IN A RURAL-URBAN SPLIT, NU REGENTS DEFEAT PROPOSAL TO EXTEND TERMS FOR LEADERS

LINCOLN- The University of Nebraska Board of Regents will continue to select leaders annually after a proposal to extend the terms that its chairpersons serve failed Friday on a 4-4 vote. The proposal from Regent Rob Schafer of Beatrice would have extended the term that board chairs serve from one year to two years but failed to find the support of a majority of elected regents.

All four regents representing rural areas of the state voted in support of the measure, while those representing Lincoln and Omaha voted against it at the regents’ final meeting of 2024. Schafer, at the start of a lengthy and sometimes heated discussion on Friday, said a two-year term for board chairs would align that position more closely with leadership positions in the Legislature.

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NEBRASKA MENTAL HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS SAY CHANGES PUT 'POOREST OF POOR' AT-RISK

LINCOLN- Behavioral health providers across Nebraska say a change intended to expand federal health insurance coverage of mental health care has instead put vulnerable patients at risk of losing services. In expanding Medicare’s coverage to some behavioral health services like licensed independent mental health practitioners (LIMHP), providers say the reimbursements they were receiving through Nebraska’s Medicaid program have been slashed dramatically.

That has produced a 50% loss in payments for individuals who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid — so-called “dual eligible” individuals — resulting in losses of thousands of dollars to providers across the state. In turn, those providers have been forced to reduce the number of times they see dual-eligible patients, put those individuals on waiting lists, or cut off services to them altogether.

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FAR FEWER SEEK STATE CONCEALED CARRY PERMITS AFTER 2023 LAW ALLOWS CARRYING WITHOUT ONE

LINCOLN- Advocates for removing the requirement for a state permit to carry a concealed handgun argued that Nebraska gun owners would still obtain the license because it lets them legally carry in some other states, but state statistics indicate that hasn’t been the case. A year and three months after Nebraska became the 27th state to allow carrying concealed handguns without requiring state-mandated training and paying a $100 fee, the number of people applying for a permit has dropped significantly.

Less than half as many applicants applied for the permit during the first 11 months of 2024. Only 1,690 applications were filed in Nebraska. That’s down from the 4,002 applications for the permits over the same 11 months in 2023. The 2024 total is more than four times lower than during the same period in 2022, when 6,939 applications were filed, according to the Nebraska State Patrol, which administers the program.

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SEN. RICKETTS TO SHARE NEBRASKA POLICIES WITH DOGE

LINCOLN- Nebraska Senator Pete Ricketts is all for President-Elect Donald Trump’s decision to create the Department of Government Efficiency and to appoint Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead it. Ricketts said it has not been uncommon for his office to get involved to help Nebraskans clear the way through the government’s bureaucratic red tape.

He said broadly speaking, if you can reform some of the systems to allow customers to say they have problems and to get a response back, that’s going to make a big improvement. "To that end, I'm going to be joining the DOGE caucus that (Iowa) Sen. (Joni) Ernst is starting to be able to share my input that I have from being governor and implementing Lean Six Sigma which was our process-improvement methodology we use in the state of Nebraska to improve government operations to drive a higher level of service, better service levels and to improve efficiency and reduce costs.”

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PILLEN RECEIVES THREE NOMINEES FOR NEBRASKA SUPREME COURT VACANCY

LINCOLN- Gov. Jim Pillen will have his pick of three current judges as the next associate justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court for a vacancy in southeastern Nebraska. The Judicial Nominating Commission for the Fifth District of the Nebraska Supreme Court, chaired by Justice John Freudenberg, advanced the names of three applicants: two district judges and one member of the Nebraska Court of Appeals, after public interviews in Hamilton County. The commission consists of four attorneys, four laypeople, and a nonvoting justice.

The nominees are:

• Judge Lawrence E. Welch Jr. of Plattsmouth, for the Nebraska Court of Appeals, 5th Judicial District.

• District Judge David J. A. Bargen of Adams, for the Saline County District Court in the 1st Judicial District.

• District Judge Jason M. Bergevin of Columbus, for the Platte County District Court in the 5th Judicial District.

