General Affairs Committee hears bill

One of the committees that I sit on is the General Affairs Committee. On January 26th, we heard 8 bills in Committee, they were:

LB 17 -- Would increase the annual transfer from the Charitable Gaming Operations Fund to the Gamblers Assistance Fund from $50,000 to $250, 000. The introducer of the bill, asked the General Affairs Committee to kill his bill, he said the Governor has in his budget bill money for the fund.

LB 118 -- Would once again authorize cigar bars, referred to in this bill as cigar shops with liquor licenses. A licensee would still have to meet the previous criteria such as having a walk-in humidor, a minimum of 10 percent of its gross revenue from tobacco products, tobacco-related products, and cigars, but not cigarettes, and could not sell food. Cigarette smoking would still be prohibited within the establishment.

LB 160 -- Would authorize all state and federally chartered financial institutions to conduct a "savings promotion raffle." Under current law, only state and federally chartered credit unions are authorized to conduct a "savings promotion raffle."

LB 179 -- Would require an electrical apprentice to present documentary evidence of successful completion of continuing education courses and adds a penalty for failure to fulfill the requirement.

LB 241 -- Change provisions relating to conveyances of cemetery lots.

LB 250 -- A bill that removes the current requirement of at least five minutes between keno games.

LB 330 -- Incorporates a number of proposals, it would give the Liquor Control Commission clear jurisdiction over alcohol in powdered form, defining hard cider as beer instead of wine, to allow licensees 30 days for a late renewal, in situations when the establishment is within 150 feet of a church to only trigger a hearing if the affected church submits a written request for a hearing to the Liquor Control Commission, repeal the mandatory closing time statute, require all kegs to have a keg identification number, allows the Commission to destroy or sell seized liquor, removes the restriction of alcohol sales in homes for the aged.

LR10CA -- Would allow voters to vote in the General Election in November 2016, on whether or not to allow the Legislature to authorize and regulate any other game of chance, lottery, or gift enterprise.

This past week the Legislature spent quite a few hours on LB 88. It would change the marriage license fee from $15 to $50. This fee has not been increased since 1995.

I look forward to hearing from you. Please feel free to contact my office with any questions or concerns that you might have. My email address is dhughes@leg.ne.gov and my phone number is (402) 471-2805.

You can read more about the bills at www.nebraska.gov you can also watch live streaming video.