Short time left in session

Only nine legislative days left in the 2014 Legislative Session. We finished day 51 of the 60-day short session. Moreover, several bills hit the floor of the Unicameral for their first round of debate. So, this week I would like to touch on the status of some of those bills, along with sharing a great opportunity for high school juniors and seniors.

The opportunity I would like to call your attention to is a program taking place from July 7th to July 11th this year. The Nebraska Agricultural Youth Institute is a five day conference, happening on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's East Campus, for high school juniors and seniors to learn about career opportunities within agriculture.

This educational experience includes engaging speakers, workshops and panels, agriculture education, professional development, and leadership experience. There will also be opportunities to network with peers, meet with industry leaders, and make new friends. I would encourage young people who are interested in agriculture to attend this conference. Thanks to generous sponsors, attendance is free of charge.

You can apply online at www.nda.nebraska.gov. You can also find the conference on twitter at @The_NAYC or on Facebook at facebook.com/NebraskaAgYouthInstitute. Applications are due April 15th.

Back to what happened in the Legislature this last week. Both LB907 and LB999 were introduced as bills that sought reform in our Nebraska correctional system. Through the deliberations in the Judiciary Committee, each bill was changed to focus more narrowly on prison overcrowding and the mental health issues within our correctional system.

LB907 will now provide for the creation of the Nebraska Justice Reinvestment Working Group to work with the Council of State Governments Justice Center and assist the center as the center utilizes its process to study and provide potential legislative solutions for prison overcrowding in Nebraska.

In addition, LB907 changes the name of the "Legal Education for Public Service Loan Repayment Fund" to the "Legal Education for Public Service and Rural Practice Loan Repayment Assistance Fund" and provides loan repayment assistance to incentivize lawyers to set up rural practices. There is $500,000 from the General Fund currently provided in the bill.

The bill will also address several reentry issues, along with requiring that personal inmate mental and behavioral health plans be finished by the time 80 percent of their sentence is completed.

There are several other provisions in the bill that I do not have space to cover, but you can find the amendments and committee statements online at NebraskaLegislature.gov.

The second bill, LB999, was changed by AM2530. The bill authorizes the Division of Behavioral Health of the Department of Health and Human Services to study the feasibility of the establishment of a Hastings Correctional Behavioral Health Treatment Center at the Hastings Regional Center. The plan is to provide one or two buildings for up to 200 mentally ill inmates and those dealing with substance abuse.

I supported both of these bills, and believe we are heading in the right direction to provide solutions for our prison overcrowding and inmate reentry and mental health issues.

If you have any questions or comments, contact my office. Mark R. Christensen, PO Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509, 402-471-2805 or mchristensen@leg.ne.gov.