Senator looks forward to private life, still on the job

We completed the second session of the 107th legislature this past Wednesday, the 60th day which is the final day we could meet. The last day provided an opportunity to finish the business of the Legislature, with some procedural things that we need to finalize. For example, in order to close the books on this session and start the next biennium session with a clean slate, all the bills from the first and second sessions of this 107th legislature were indefinitely postponed (killed).

The day then ended with an address from the governor where he spoke about the accomplishments of this session.  There was also an opportunity for term-limited senators, and those senators choosing not to seek reelection, to say some final words.  I am one of those senators being term-limited out.  

My tenure as the 44th legislative district state senator will not end until Jan. 4 of next year when my replacement is sworn in. Meanwhile, I will continue to represent my constituents in the 44th legislative district.  There are still concerns that need to be addressed, so I will still be hard at work this summer. 

Although I will not be able to introduce new legislation, I’m hoping to have some ideas refined to bring to either my replacement or another senator.  Also, as chair of the Executive Board of the Legislative Council, I have administrative duties that will continue throughout the year. For example, I will be interviewing and hiring two legislative division directors, who will be replacing long-term employees. The head of the Legislative Fiscal Office is retiring after 40+ years. I will work to replace that individual, in conjunction with the Chair of the Appropriations Committee. Also, the head of the Legislative Business Office is retiring as well. 

There is speculation that if the U.S Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, the governor, will call the Legislature back for a special session to consider changing Nebraska’s laws to correspond with the Supreme Court’s decision. 

At this point, no one knows how the court is going to rule or if indeed the governor will call this legislature back into session. He could choose to allow the new incoming Legislature to deal with that issue.

Over the summer we will be getting ready for our Legislative Council meeting which is scheduled for the middle of November, after the elections.  All of the newly elected senators, as well as returning senators, are invited and encouraged to attend for the opportunity to get to know each other and also go over rules and procedures.

This meeting must be held every even-numbered year according to statute but could be held every year if necessary. This is a great opportunity for senators to get together to study issues that may be coming before the legislature in the next session.

I will end this article by saying that it has truly been a privilege and an honor to serve as the state senator for the 44th legislative district.  These past 8 years have been immensely rewarding to me. 

It is time for someone else to shoulder the responsibility of representing 40,000 people in Southwest Nebraska. I am looking forward to once again being a private citizen and spending time with my family.