirror how criminal cases are handled, and how dropped or vacated cases don't appear on someone's publicly accessible records.

Slama also argued that the bill was an act of "big government," stating that the proposal, if passed, would tie "the hands of landlords." However, Dungan disputed that claim, arguing that the bill protected both landlords and tenants and that a landlord would still be allowed to indicate to other landlords that a tenant was a bad renter.

Despite the compromises made on LB175, which significantly narrowed the scope of the bill, Sen. Dungan's bill was ultimately defeated by the filibuster on Thursday after a failed cloture vote. The vote, 30-6, fell just short of the 33 votes necessary to invoke cloture and stop the filibuster. This is a contrast to the 32-11 vote that was utilized to adopt the earlier compromises.

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BILL TO ALLOW VOTE TO REPEAL NEBRASKA'S DEATH PENALTY FAILS AGAIN TO ADVANCE TO FLOOR DEBATE

LINCOLN- A proposal seeking to repeal Nebraska's death penalty failed to advance on Wednesday to the floor of the Nebraska Legislature, with one non-supporter citing voters' overwhelming restoration of capital punishment in 2016. Sen. Terrell McKinney, who introduced LR17CA to give voters the opportunity to repeal the death penalty, voted for advancement alongside Sens. Wayne and DeBoer.

Sen. Carol Blood, a Democratic candidate for Congress, voted present not voting, stating that, while she's opposed to the death penalty, she's aware of the fact that a handful of her constituents support it. "I represent District 3, not the district of Carol Blood," she said. Endeavors to repeal the death penalty have faced heavy opposition since 2016.

Five votes in the Judiciary Committee would have been needed to advance the proposal to debate by the full Legislature, a committee that voted in 2015 to repeal the death penalty. Nebraska currently has 11 men on its death row but hasn't carried out an execution since 2018.

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NEBRASKA DHHS CEO'S APPOINTMENT ADVANCES FROM COMMITTEE

LINCOLN- The governor's pick to lead the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Steve Corsi, has advanced to the floor of the Legislature. Corsi's February appointment hearing before the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee devolved at times from agency goals to discussions of social media activity, religion, and sin.

These off-topic discussion items were brought off by Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, who questioned Corsi over past comments he had made on social media. Cavanaugh had also shared several legal allegations against Corsi during the hearing, prompting Sen. Brian Hardin to ask the committee's legal staff to "turn over some rocks and some leaves and take a look at what was underneath."

Many of the legal allegations, which weren't confirmed during the hearing, surrounded child support and Medicaid payments. However, as Sen. Hardin pointed out, "There were no convictions in the course of any of what he was accused of." On Thursday, the committee voted 4-2 to advance Corsi's appointment. A majority of the full Legislature must now vote to confirm him.

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ONLINE AGE VERIFICATION, DRAG SHOW BILLS STALL IN NEBRASKA COMMITTEE

LINCOLN- Two legislative proposals that Sen. Dave Murman argued would prevent minors from accessing harmful content appeared to run into a major roadblock this week after the Legislature's Judiciary Committee stalled the bills on a 2-2 vote. LB1092, a bill that would require commercial entities to restrict "material harmful to minors," was designated as Sen. Murman's 2024 priority bill.

Under the bill, certain websites would also need to use reasonable age verification methods to determine if a user is at least 18 years old. "I think it's a bad influence on children to see things that their innocent lives should not see for as long as possible," said Murman of the bill. The second proposal, LB371, would restrict minors from attending drag performances in the state.

Introduced last year, LB371 would apply a Class I Misdemeanor to anyone who brings a child to a drag event, an offense with a maximum penalty of $1,000 or one year in jail. Sen. Carolyn Bosn, who voted to oppose the advancement of LB371, said that, while she wouldn't bring her kids to a drag show, such a decision should be up to parents.

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MCDONNELL BILL PASSED TO BETTER COORDINATE WHETHER NEBRASKA IS 'THE GOOD LIFE' OR 'NOT FOR EVERYONE'

LINCOLN- LB624, a bill introduced by Sen. Mike McDonnell that would help to determine Nebraska's definitive tourism slogan, won final approval on Thursday by the Nebraska Legislature. The bill was inspired, in part, by grumblings over an edgy, and now former, state tourism slogan-- "Nebraska: Honestly, it's not for everyone."