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UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA'S IMPACT ON STATE'S ECONOMY ESTIMATED AT $6.4 BILLION

LINCOLN- The University of Nebraska's impact on the state's economy continues to grow, a recent study commissioned by the university shows. Tripp Umbach, a Pittsburgh-based consulting firm that authored the report, said NU is responsible for $6.4 billion in economic activity annually in Nebraska.

That amount has grown roughly $600 million over the last three years, said Paul Umbach, who presented the findings of the study to the NU Board of Regents last week. "That's the spending of the university that stays in Nebraska, the spending by employees and staff, the spending by students, the spending by visitors that come to games and come to events and conferences," Umbach said.

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MEDICAL CANNABIS, PAID SICK LEAVE, ABORTION RESTRICTIONS AND SCHOOL CHOICE REPEAL TAKE EFFECT

LINCOLN- Gov. Jim Pillen on Thursday proclaimed the success of five ballot measures this November with his signature, formally legalizing medical cannabis, abortion restrictions, and a framework for paid sick leave. Pillen’s actions also officially end a state-funded program for private K-12 attendance costs.

The proclamations usher in the new laws as well as an abortion-related constitutional amendment after a years-long campaign that proved the most expensive year in Nebraska history for ballot measures. All take effect immediately, with the exception of the framework for requiring paid sick leave that supporters delayed implementation until Oct. 1, 2025. Questions remain on some of the final details of the measures and pending legal challenges.

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NEBRASKA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE RELEASES GENERAL FUND RECEIPTS

LINCOLN - Tax Commissioner James R. Kamm reports that gross General Fund receipts for November were $709 million, which is 2.6% below the forecast of $728 million.

The comparisons in this report are based on the forecast made by the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board (Board) on October 31, 2024. The Board forecast was divided into monthly estimates by the Tax Commissioner and Legislative Fiscal Analyst on November 12, 2024. Previous monthly press releases are found at

https://revenue.nebraska.gov/about/news-releases/general-fund-receipts-news-releases

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NEBRASKA GOVERNOR'S PRIORITIES SHIFT FOCUS FROM SPENDING AND TAX CHANGES

LINCOLN- Republican Gov. Jim Pillen plans to satisfy his party's right flank next year before addressing the harder politics of closing Nebraska’s projected $432 million budget shortfall. One reason could be the potential of Pillen facing Republican primary challengers in 2026. Those could include his top 2022 GOP primary opponent, Charles Herbster.

Pillen denied “political” motivations for picking any of his top legislative priorities for the 2025 legislative session, which he announced last week and detailed in an interview Friday. But all four policies are likely to be popular with the GOP base that typically decides races for Nebraska governor. Echoing themes from his 2022 campaign and speeches around the state, he said his four goals for the session would benefit Nebraska’s “kids, taxes, agriculture, and values.”

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NEBRASKA AltEn PLANT CLEANUP WORK EXPECTED THROUGH AT LEAST 2026

LINCOLN - A status hearing on a state of Nebraska lawsuit against a former ethanol plant in Mead that stockpiled and spread solid and liquid materials contaminated with pesticides was delayed late last month to the middle of 2025.

Saunders County District Court Judge Christina Marroquin continued the state's lawsuit against AltEn on Nov. 20, agreeing that doing so would give both sides more time to move cleanup efforts forward."A stay would allow the parties to continue confidential settlement discussions without costly litigation and while remediation continues," Marroquin wrote in the Nov. 20 order.

It's the second time this year Marroquin has granted a continuance in the lawsuit filed in 2021 against AltEn, which used pesticide-coated seeds to make ethanol.

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REP. JIM JORDAN'S LETTER QUESTIONS PROSECUTING NEBRASKA'S JEFF FORTENBERRY

LINCOLN- Ohio U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter Thursday to federal prosecutors in California implying that his committee will dig into whether the prosecution of former Nebraska U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry was politically motivated. The letter seeks answers to allegations by Fortenberry’s lawyers that authorities pursued him for political reasons when they charged him with lying to FBI agents about his knowledge of illegal foreign contributions to his campaign in 2016.

