Lawmakers back at work

By the time you read this, the Legislature will have begun its One Hundred and Fifth Session. In the first few days, committee chairs will be elected, rules will be proposed and adopted, and bills will begin being introduced. Senators will have until the tenth day, which this year is January 18th, to introduce new bills. Once introduced, a bill goes to the Revisor of Statutes who makes a recommendation to the Referencing Committee as to which committee should hear that bill. The Referencing Committee is made up of the Executive Board, of which I am a member, and we look at the bill and generally agree with the Revisor of Statutes and send the bill to that committee. Occasionally, we will investigate the bill more deeply to ensure that it goes to the right committee.

Once referenced, the chair of that committee gets the bill and it is up to him or her to determine a hearing schedule. Nebraska requires that every bill have a public hearing, so depending on the number of bills referenced to that committee, the chair will decide how many bills will be heard on each day that the committee meets. For instance, if the Judiciary Committee has 200 bills, they will have to meet into the night several times that year in order to get them all heard, while the General Affairs Committee only had 10 bills, which they heard in two or three committee days, and their committee work for the year was basically complete. Hearings can begin as early as the 2nd week, and run through a deadline which is determined by the number of bills introduced by the entire Legislature that year.

I would like to welcome Gera Carstenson to the District 44 office. Gera will be my Administrative Assistant, and she comes to us with a wealth of knowledge and experience from time as a page and involvement in Nebraska elections. Although we are happy about Gera joining our team, we are saddened that Edward Boone is leaving. Edward has been my Administrative Assistant for the past 13 months and I have truly enjoyed working with him. From his excellent writing skills to his wry sense of humor, he has been an invaluable member of our team. He has taken the opportunity to advance his career within the Capitol by becoming the Legislative Assistant for Senator Tom Briese. I wish him nothing but the best and am looking forward to working with him and his new boss in the upcoming session

I always enjoy hearing from the Nebraskans I represent. 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 bills and other work of the Legislature at www.nebraskalegislature.gov, and you can click on the Live Video Streaming NET logo to watch sessions, hearings, and other Capitol events.