Legislative Update June 1, 2011
Posted June 2, 2011
The first half of the 102nd Session of the Nebraska Legislature adjourned Sine Die May 26th, the 87th legislative day. Adjourning early last happened in 2009. As in 2009, some credit the ability to adjourn early to the “Lack of Ernie” factor, while others have stated pre-session work on the budget and other contentious issues deserve credit. With that said, Speaker Mike Flood’s ability to keep the Agenda moving in an orderly fashion was, once again, a notable reason for such efficient use of the legislative calendar.
This session, 704 bills (excluding A bills) were introduced. Of those, 269 passed and were approved by the Governor, 73 were indefinitely postponed, 11 were withdrawn, 345 remain in committee and 46 remain on the floor at various stages of debate. All bills passed this session will have an operative date of August 27th, unless stated otherwise in the bill. Bills that were not either passed or killed this session will carry-over for consideration next year.
As with any long session the Legislature’s primary duty is to pass the state’s biannual budget. Last year, standing committees participated in LR 542, which produced numerous budget cutting proposals. This work done last interim allowed the $7 billion budget to literally sail through the legislative process with virtually no opposition. Governor Heineman held fast on his pledge to fight all tax increases. However, some journalists have referred to the cuts to counties and municipalities a ‘shell game’ which will leave those local governments to either make drastic cuts or raise taxes. Only two fee increases were allowed to pass, one for state park permits and another for Brand Committee travel.
Major issues addressed during this session included collective bargaining, roads funding, and redistricting. Senators Steve Lathrop and Dennis Utter began working with key stakeholder groups last summer and continued to keep parties at the table in order to achieve meaningful changes in our collective bargaining system. Senator Deb Fischer championed a significant boost in funding for roads through a quarter of one cent from the state’s sales tax that will become operative in 2013. Opponents of that measure are concerned with the impact it will have on funding other state obligations.
Redistricting the 49 legislative and three congressional districts provided the most heated and partisan debate of the session. Legislative district changes include making Scotts Bluff County a single district and moving District 49 from northwestern Nebraska to Sarpy County. The bill also shifts Dawes, Sheridan and Grant counties from District 49 to District 43. Boyd and Rock counties move from District 43 to District 40, Custer County moves from District 43 to District 36 and Gosper County moves from District 38 to District 44. Redistricting congressional district shifts a number of counties from Congressional District 1 to District 3 to account for population shifts from western to eastern Nebraska. District 3 now reaches from border to border across the northern and southern boundaries of the state. The bill also shifts areas of eastern Sarpy County from District 2 to District 1, and western areas of the county from District 1 to District 2. The following is a link to the final redistricting maps: http://news.legislature.ne.gov/red/
During the interim, the Legislature will shift its focus to a variety of Interim Study Resolutions. We will be working through the list in the upcoming weeks and forwarding copies to interested clients. Hearings related to the studies will generally not start until this fall. You can find a list summarizing all interim studies as well as the text of the resolutions on the Unicameral’s web site at: http://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/session/interim.php If you would like further information on any particular study or would like to be notified if and when a hearing is scheduled, please let us know.
During the summer things slow down a little which gives us some time to catch up on other projects as well as spend some time away from the office. We will be closing our office at noon on Fridays through Labor Day. Should you need to reach us after noon on Fridays, our answering service can get calls through to us at anytime.