During debate, McDonnell pointed out that while the Nebraska Tourism Commission was pitching "it's not for everyone," the Nebraska Department of Economic Development was using "The Goof Life is Calling." The bill was ultimately advanced on a 41-1 vote. Under the bill, the Tourism Commission's governing board will be expanded from 11 to 13.

The director of the Department of Economic Development, along with a representative from the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, will now sit on the commission's board as well. McDonnell hopes that bringing these stakeholders together will produce a more uniform and compelling tourism slogan for the state.

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CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITORS ADDED TO NEBRASKA PRENATAL CARE PACKAGE

LINCOLN- LB857, introduced by Sen. George Dungan to create the Nebraska Prenatal Plus Program, was amended on Thursday by Sen. Carolyn Bosn to include Medicaid coverage for continuous glucose monitors. These monitors are utilized by individuals who have gestational diabetes.

"In line with the things that I was trying to do this session, good policy that benefits all Nebraskans and improves the quality of life, supports families, this fit all those boxes," said Bosn. Gestational diabetes is typically diagnosed at about 20 weeks of pregnancy, and usually ends after the baby is delivered.

Continuous glucose monitors, said Bosn, have demonstrated a reduction in neonatal intensive care and pre-delivery hospital stays. Bosn argued that this amendment would likely result in savings that would "significantly outweigh" the fiscal impact of the bill, while also improving the health and quality of life of moms and babies.

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BILL TO PUT HISTORY NEBRASKA UNDER CONTROL OF THE GOVERNMENT GETS A FIRST-ROUND OK

LINCOLN- Sen. Erdman's LB1169, which would end 146 years of History Nebraska independence, advanced through its first round of debate on a 27-1 vote. The bill would turn the independent agency into a code agency, giving the governor full control. Erdman argued that the change was necessary to restore trust and confidence in the state historical society after Trevor Jones, the agency's former director, was charged with diverting donations into a private foundation.

Erdman, along with Sen. Tom Brewer, cited support for the bill from Roger Lempke, the former adjutant general of the Nebraska National Guard and current president of the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation. Lempke had testified on LB1169, saying that the agency had become "very closed and uncommunicative" while Jones served as director.

Sen. Danielle Conrad was the sole 'no' vote on the bill. She questioned whether converting History Nebraska to a code agency run by the governor would really solve some of these problems. "Some of our most troubled agencies in state government are code agencies," said Conrad during debate over LB1169.

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LEGISLATURE ADVANCED CAVANAUGH BILL TO REIMBURSE LANGUAGE TRANSLATION SERVICES UNDER MEDICAID

LINCOLN- Lawmakers gave first-round approval to a measure requiring the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to reimburse language translation and interpretation services for Medicaid patients who need them. The bill, LB62 introduced by Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, was described as a "needed step to ensure everyone has the health care they need even if English is not their first language."

Cavanaugh said Thursday that her bill would provide support to providers persisting through workforce shortages, and that it directs the state government to maximize federal funding to carry out its provisions. An amendment adopted on the floor of the Legislature also indicated that the source of the reimbursements would be the Medicaid Managed Care Excess Profit Fund.

"This bill will require courage and ensure stability and consistency across managed care organization practices," Cavanaugh said, "which is really important for patients and providers." Speaker of the Legislature John Arch, a longtime health care administrator, said the requirement to provide services without a mechanism to find them was a "behind-the-scenes issue that has plagued the health care industry."

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SKILLED GAMING TAX VOTED TO NEXT ROUND

LINCOLN- Sen.John Lowe's LB685, a bill seeking to require owners and operators of skilled games to pay occupation taxes and check the IDs of anyone seeking to play on their devices, was advanced through its first round of debate on Thursday. Sen. Lowe said the changes contained within LB685 were necessary, as business owners had previously expressed concern over how the old definitions for operator and distributor had previously not matched up with the actual duties of these occupations.

According to Charlie Bosselman, CEO of Bosselman Enterprises, the new occupational taxes will go "to property tax relief. It goes back to the cities, it goes back to the counties." LB685 will also require businesses to pay a five percent tax on skilled game earnings to the state. Bosselman also spoke on LB1310 during a public hearing, a similar bill that seeks to raise that tax to 20%, rather than 5%.

