Pandemic limits networking for new lawmakers

McCOOK, Neb. - The Unicameral is about one-third of the way through the session and Sen. Dan Hughes said COVID and social distancing is changing the way it operates. Sen. Hughes spoke to a group of constituents at the chamber’s weekly Zoom meeting.

Because there are no lunchtime or evening gatherings, senators are not able to network with one another and find out about the pros and cons of proposed legislation during the hearing process. Day-long committee hearings prevent legislators from finding an opportunity to discuss issues with colleagues who serve on different committees.

Because of the years he has served in the Legislature, he said he is familiar with the issues and the testifiers that come into the hearings. “I’ve heard all of this stuff over and over and over again – the broadband, climate change, net metering – I’ve dealt with these things for six, going on seven years, now. It doesn’t mean that I know it all. I’m just familiar with the subject matter and the players who come in.”

But he is concerned about new members and the complicated issues that they are trying to tackle without the networking that normally happens. “These issues are very complicated and it takes time and effort to understand, especially water issues, electricity issues, broadband.” Hughes said that lobbyists are doing their best to educate senators and staff, but lawmakers need to be especially cautious of making decisions too quickly, before the issues have been thoroughly vetted.

He went on to say that Senator Ernie Chambers, who was term-limited out of the Legislature last year, would use techniques to slow down legislation. “Without that, sometimes it can go to fast.”

Sen. Hughes updated constituents on bills in his committees:

LB650 introduced by Sen. Flood (District 19-Norfolk), would adopt the Nebraska Geologic Storage of Carbon Dioxide Act. This would allow ethanol plants to trap carbon dioxide emissions and inject them it into the ground, eliminating additional emissions into the atmosphere.

LB468 introduced by Sen. Erdman (District 47-Bayard) would require the Nebraska Game and Parks to compensate for property damage caused by wildlife. Erdman is concerned about elk herds that have been decimating crops in his area. Hughes said he has been working on this issue as well, “It’s proven to be very challenging trying to get any kind of money out of the state to do that. It’s hard to get Game and Parks to raise enough money from hunting fees.”

Constituents asked Hughes for his thoughts on several bills:

LB83 introduced by Sen. Flood would change the Open Meetings Act to provide for virtual conferencing.

LB459 introduced by Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh (District 6-Omaha) would increase tax on tobacco and cigarettes. Hughes said he is not in favor of increasing “sin taxes”, unless they are being increased to pay for abuse programs that would reduce the use of those items.

LB480 introduced by Sen. McKinney (District 11-Omaha) would raise the minimum wage in one-dollar increments to $20 per hour by 2032. Constituents said that passing the legislation would require that small businesses cut employees or hours. Hughes said he was not in favor of raising the minimum wage. “I am a free market individual. I think there is opportunity to have a job and do a good job, and then you will be rewarded. And if you’re not, go find a different job. There’s plenty of work available out there.” He went on to say that many union contracts are tied to the minimum wage. “We’re not just raising the wages for waitresses and bartenders and bus boys, but you have factory workers, union individuals, who benefit from an increase in the minimum wage as well. That just raises the cost of products to the consumer.”

LB110 is of concern to McCook City Manager Nate Schneider and Police Chief Joel Smith, saying that they would prefer LB51. LB110 (Pansing-Brooks, District 28-Lincoln) puts requirements on law enforcement to intervene if excessive or inappropriate force is being used. LB51 (Lathrop, District 12-Omaha) increases standards relating to certification of law enforcement and requires psychological evaluation for certification, and additional training in de-escalation techniques.

According to Schneider, LB110 would not be feasible for officers to implement, and would put some subjective requirements on officers where it’s very difficult to make those types of calls. Hughes speculated that a hybrid of those two bills will come out of committee. “Generally, the things that come out of committee aren’t as good as people would like or as bad as some people fear. When they get to the floor, the rest of us get a chance to try and craft the proposals.” He did not foresee this Legislature putting additional requirements on law enforcement, partly because of the difficulty in recruiting law enforcement. He said that it is important to do a good job of screening and hiring quality individuals with the right temperament for public service positions.