Legislative Updates

The Legislature has 13 days left in this legislative session, with the 90th legislative day set for June 5. This past week, senators gave the budget bills second-round approval. The budget is now ready for Final Reading.

The budget bills, as proposed by the Appropriations Committee, were debated by the Legislature this past week and were given first-round approval. The budget bills consist of 8 bills, including the mainline budget bill that appropriates funds for state government expenses, legislation to…

The Appropriations Committee completed its work on their budget recommendations for the next biennium, voting 9-0 to advance the recommendations to the full Legislature. The budget bills will be placed on General File by April 28, the 70th legislative day. …

This past week, senators gave first-round approval to LB 268, which would change the maximum penalty for first-degree murder in Nebraska from death to life imprisonment. This year, a dozen senators have signed on as co-sponsors to the bill annually introduced by Senator Ernie Chambers. …

For the third year in a row, the Legislature debated a bill that proposed to expand Medicaid. Initiated by President Obama, the Affordable Care Act was signed into law on the federal level in 2010. …

The Legislature gave initial approval this past week for a proposal to increase the gas tax. LB 610 proposes to increase the fixed portion of the gasoline tax by 1.5 cents per gallon every year for four years. …

The Legislative Performance Audit Act was established in statute by LB 607 in 2003. It replaced the Legislative Program Evaluation Act. A performance audit is an objective and systematic examination of evidence for the purpose of providing an independent assessment of the performance of a…

The question of whether term limits should be extended was debated by lawmakers this past week. As introduced, Legislative Resolution 7 is a proposal for a constitutional amendment to increase term limit provisions, so that a state senator could serve two consecutive six-year terms, rather than two…

The issues surrounding the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services is a top priority for the Legislature this year. Nebraska’s prison system is at 159% of capacity. State law allows the governor to declare an overcrowding emergency when a prison’s population goes over 140% of capacity. …

This past week, the Speaker of the Legislature announced the 25 bills that he selected as speaker priority bills. I was fortunate that two bills that I introduced were on his list. …