NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE MOVES TO SEPARATE YRTCs BY GENDER AND ADVANCES RELATED BILLS

LINCOLN - The Legislature forwarded a package of bills Tuesday aimed at addressing long-running problems at the state's Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Centers.

Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth managed to attach his bill that would separate male and female youths, keeping only boys at Kearney and girls at Geneva. That measure was attached to a bill (LB1188) that would mandate the Office of Juvenile Services to establish a superintendent of schools to administer education programs at the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Centers by Aug. 1.

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TC ENERGY TO BEGIN FELLING TREES ALONG KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE ROUTE

BILLINGS, Mont. — A Canadian company said Wednesday it has started preliminary work along the route of the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline through the U.S. in anticipation of starting construction next month, as opponents await a judge's ruling on their request to block any work.

TC Energy spokeswoman Sara Rabern said the Calgary-based company was moving equipment this week and will begin mowing and felling trees in areas along the pipeline's 1,200-mile route within the next week or so.

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NEBRASKA STATE SENATOR CREATES WEBSITE URGING GOP TO RESTORE ITS VALUES

LINCOLN - Sen. John McCollister of Omaha has launched a website urging the Republican Party to recover and restore its past values and apply them to the issues of today such as climate change, immigration reform, criminal justice reform and "reasonable gun legislation."

The new website presence was heralded by a series of tweets from McCollister, a Republican member of the nonpartisan Legislature, who said he is seeking a return to "a more rational and responsive Republican Party" rather than the GOP of today.

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NEBRASKA LAWMAKERS SHOOT DOWN PROPOSED $52 MILLION WORK-RELEASE FACILITY IN OMAHA

LINCOLN — A proposal to build a $52 million work-release facility in Omaha was shot down Wednesday by state lawmakers amid questions about whether Corrections Department officials would actually use the money and build a prison.

State Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha said the Legislature needs to address the state’s prison overcrowding “crisis” because it’s not being seriously addressed right now.

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NEBRASKA LAWMAKERS REVIVE PROPERTY TAX RELIEF EFFORT WITH REVISED MEASURE ADDRESSING SCHOOL CONCERNS

LINCOLN — Thanks to some legislative gymnastics, state lawmakers will get another chance to debate a much-amended property tax relief proposal.

Further debate on an initial tax relief proposal, Legislative Bill 974, had been blocked since Feb. 20 because backers couldn’t show they had 33 votes to overcome an expected filibuster.

But on Tuesday, a legislative committee found a way around that blockade, pushing a 75-page amendment into a noncontroversial cleanup bill, LB 1106.

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STATE LEADERS BRACING FOR SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS

LINCOLN - State lawmakers and top government officials are preparing for the possibility the novel coronavirus could reach the state Capitol.

In a tweet Monday afternoon, Gov. Pete Ricketts said he had convened his cabinet last week "to review continuity of operations plans" and prepare state workers to work from home if necessary.

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DON WALTON: REDISTRICTING BATTLE UNDERWAY AHEAD OF 2021

LINCOLN - What already has the look of a gangbuster 2020 general election in Nebraska may be about to add another featured attraction.

Last week's announcement that a petition drive will be launched later this month to place an initiative proposal to create an independent citizens' redistricting commission on the November ballot is the latest biggie.

Already in the works are proposals to sharply reduce property taxes, authorize casino gambling at horse race tracks and legalize medical marijuana in the state.

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NEBRASKA LAWMAKERS ADVANCE BILL TARGETING SEXUAL MISCONDUCT BY TEACHERS

OMAHA - Nebraska lawmakers voted Monday to advance the first part of a package of measures targeting sexual misconduct by teachers and other educators.

Legislative Bill 1080, introduced by State Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha, cleared first-round consideration on a 39-0 vote. The bill would require Nebraska schools to adopt policies prohibiting sexual contact between educators and students or former students for up to a year after they leave school.

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GOV. RICKETTS: NEBRASKA SCHOOLS COULD CLOSE FOR 6-8 WEEKS IF VIRUS SPREADS INTO COMMUNITY

LINCOLN — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts said Friday that if coronavirus spreads to the community at large, he could order schools closed in the region affected for six to eight weeks.

Ricketts said that for now the disease has not reached that threshold in Nebraska.

“We do not have community spread right now,” he said.

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IN MOVE AGAINST GERRYMANDERING, A COALITION PLANS PETITION DRIVE FOR INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING BOARD

LINCOLN — A new coalition seeking to eliminate political gerrymandering in Nebraska announced plans Thursday to take the issue directly to voters.

The coalition, called Nebraskans for Independent Redistricting, will pursue a petition drive to put an independent citizens commission in charge of redrawing political district boundaries. The job currently is done by the Nebraska Legislature.