“There are serious concerns about the Department’s abusive tactics in its prosecution of Representative Fortenberry,” Jordan wrote on Judiciary Committee letterhead. It asks the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles to preserve records tied to decision-making in the case. The letter said Fortenberry’s former attorney accused the lead prosecutor of “misleading him” about the then-congressman’s role as a witness, subject, or target of the investigation.

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US SEN. PETE RICKETTS SAYS TRUMP EPA NOMINEE IS NOW AN ETHANOL SUPPORTER

OMAHA- Nebraska U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts says President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday voiced support for renewable fuel blending requirements despite his opposition to them while a member of Congress. Ricketts expressed confidence after his meeting with EPA nominee Lee Zeldin that the former Florida representative and the Trump administration will be supportive of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard and Nebraska’s ethanol industry.

Ricketts said in a call with reporters that he started off his meeting with Zeldin by asking about his past opposition to renewable fuels. He said he stressed to Zeldin the importance of ethanol production to corn producers and to the nation’s energy security. Ricketts’ confidence in Trump’s support of biofuels comes although while he was president from 2017 to 2021, his EPA granted several exemptions from the standard to refiners.

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NEBRASKA VOTERS ARE INCREASINGLY REPUBLICAN, NONPARTISANS ARE GAINING GROUND

LINCOLN- The Republican Party’s sway with Nebraska’s electorate has only grown stronger in recent years as the GOP has expanded its voter base at a greater pace than the state’s Democratic Party, according to state voter registration data. Since 2016, Nebraska’s GOP has registered more new voters than the Democratic Party and has drawn ex-Democrats to the party at a higher rate than Republicans have left, according to data maintained by the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office.

The Nebraska GOP’s continued growth and the Nebraska Democratic Party’s continued decline have left Republicans with their largest voter registration advantage over Democrats in Nebraska in at least 50 years. Registered Republicans now outnumber Democrats by more than 285,000 and account for nearly 50% of state voters, according to the data, which also shows a growing number of Nebraskans are ditching both parties and opting to identify as nonpartisan.

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FEWER VOTERS TURNED AWAY UNDER NEW NEBRASKA VOTER ID LAW THAN IN SIMILAR STATES

LINCOLN — The ballots of 345 people weren’t counted in Nebraska’s first presidential general election under a new requirement that voters present a picture ID to participate.That’s out of more than 965,000 ballots cast statewide, which represents less than four hundredths of one percentage point. Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen has said voter ID implementation went “extremely well.”

“It went very well,” Evnen told the Examiner. “That was a result of the hard work of our county election officials and our elections division. Nebraska is the gold standard in terms of the way we conduct our elections.”

For comparison’s sake, election officials rejected more than 650 early voting ballots statewide because voters failed to sign the envelope. Those signatures are verified against the voter file as an additional identification check.

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APPLE APPEALS NEBRASKA TAX RULING RESULTING IN $652,000 IN ADDITIONAL TAXES

LINCOLN- Apple is challenging an order from the Nebraska tax commissioner by asking a judge to reverse the decision involving its Nebraska taxable income for the 2017 tax year. The petition for review filed in Lancaster County District Court this week involves an Aug. 7, 2020, balance-due notice issued by the Nebraska Department of Revenue to the technology giant based in Cupertino, California.

The following October, Apple sought a redetermination, saying the notice had wrongfully increased its Nebraska tax base by including dividends received by its foreign subsidiaries not subject to the federal tax code. The company's attorneys said those amounts already had been repatriated to the U.S. when they were included in Apple's federal taxable income.

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NEBRASKA COMPANY SEEKS TO BREAK CHINA'S STRANGLEHOLD ON RARE-EARTH MINERALS

OMAHA - The Pentagon wants to break China’s near-monopoly on rare-earth minerals that are a key element in many of its weapons systems, and it’s betting on a small Nebraska company to help it do that.

In September, the Defense Department awarded a $4.22 million contract to Rare Earth Salts, a Beatrice chemical company with about a dozen employees, to develop and expand its production of terbium, one of the rarest of the rare-earth elements. It’s the first Defense Department contract for the company, which opened its 25,000-square-foot plant in 2017. Terbium boosts the resiliency in extreme temperatures of certain types of magnets used in military aircraft, submarines, and missiles, according to a Pentagon statement that accompanied the contract award.