"You're killing the golden goose by putting a bill in place that taxes the business to death," he said, "That basically eliminates the business, so it doesn't really seem to make a whole lot of sense to put a bill like that in place." While LB685 has advanced, a bill that Bosselman described as reasonable, LB1310 still sits in committee.

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BIENNIAL BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS RELEASED, DEBATE TO BEGIN NEXT WEEK

On Thursday, Senator Clements, Chair of the Appropriations Committee, announced that the biennial budget adjustments developed by the committee following public hearings was advanced to General File.

Senators will have the long weekend (the legislature is in recess on Friday and Monday) to digest the budget changes before returning on Tuesday morning. Prior to the legislature's convening on Tuesday at 10:00AM, Senator Clements will hold a briefing for members of the body on the changes. Debate on the budget adjustments will begin on Tuesday and likely last most of the week. The mainline budget adjustments can be found in the appropriations committee amendment to LB1412, with cash transfers being contained within an amendment to LB1413.

To view the full budget summary, as released by the Appropriations Committee, please click HERE.

OMAHA FAMILY URGES NEBRASKA LAWMAKER TO INCREASE DISTRACTED DRIVING PENALTIES

LINCOLN- One Omaha family is turning tragedy to advocacy, urging Nebraska lawmakers to increase penalties for motor vehicle homicide, speeding and distracted driving. LB1340, through an amendment presented by State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, would bump motor vehicle homicide from a Class I misdemeanor to a Class IV felony. It would also allow the penalty to be enhanced to a Class IIIA felony for one additional reason: if the “proximate cause” of death is because of a handheld wireless communication device.

A Class I misdemeanor comes with a maximum of one year imprisonment or a $1,000 fine, or both. A Class IV felony calls for up to two years imprisonment and one year post-release supervision or a $10,000 fine, or both. Kauth said by raising potential penalties, she hopes to provide an extra incentive to focus on the task at hand: driving safely and attentively.

“As a society, we have all become more and more distracted, no matter what the cause of our distractions,” Kauth told the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee. “When we get behind the wheel of a car, you have to be able and willing to focus on what we’re doing,” Kauth continued. “We literally take our lives and the lives around us in our hands every time.”

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CYBERATTACK AFFECTING 'MAJORITY' OF NEBRASKA HOSPITALS

LINCOLN- A cyberattack last week on a UnitedHealth Group subsidiary is apparently causing problems for numerous hospitals across the state. The Nebraska Hospital Association said in a press release that a majority of the state's hospitals utilize Change Healthcare, one of the largest companies in the country for financial and clinical authorizations.

UnitedHealth Group, which operates Change Healthcare, disclosed the cyberattack last Thursday, saying that a cybercrime group had accessed some of their informational technology systems. Change Healthcare has been providing updates on a special website, and as of Thursday of this week, the issue is still unresolved.

According to the Hospital Association, hospitals that utilize Change Health care may be experiencing issues with prior authorizations for drugs, surgeries, and other medical procedures. Insurance verification, cost estimates, and patient billing are also reportedly experiencing issues. "Our hospitals are doing their best to manage through these challenges as quickly and efficiently as possible," said NHA president Jeremy Nordquist.

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PROPOSALS ON AI REGULATION, ELECTION WORKER SAFETY MAY BE STALLED IN NEBRASKA COMMITTEE

LINCOLN- Two election-related proposals seeking to regulate artificial intelligence and increase penalties for crimes against Nebraska election workers appear to be stalled in the Legislature's Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee. The two bills, introduced by Sens. John Cavanaugh and Eliot Bostar, faced a cold reception on Wednesday.

Multiple opponents who spoke on the bills questioned Nebraska's election processes and criticized Secretary of State Bob Evnen while expressing concern the bills could lead to censorship and a "surveillance state." They described one of the proposals as "Marxism" and the second as a tool that could lead to "witch hunts" reminiscent of the "Nazi Gestapo."

"The ease with which falsified media can be disseminated to mislead voters is deeply troubling," said Bostar in defense of his proposal, "with the potential to sow chaos and erode trust in our democratic institutions." However, Heidi Uhing of Civic Nebraska supported both bills, arguing that the threats addressed by the proposals are very credible.

