LINCOLN — Nebraska state senators headed home last week after a particularly brutal and bitter 2023 session. But one lawmaker isn’t packing up his office — he has packed his bag for a return trip to the war front in Ukraine. Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, a decorated military veteran nearing his 65th birthday, has […]
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Nestled among my summer reading list is getting a good “read” on what I fear is becoming a discredited dinosaur of the past: character in public life — the past in this instance being less than 10 years. To whit: During a recent confirmation hearing in the Nebraska Legislature, a state senator said he considered […]
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LINCOLN — State senators ended a tumultuous 2023 session Thursday, giving a final OK to bills concerning voter identification, tax breaks for economic development and criminal justice reform. The 90-day session ended two days early and will be remembered for historic tax cuts, hard feelings aired during floor debate, and an almost session-long string of […]
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LINCOLN — State lawmakers largely stuck with Gov. Jim Pillen on Wednesday, approving only one override of his budget vetoes — an additional $1.2 million for the State Auditor’s Office. State Auditor Mike Foley had asked for additional funding, arguing that he was losing auditors to other state agencies because they could offer $20,000 to […]
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LINCOLN — Conservatives ruled at the State Capitol like never before in 2023, passing several right-wing measures, including proposals on gun rights and school choice that had been perennial losers in the Legislature, as well as new restrictions on abortion and transgender rights. And, it appears that an 11th-hour push will be successful to achieve […]
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With just a few days left in the 108th session of the Nebraska Legislature, those keeping score in the culture wars can start doling out the spoils. The best this space can gather is that culture war victories in legislatures — aside from some self-satisfaction and I imagine a little gloating — amount to very […]
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LINCOLN — A debate over a law and order issues Wednesday featured a rare disagreement between county prosecutors and Gov. Jim Pillen and law enforcement officials. On one side was State Sen. Justin Wayne and his criminal justice reform proposal, aimed at discouraging release of prison inmates without rehabilitation programming — something called “jamming out.” […]
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LINCOLN — State lawmakers gave a final OK Thursday to a two-year budget that calls for about $5.3 billion a year in spending, with an average increase of 2.2%. The austere budget sets aside a generous amount for cuts in state income taxes and increases in tax credits for property taxes, as well as allocating […]
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LINCOLN — State senators, after an extended debate, gave final-round approval Wednesday to some non-controversial budget bills, while hard feelings persisted over the previous day’s debate to restrict abortion and transgender health care for minors. Voices rose again about Tuesday’s emotional and sometimes raucous debate over Legislative Bill 574, which married two of the session’s […]
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LINCOLN — Both Omaha and Lincoln are looking to the state to help them attract more, and bigger, conventions. An omnibus tax bill up for debate Tuesday in the Nebraska Legislature would expand the state’s turnback tax law to help a possible expansion of convention space at Omaha’s CHI Health Center Arena and the construction […]
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LINCOLN — A key advocate for criminal justice reform said Friday that concessions have been reached with those opposing efforts to adjust criminal sentences and enhance rehabilitation and supervision programs. State Sen. Justin Wayne said that a meeting Thursday with representatives of the Governor’s Office, Attorney General’s Office and county prosecutors led to agreements on […]
The post Proponents of criminal justice reform await debate on issue in waning days of 2023 session appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — State lawmakers adjusted, then advanced to final-round debate, two tax relief measures pushed by Gov. Jim Pillen that have been described as “transformative” and “historic.” Together, the two tax cuts, along with Pillen’s increased state aid to schools, would amount to about $6.4 billion, according to the governor’s office, in tax relief over […]
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LINCOLN — A blockbuster pairing of two controversial bills in the waning days of the 2023 state legislative session has state senators and advocates buzzing. But could a state constitutional requirement that bills contain only a “single subject” later trip up the merging of a 12-week ban on abortions into a proposal to ban minors […]
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The Nebraska Heartbeat Act, which would have banned abortions after a heartbeat was detected, is now dead for this session after a dramatic week in the Legislature. And it was a former hospital administrator that set it all in motion. State Sen. Merv Riepe of Omaha attempted to amend the act to ban abortions at […]
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LINCOLN — Debate on the two-year state budget begins Wednesday, and it might come down to a decision about what’s more important, tax cuts or spending on things like provider rates and child care. The budget-writing Appropriations Committee gave final approval of its proposed budget last week, leaving just over $700 million to spend on […]
