Opinion

Remembering that fateful September day

September 9, 2011

By Ellen Mortensen, Chief Editor

I was bowling. That’s where I was Sept. 11, 2001 at 8:46 a.m. A Tuesday morning ladies bowling league at Pleasure Lanes.
The bowling alley was busy - noisy - chaotic. All the girls were getting their bowling shoes on, their bowling balls wiped down, and names up on the scoreboard as we prepared for the week’s competition. And if you have ever been in the same room with 50 women, you know the level of noise I am referring to!

Candidate funding rules in court

August 26, 2011

By ED HOWARD
Statehouse Correspondent
The Nebraska Press Association

LINCOLN – The U.S. Supreme Court says that sometimes the candidate who has less money and qualifies for public campaign financing can be a threat to the First Amendment rights of the candidate who may have lots of money to spend.
That decision by a 5-4 majority puts a portion of Nebraska’s law for public financing in jeopardy, according to Attorney General Jon Bruning.

Honor our fallen heroes

August 12, 2011

By Ellen Mortensen,
Editor

I have had the distinct honor of getting to bring you, the readers, the stories of many of our area World War II veterans in the past few years. And I have also had the honor of being able to accompany several of those veterans on two WWII Hero Flight trips to Washington, D.C.

CAPITOL VIEW

July 28, 2011

By Ed Howard
Statehouse Correspondent
The Nebraska Press Association

LINCOLN – State lawmakers could begin to feel pressure next year from folks who count greatly on Social Security benefits.
We’re talking about the next year, which also is an election year.
They might call it something else, but there is a real possibility that Congress will reduce Social Security retirement benefits through the back door.

Priority Designations

March 11, 2011

By Deb Fischer, Senator
Dictrict 43

We have come to the point in the Legislative Session where bills will likely need a priority designation in order to be debated on
the floor. March 9th was the due date for Senator and Committee priority
designations as well as requests for Speaker priority designations.
Each Senator gets one bill to designate as a priority, the Committees
are able to designate two bills each and the Speaker can designate up to
25 priority bills. This system enables those bills deemed priorities to
be debated ahead of other bills.

A Variety of Legislation

February 28, 2011

By Deb Fischer, Senator,
District 43

Lincoln - Several important bills have been debated by the
Legislature over the last couple of weeks. These bills deal with
various areas of policy from adoption to fluoridation of water. As the
session moves along, I expect the Legislature will continue debating
more Senator priority bills through March and then begin work on the
budget in late April.

A bill I co-sponsored, LB 284, to place restrictions on protestors at
funerals recently passed the first round of debate. This bill was

Protecting rural courts

February 18, 2011

By Deb Fischer, Senator,
District 43

The projected budget shortfall is going to affect all areas of state government, including the court system. I have received
quite a few emails and letters from people who are concerned about
possible court closures in our counties. While I understand the
hardships facing the Supreme Court system, I am committed to protecting
our access to governmental services, including our fundamental right to
justice through court services in our sparsely populated areas. I
worked hard to retain our county judge in our Eighth Judicial District.

Do we want teachers or armed guards?

January 27, 2011

By ED HOWARD
Statehouse Correspondent
The Nebraska Press Association

LINCOLN – Lawmakers are talking about whether teachers should be authorized to carry guns at school.
What should the rest of us be talking about?
What does it say about us when a teacher goes into a classroom, armed like an undercover cop going to a drug buy?
What does it say about us when such a thing is even a legitimate topic for discussion?

Floor debate begins

January 21, 2011

By Deb Fischer, Senator, District 43
Bill introduction is complete with 698 bills and 11 constitutional amendments being introduced this legislative session. Committee hearings began on January 18th and floor debate on January 20th.
I have heard from many of you about several bills that have been
introduced to increase taxes. Two bills to increase the tobacco tax, LB
436 and LB 590, have been introduced by Senator Mike Gloor of Grand
Island. LB 436 raises the tax on cigarettes from $.64 to $1.99, which
is over a 200% increase. LB 590 closes a loophole that allows

Senator Fischer's Legislative Notes

December 20, 2010

By Senator Deb Fischer

The 102nd Legislative Session begins on January 5, 2011,
and we have a significant amount of work to do over the 90 days. As I
have discussed many times, the budget is the primary concern this
session. Estimates of the budget shortfall have changed over the last
several months, with the most recent estimates being $986 million.
Standing committees just completed the LR 542 process to identify
potential budget cuts. These potential cuts were made public on
Thursday, December 16th and include a wide range of options. I will

Events Calendar

May

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26	27	28	29	30	31