Bill could erase party lines in small-town elections

McCOOK, Neb. — In smaller towns, when it comes to local elections, the emphasis is on the person rather than party affiliation.

That’s because in smaller counties, “You know who you’re voting for, rather than voting for party lines,” said Dist. 44 State Sen. Dan Hughes.

Hughes’ bill, LB 144, that had its first hearing in the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs committee Feb. 27, would allow counties with 15,000 or less to hold non-partisan county primary elections, either through a voter-approved county board resolution or citizen petition. The top two candidates would advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation, with party labels included on the general election ballot.

Hughes said Thursday morning at the McCook Chamber of Commerce conference call that in the 2014 election in Red Willow County, four candidates ran for sheriff and all were Republican.

“The Republicans in that county decided who their sheriff should be,” Hughes said during the hearing testimony, according to the legislature’s news source, Unicameral Update.

It’s hard to get people to participate in local elections in small towns, he said Thursday morning, and this could encourage more people to run.

No immediate action was taken in committee and Hughes said in talking with the committee chair, it may help if the county commissioner race is taken out of the mix. In larger, urban counties, party affiliation play a much more important role, Hughes said.

Another bill that will be introduced next week will essentially say the same thing, only extend it across the state, he said.

The lack of action on the bill from the committee may mean several things with Hughes speculating “they think their system is working fine now and it’s not worth changing the law.”

The majority of committee members in Government, Military and Veterans Affairs come from counties larger than 15,000. The chair, Tom Brewer, is of Sheridan County, east of Chadron, Neb., a county with a population slightly over 5,000. The rest of the committee members come from more populous counties: vice chair, Andrew La Grone, of Gretna, Neb. (Sarpy County), Carol Blood, Omaha, Matt Hansen, Lincoln, Mike Hilgers, Lincoln, Megan Hunt, Omaha, Rick Kolowski, Omaha, and John Lowe, Kearney.

Other topics or bills mentioned by Hughes or by those attending the conference call included:

-- When asked about what the state can do about increasing Medicaid reimbursements to nursing home facilities to match services provided, Hughes said although provider rates were reduced last year, this year the Appropriations Committee has allocated additional funds. As far as expanding Medicaid, as approved by voters in the last election, Hughes said the number keeps growing as to how many people it will cover, first at 90,000 and now, up to 95,000. The state budget is growing four percent each year, with Medicaid payments growing over 6 percent each year. At this rate, Medicaid payments “will take over the budget at some point…we have to find a way to make it work.”

Hughes said he’s talked to many people in his district who are affiliated with nursing homes about the decrease in Medicaid reimbursements and is aware of how that affects the facilities. He noted that it’s another example of a federal government policy that won’t reimburse adequately.

-- A bill that changes the names and provisions of American civics requirements in public schools has advanced to select file, with Hughes voting in favor of it. According to the Unicameral Update, LB399 would require school districts to administer the 100-question civics portion of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services naturalization exam to students no later than eighth grade and again no later than 11th grade. A student’s score would be given to his or her parents or guardians. An amendment that was adopted would remove the requirement that districts administer the exam and instead would make it one of three options a district would have to include in its curriculum. A district also could require a student to attend or participate in a meeting of a public body and then complete a project or paper demonstrating what he or she learned or complete a project, paper or class presentation on a person, event or related topic from American history.

-- There’s an abundance of laws that addresses robo-calls but the hard part is enforcing them on foreign land, Hughes said. LB 693, that a would prohibit the selling, renting, or conveying of telephone numbers, was recently heard in the Transportation and Telecommunications committee, with no immediate action taken.

Hughes was reminded by a participant at the conference call that a McCook native, Ernie Weyeneth, was recently recognized by the state legislature for the Distinguished Nebraskalander Award. Weyeneth graduated from McCook High School in 1965 and manages the Kimmel Foundation, a Nebraska organization that supports charitable causes in Nebraska. The foundation has sponsored several events in the McCook area.