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The week after the biannual time change is a pain for employees at City Clock Company in Lincoln. Third-generation co-owner Deb Burkey said the company completes around 200 service calls the week after the clocks change, as clock owners adjust their mechanical clocks with mixed success. “We are on the phone constantly with people troubleshooting […]
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In early February, the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office got a report on a puppy left in a cage along a Lancaster County road. After recovering the puppy, the office arrested an 18-year-old and cited them for littering and animal abandonment, a Class I misdemeanor. For Steve Beal, the Animal Control Manager of Lincoln-Lancaster County Health […]
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LINCOLN — Deadline negotiations this week over dueling plans to implement voter ID in Nebraska could decide whether the Legislature votes on a bill this session. County election officials who will carry out the plan have also weighed in, asking state lawmakers to keep things simple. State Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar, who helmed the […]
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Among the deaths we can attribute to the polarization now seeping into every pore and pocket of modern life is nuance. You remember nuance. You saw it in the painter’s muted colors when a piece of art said something to you. You heard it when the song’s rhythm and pitch changed slightly, moving it from […]
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LINCOLN — One day after State Sen. Merv Riepe refused to vote for a six-week, “heartbeat” abortion bill, the Ralston senator said he’s not reconsidering that decision. Riepe said Friday that he had met with Gov. Jim Pillen after the vote. The governor had urged him to reconsider, but the senator said he remains supportive […]
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LINCOLN — Too many of Nebraska’s most violent inmates are “jamming out” of prison without participating in rehabilitation programs and without supervision once they’re on the outside, according to State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha. On Tuesday, Wayne, the chairman of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, explained his proposal to require such inmates to serve a […]
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LINCOLN — The Nebraska Legislature’s budget committee voted out a proposed state budget Tuesday that calls for an average increase of 2.3% in spending over the next two fiscal years. The proposed budget by the Appropriations Committee compares to a 1.5% increase recommended by first-year Gov. Jim Pillen. The main differences between the two proposals […]
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LINCOLN — An effort to increase use of higher blends of corn-based ethanol ran into an unusual group of opponents Thursday. State Sens. Megan Hunt of Omaha and Jane Raybould of Lincoln — two of the more liberal senators in the Nebraska Legislature — joined with the conservative Americans for Prosperity in arguing that mandating […]
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LINCOLN — The State of Nebraska has settled a 12-year lawsuit involving more than 400 current and former State Troopers, agreeing to pay them a combined $18.75 million. Attorney General Mike Hilgers and Gov. Jim Pillen announced the settlement Thursday with Gary Young, a lawyer representing the State Troopers Association of Nebraska. The Troopers sued […]
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This weekend, my family came together at a bookstore and coffee shop to celebrate the release of my cousin’s children’s book. Toward the end of the event, a group of Omaha police officers entered the building because of a threat made against the business due to an event that preceded my cousin’s book signing. As […]
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Meet the state senators deciding policy and leading Nebraska’s legislative branch through 2024. Nebraska’s current 49 state senators are among the most diverse in the state’s history with 18 women, six senators of color and two openly LGBTQ senators. The median age of the Legislature, at the start of the session, was 61 — the youngest […]
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LINCOLN — Nebraska would no longer be the only state in the union that doesn’t provide some sort of “school choice” under a bill sent to final-round approval Thursday. Legislative Bill 753 would permit state tax credits for donations to organizations that provide scholarships to kids to attend private and parochial schools. An estimated 5,000 […]
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Suicide prevention is everyone’s responsibility, says Dr. Dave Miers, Bryan Health’s director of behavioral health. And that’s why Miers is one of many mental health advocates making a push to bring good public policies about smart mental health practices to the Nebraska Legislature. During the month of March, the Nebraska chapter of the American Foundation […]
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LINCOLN — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen picked former prosecutor Carolyn Bosn on Thursday to replace one of law enforcement’s favorites in the Legislature, State Sen. Suzanne Geist. Pillen said he knew and trusted Bosn’s “extraordinary public servant heart” because she grew up in his hometown of Columbus. He said their families have known each other […]
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LINCOLN — The property tax portion of the Nebraska Legislature’s push for a tax relief package took a major step Monday toward passage. Senators passed Legislative Bill 243 on the first round of debate, 41-1. LB 243, as introduced by State Sen. Tom Briese of Albion and amended by the Revenue Committee, would make a […]
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