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UP TO $1.5M IN QUESTIONABLE BILLINGS SUSPECTED IN DHHS PROGRAM, REPORTS NEBRASKA AUDITOR

LINCOLN- On Wednesday, State Auditor Mike Foley said that his auditing team found tens of thousands of dollars of questionable billings related to the Department of Health and Human Service's Medicaid-funded personal assistance service programs. In a report, Foley and his team described how one service provider bills Nebraska's DHHS for 32 hours of work they supposedly performed in a 24-hour period.

Another provider billed DHHS for client care that occurred over the course of nine days, when Facebook postings showed the patient traveling during that timeframe. Foley described these questionable billings as "flagrant abuses, including suspected fraud committed by certain care providers fleecing the program to receive unearned payments."

Foley said that such deficiencies have been identified in the program for at least a decade, but that the latest examples convinced him that it is in "desperate need of an overhaul." Steve Corsi, chief executive of DHHS, said in a statement that he is now working with Foley to increase safeguards and ensure that "taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly."

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OPPONENTS OF DEATH PENALTY DECRY PROPOSAL TO USE NITROGEN GAS FOR EXECUTIONS

LINCOLN- A proposal to use nitrogen gas to carry out executions in Nebraska drew a slew of opponents of capital punishment to the Nebraska Legislature's Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Opponents of the proposal, from the ACLU of Nebraska to the Nebraska Nurses Association, called using suffocation via nitrogen gas "untested, dangerous and explicitly inhumane."

State Sen. Loren Lippincott, who introduced LB970, argued that, because of the refusal of pharmaceutical companies to provide the drugs used in lethal injection executions, Nebraska must find another method. Obtaining nitrogen gas, said Lippincott, would not be a difficult endeavor. The senator compared it to "putting to sleep" a sickly pet.

However, Sens. Carol Blood and Terrell McKinney argued that the process, used first in Alabama earlier this year, is far from painless. Blood said that witnesses to Alabama's first use of nitrogen gas as an execution tool reported that the condemned inmate "gasped for air" as his body shook and his fists clenched together for 22 minutes before he was pronounced dead.

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SEN. LIPPINCOTT PROPOSES ALLOWING RELIGIOUS CLERGY TO SERVE AS SCHOOL COUNSELORS IN NEBRASKA

LINCOLN- Public school districts in Nebraska could hire clergy to perform the same duties as school counselors under a bill presented at the Legislature. The proposal (LB1065) from Sen. Loren Lippincott of Central City would allow school boards to adopt policies that would allow them to hire chaplains — who would not be required to obtain a teaching certificate — in either a volunteer or paid role.

Lippincott told the Education Committee that allowing school districts to hire chaplains would help alleviate some of the teacher and staff shortages experienced around the state, and he said it would benefit both students and teachers. “Chaplains are used in many places already in society like the military, hospitals and correctional facilities, as well as mental health facilities,” Lippincott said.

Lippincott’s bill, which has 12 co-sponsors, is based on a law passed in Texas last year that gives school boards until March 1 to decide whether or not to allow unlicensed chaplains to serve as counselors either as staff members or volunteers. School counselors, education groups, and civil rights organizations panned the idea, however, saying clergy were not trained to perform the wide-ranging duties of a school counselor, and questioning whether allowing districts to hire religious leaders would violate students’ rights.

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COMMITTEE BEGINS CRAFTING PROPERTY TAX RELIEF PROPOSAL, NEW APPROACH CONSIDERED

LINCOLN- A state legislative committee began working to craft a proposal to reduce property taxes statewide by another $1 billion, as called for by Gov. Jim Pillen. The Revenue Committee didn’t vote out any bill on the issue, but its chair, State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, floated the idea of raising the state sales tax by 1-cent and using the $531 million generated to increase state aid to K-12 schools.

The Pillen administration has proposed several ideas to get to a 40% reduction in local property taxes, including the sales tax increase and the elimination of several sales tax exemptions on things like farm repair parts, candy and pop and legal/accounting bills, plus a harder “cap” on spending increases by schools and other local governments.

Once, during the executive session, Linehan told the committee that she didn’t see how they could come up with $1 billion in new revenue to shift the cost off property. That appeared to be a recognition of the opposition that has been mounted against a proposed $2-a-pack increase in cigarette taxes, a new tax on vaping products and new taxes on veterinary services for pets and storage unit rentals.

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