The second session of the 109th Nebraska Unicameral Legislature convened on Jan. 7—opening this year’s opportunity to sort through and debate hundreds of potential new laws or changes to existing state law.
Legislation will be introduced for the first three weeks and range from simple word clarification to program overhauls. Clay County News will be following these proposals, providing updates as they move through the legislative process until the end of the session on April 17.
In each section, there are plenty more introduced bills that may interest readers. Let us know if you’d like to add a bill to this list of weekly updates.
Following are bills that have been introduced, as of Jan. 9, with potential to impact Clay County:
GENERAL LR284CA, introduced by Sen. Terrell McKinney of Omaha and referred to the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs (GMVA) Committee, would drop the voting age from 18 to 16 years old.
TAX-RELATED LB848, introduced by Sen.
John Cavanaugh III of Omaha, would exempt clothing, personal computers, and school supplies from local and state sales taxes for three days of the first weekend in August.
LB865, introduced by Sen.
Jason Prokop of Crete, would exempt child care supplies, clothing, footwear, and school supplies from local and state sales tax for three days of the last weekend in July.
LB868, introduced by Sen.
Barry DeKay of Verdel, would exempt homicide victims from inheritance tax.
LB896, introduced by Sen.
Dan Lonowski of Hastings, would increase the fee for a marriage license from $25 to $50.
LB900, also introduced by Lonowski, would increase the fee paid to county sheriffs for issuing distress warrants to collect taxes from $2 to $20 per warrant plus mileage.
LR292CA, introduced by Sen. Bob Andersen of Gretna and referred to the Revenue Committee, would limit property tax increases. Andersen has named this resolution as his priority measure. Designating a measure as a senator’s priority bill or resolution pushes it ahead of other measures in consideration.
While Speaker of the Legislature Sen. John Arch of Papillion has the privilege of selecting 25 priority measures, most state lawmakers are only allowed to choose one priority measure; committee chairs can select two.
EDUCATION LB730, introduced by Sen.
Kathleen Kauth of Omaha and referred to the GMVA Committee, would require public schools, public colleges, and state agencies to designate restrooms and locker rooms per male or female gender and prohibit use by the opposite gender. Murman has added his support to this bill.
LB742, introduced by McKinney and referred to the Education Committee, would allow students in grades 7-8 to compete on high school sport teams.
LB937, introduced by the Education Committee, would require public schools to recognize dyslexia as a reading deficiency requiring special education services.
LB940, introduced by Sen.
Dave Murman of Glenvil, would prohibit certain color additives in public school meals.
HEALTH & SAFETY LB272, introduced by Kauth and referred to the Judiciary Committee, would authorize law enforcement to use an epinephrine autoinjector to respond to an anaphylaxis event.
LB731, also introduced by Kauth and referred to the Judiciary Committee, would adopt the Gender Transition Malpractice Accountability Act to require insurance coverage for treatments for injuries from gender alteration procedures.
LB732, introduced by Kauth as well and referred to the Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee, would prohibit health care providers from providing cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers to youth. Muman has added his support to this bill.
LB734, introduced by Hunt and referred to the HHS Committee, would waive work requirements for recipients of income-qualifying Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits who are homeless, a military veteran or a former foster care youth now aged 19-24. Conrad added her support to this bill.
LB762, introduced by Sen.
George Dungan of Lincoln and referred to the Banking, Commerce and Insurance (BCI) Committee, would require insurance coverage of pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with a streptococcal infection (PANDAS). Sen.
Megan Hunt, of Lincoln, and Bellevue’s Sen. Victor Rountree have both added their support to this bill.
LB779, introduced by Sen.
Danielle Conrad of Lincoln and referred to the Judiciary Committee, would place limits on medical debt collection.
LB780, also introduced by Dungan and referred to the BCI Committee, would require insurance coverage of eating disorders.
LB805, introduced by Lonowski and referred to the BCI Committee, would require insurance coverage of infant cranial helmets.
LB825, introduced by Sen.
Beau Ballard of Lincoln and referred to the HHS Committee, would require mental health professionals to receive training on domestic abuse.
LB849, introduced by Cavanaugh and referred to the Revenue Committee, would exempt over-the-counter medication from sales tax.
LB855, introduced by McKinney, would adopt the Youth Early Intervention and Support Act to develop a statewide framework in public schools to identify at-risk youth and provide interventions.
LB878, introduced by Sen.
Dunixi Gueraca of Omaha, would fund paid maternity leave for State employees.
Conrad has added her support to this bill.
LB914, introduced by Sen.
Brian Hardin of Scottsbluff, would absolve medical physicians from negligence of physician assistants.
LEGISLATIVE NEWS
LB933, introduced by Cavanaugh, would provide immunity to health care providers recommending therapeutic cannibis use to a patient for treatment of a medical condition.
LB939, introduced by Murman, would adopt the Saving Human Connection Act to prohibit online platforms using chatbots to use human-like features with youth.
LR293, introduced by Kauth and referred to the Reference Committee, would urge the United States Congress to enact legislation to improve military veteran access to traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder treatments.
JUSTICE
LB763, introduced by Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue and referred to the Judiciary Committee, would exempt Board of Parole members from the Open Meetings Act, allowing decisions made to be kept out of public knowledge.
Two bills have been introduced to prohibit law enforcement officers from wearing disguises and require the wearing of identification: LB854 by Hunt and LB906 by Sen. Margo Juarez of Omaha.
LB881, introduced by Gueraca, would require law enforcement agencies and jails to receive approval prior to enforcing immigration law.
LB907, also introduced by Juarez, would prohibit law enforcement from entering community safe spaces—hospitals, schools and colleges, libraries, designated disaster response sites, courthouses, homeless shelters, domestic violence or human trafficking service centers, law offices, community resource centers, faith centers, childcare centers—to enforce immigration law.
LB909, introduced by Hardin, prohibits sexual abuse by a law enforcement officer.
LB925, introduced by Andersen, would adopt the Safe Parks and Public Spaces Act to prohibit an unauthorized homeless encampment in parks and rights-of-way.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT LB735, introduced by Rountree and referred to the HHS Committee, would adopt the Respiratory Care Interstate Compact to allow respiratory therapists to cross state lines to practice.
LB736, also introduced by Rountree and referred to the HHS Committee, would adopt the Athletic Trainer Compact to allow licensed athletic trainers to cross state lines to practice.
LB879, introduced by Gueraca, would adopt the Guest Worker Permit Act to allow undocumented individual to obtain a work permit.
LB893, introduced by Sen. Jared Storm of David City, would allow public school substitute teacher candidates to fulfill their human relations training requirement with interpersonal relations training.
LB938, introduced by Sen. Bob Hallstrom of Avoca, would adopt the First-Time Home Buyer Savings Account Act to provide income tax savings to prospective first-time home buyers who contribute to a specified savings account to be used in the purchase or construction of a first home in Nebraska.
AGRICULTURE LB815, introduced by Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth and referred to the Revenue Committee, would eliminate the Ethanol Development Act and Ethanol Production Incentive Cash Fund and require tax on diesel fuel.
LB827, introduced by DeKay and referred to the Natural Resources Committee, would fund Natural Resource Districts to create soil health and water quality programs.