“This award adds a domestic source for one of the most difficult-to-obtain rare-earth elements,” said Laura Taylor-Kale, assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy, in the statement. “Rare Earth Salts’ capability will help the United States establish a mine-to-magnet supply chain without reliance on foreign sources of material.”

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'ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT': BREAKING DOWN 2023-24 NEBRASKA K-12 STUDENT TEST SCORES

LINCOLN- A majority of Nebraska school districts continue to be classified as “excellent” or “great,” though a greater percentage, about a third, are now classified as “good” or “needs support to improve.” Test scores are again above pre-pandemic levels, higher than in 2022 when proficiency scores in English language arts fell to 47% and math fell to 46% during the 2021-22 school year.

“We need to continue to work together as a state to provide the best possible opportunities for every student to succeed and be prepared for life after school,” Brian Maher, state education commissioner, said at a news conference last week. Maher noted improvements among many student groups but said achievement gaps persist based on race, ethnicity, special education, low-income, and English language learners.

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DEFENSE ATTORNEY ASKS JUDGE TO DISMISS EX-HISTORY NEBRASKA DIRECTOR'S CRIMINAL CASE

LINCOLN - An attorney for the former director of History Nebraska has asked a Lincoln judge to dismiss his felony theft case, arguing that the state's prosecutors had failed to bring him to trial within six months.

The Nebraska Attorney General's Office has accused Trevor Jones, who resigned as CEO and executive director of the agency in July 2022 after six years in the role, of felony theft by deception for his alleged mishandling of more than $270,000 in funds in 2020.The state alleges that Jones transferred discretionary funds from the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation that ended up going into History Nebraska's Foundation account.

On Tuesday, Jones, who lives in Minnesota now, appeared by video for a hearing where his attorney, Mallory Hughes, said the Attorney General's Office had a Sept. 12 deadline to bring him to trial and didn't.

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NEBRASKA DHHS PROBES MEDICAID SERVICE FOR AUTISTIC YOUTHS AS COSTS ESCALATE

LINCOLN — Max Perry was ousted from daycare as a tot. His special needs became so intense that his mom quit her job to be nearby 24-7. His parents once chartered a private plane to transport Max, challenged by autism and epilepsy, to a major surgery because commercial flights sent him into panic mode, frantically kicking, screaming, and peeling off clothes.

Max and his family eventually found doses of calm, joy, and progress through a widely known therapy called applied behavior analysis (ABA), which has been shown to help autistic kids function better in society. But the Lincoln mom and other advocates now face a different anxiety, worried that such services could be jeopardized for a growing number of Nebraska’s most vulnerable youths. Experts say one in 36 youths has autism.

Advocates cite a recent notice sent out by one of the three mega insurers that manage health care benefits for Nebraskans enrolled in Medicaid. They said the state contractor had sought to slash Medicaid rates paid to ABA providers by as much as half. Advocates feared that such a change could lead to reduced access to services and would perhaps drive away providers they say are scarce enough already in Nebraska.

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NEBRASKA AG MIKE HILGERS SEEKS STATE TAX MONEY TO FIGHT FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

LINCOLN - Over the last four years, the Nebraska Attorney General's Office has repeatedly taken on the Biden administration in court.

Nebraska led the charge to overturn a federal student loan forgiveness plan, fighting the plan all the way to victory in the U.S. Supreme Court. The state led opposition to rescheduling of marijuana as a less dangerous drug and challenged federal and California regulations promoting heavy duty electric trucks.

It fought federal regulations on bump stocks and "ghost gun" assembly kits, joined a lawsuit against new Title IX rules protecting the rights of transgender students, sued to block minimum wage requirements for federal contractors and supported Texas in its battle with the federal government over floating border barriers.

Attorney General Mike Hilgers said his office undertook those cases as part of his campaign promise to "fight federal overreach" and "protect Nebraskans against those who would violate the Constitution." However, state Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln questioned whether the cases and costs are justified.

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