Upcoming issues expected to slow pace in Unicameral

McCOOK, Neb. -- Sen. Dan Hughes told a group of constituents that the Legislature is “passing a lot of legislation rather quickly”, but he expects the pace to slow down in the upcoming weeks as more contentious legislation like the budget, medical marijuana, and police reform makes it to the floor. Sen. Hughes spoke at the chamber’s weekly Legislative Update via Zoom on Thursday.

Senators were scheduled to receive the printed version of the state’s biennial budget on Thursday afternoon, and it will be brought to the floor of the legislature on Wednesday or Thursday next week. Sen. Hughes said the numbers were continuing to trend positively for the state, with February’s revenue number above expectations.

The session has not been entirely without controversy so far, however. On Wednesday, the approval of a nominee to the Nebraska Health Board was debated for an extended period of time, as some lawmakers felt the governor’s nominee was politically motivated and did not represent the diversity needed on the board.

Gov. Ricketts nominated Bud Synhorst, who is the president of the Lincoln Independent Business Association and former executive director of the Nebraska Republican Party, to an at-large seat on the board that sets rules for a variety of health care professions. Synhorst already serves on a state-nominating board for judges. Some lawmakers argued that the board needed to be represented by more women and minorities, as well as professionals with offices “east of 72nd Street in Omaha”. Synhorst was eventually confirmed with a 37-7 vote.

When asked about the controversy, Sen. Hughes told constituents that he felt Synhorst’s other activities should not preclude him from serving the state on the health board. He went on to explain that the Governor has to appoint approximately 1,500 people to various boards and commissions and finding people with the passion, time, and commitment to serve on those boards for little or no compensation is difficult.

Sen. Hughes also discussed a variety of legislation with constituents, including:

LB336 raises park permit fees for out-of-state residents and is currently on hold pending discussions with Game and Parks officials on the changes being made at Lake McConaughey. Hughes said that Game and Parks Executive Director Jim Douglas has announced his retirement effective later this year. “New leadership at Game and Parks is something that I’ve been pushing for the last few years, and I’m glad to see that’s finally going to happen,” Hughes said. Hughes said he is hopeful that Game and Parks Commissioners will hire a new executive director who will give more attention to lake recreation in Southwest Nebraska, as well as be responsive to damages to area croplands caused by big game.

LR29 creates a special investigative committee to look into the state’s contract with St. Francis Ministries to provide child welfare services for Douglas and Sarpy counties. Part of the debate on the resolution involved the committee’s authority to issue subpoenas. Hughes said subpoena authority is a tool that the legislature needs to keep bureaucrats from stonewalling and not answering questions. However, senators debated whether the committee could issue the subpoenas, or if the subpoenas should have Executive Board approval. Ultimately, the legislature gave the Executive Board the oversight.

“I absolutely believe that we do need to issue subpoenas at times because some bureaucracies are very good at stonewalling us. So we do need to have that authority. But there does need to be in-house oversight for that.” The investigative committee will consist of nine members appointed by the Executive Committee.

LB650, which provides regulations for carbon sequestration, received first-round approval on Tuesday. The bill allows ethanol plants to inject carbon dioxide deep into the earth’s surface for storage and Sen. Hughes said that passage of the bill would help the ethanol industry by reducing their carbon scores and making their product more competitive in states like California that have adopted low-carbon fuel standards. In addition, it opens opportunities for an entirely new industry. “There are other companies that are seriously looking at this concept and looking at making significant investment within the state of Nebraska to do some additional projects like this. That will be kind of an interesting industry that may be unfolding, and we need to make sure that we get it right in the initial stages of that concept,” Hughes said.

LB338 also gained first-round approval on Tuesday. The rural broadband bill sets standards for broadband companies or political subdivisions before they can receive funding from the Nebraska Universal Service Fund. Broadband upload and download speeds must achieve a minimum of 100 Mbps or greater and speed tests must be available under the legislation.

Hughes said that there is $20 million annually for the next two years in the budget for broadband build-out, as well as “significant money” coming from the federal government. Hughes said the standard of 100 mbps is only available through fiber.