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FORMER STATE SENATOR, A FOE OF MEDICAL MARIJUNANA, CONFIRMED TO NEBRASKA BOARD OF HEALTH

LINCOLN - A leading foe of medical marijuana was confirmed Thursday as a member of the State Board of Health, but not before some legislators questioned whether he could be impartial in dealing with medical cannabis, if it is legalized by voters.

Former State Sen. John Kuehn, a veterinarian, is a co-chair of the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana Nebraska, which is running an informational campaign against legalizing medical marijuana. Gov. Pete Ricketts, who also opposes medical cannabis, nominated Kuehn, a close ally, to the 17-member health board, which advises the State Department of Health and Human Services.

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SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS TO GET INFORMATION ABOUT RIGHT UNDER BILL ADVANCED BY NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE

LINCOLN - Nebraska lawmakers took a step Tuesday toward making sure sexual assault survivors know about their rights and the help available to them.

Legislative Bill 43 cleared the first of three rounds of debate on a 41-0 vote.

State Sen. Kate Bolz of Lincoln, who introduced the bill, said it does not create new rights for people who have been sexually assaulted. Rather, it requires law enforcement or medical providers to give people information right away that clearly spells out those rights.

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LGBT DISCRIMINATION BAN TO GET BIG PUSH IN NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE

LINCOLN — With the endorsement of business groups beginning to move the needle within the Nebraska Legislature, backers of a law banning job discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity have made plans for a push in the final days of this year’s session.

Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln recently made Legislative Bill 627 her priority bill, assuring it the chance to be debated, and says the measure has garnered verbal endorsements from a majority of the 49 state lawmakers.

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SENATORS DEBATE ADDING HOLOCAUST, SLAVERY TO NEBRASKA EDUCATION STANDARDS

LINCOLN - A bill requiring the Nebraska Department of Education to incorporate the Holocaust and other genocides into the state's multicultural education standards gained first-round approval by the Legislature on Tuesday.

Introduced last year, Omaha Sen. Sara Howard's bill (LB640) was amended to remove reference to specific genocides other than the Holocaust before it was packaged into an omnibus bill (LB1131) prioritized by the Education Committee.

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HELEN RAIKES WILL CHALLENGE INCUMBENT IN LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT 23

LINCOLN - Helen Raikes has filed to run for the legislative seat in District 23, which includes Saunders, Butler and Colfax counties.

Raikes, who lives near Ashland, is a registered Independent in the nonpartisan race. She is challenging incumbent Bruce Bostelman.  
“I am the independent voice for property tax relief and opportunities for agriculture and small business," Raikes said. "I am involved in farming, small business and education. I believe I am the right voice for rural communities and that I can be effective in making the changes we need in the Legislature."

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COMPROMISE BILL WOULD RECOGNIZE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, COLUMBUS ON SAME HOLIDAY

LINCOLN - Aproposal designating the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day advanced in the Legislature on Wednesday with a compromise keeping Columbus Day in place as well.

The proposal (LB848) from Lincoln Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks originally aimed at replacing Columbus Day with a holiday recognizing the "historic, cultural and contemporary significance" of the first people in the Americas -- a step taken by many other states and cities.

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SCHOOL AID NEGOTIATIONS WITH NEBRASKA'S BIG-CITY SCHOOLS AT IMPASSE

LINCOLN - Negotiations with big-city schools seeking agreement on major property tax reduction and school aid reform legislation have reached an impasse and may have collapsed.

"I'm still hopeful," Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, chairwoman of the Legislature's Revenue Committee, said Wednesday during an interview in her Capitol office.

But the optics are not good.

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WILL SIMPLE ECONOMICS DEAL FATAL BLOW TO LONG-DELAYED KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE?

WASHINGTON — The Keystone XL pipeline has faced bureaucratic hurdles, court challenges and the determined opposition of environmental groups.

But the biggest challenge to the project at this point could come from basic economics.

Weak oil demand and cheap alternative sources mean pipeline developer TC Energy should consider putting construction plans on pause — perhaps forever, said Charles Mason, chair in petroleum and natural gas economics at the University of Wyoming.

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RICKETTS LIKENS CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK TO 'REALLY BIG SNOWSTORM' AS OFFICIALS URGE PREPAREDNESS

LINCOLN - Officials on Monday urged Nebraskans to start preparing for the arrival of the coronavirus.

“Our goal here in the state of Nebraska is to be the best-prepared state to deal with the coronavirus,” Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts said at a press conference on the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus.

The preparation, he said, should start with good hygiene, including washing hands frequently, covering coughs and sneezes and staying home if you’re sick so you don’t infect others. Officials on Monday eschewed traditional handshakes as greetings and instead exchanged elbow bumps.

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TOP DEMOCRATS' FIGHT OVER WHO STEERS STRATEGY, FUNDRAISING IN OMAHA IS COMING TO A HEAD

OMAHA-  A long-simmering dispute between two of Nebraska’s top Democrats has boiled over into open war with the 2020 presidential election just eight months away.

At the center of the tussle are Nebraska Democratic Party Chairwoman Jane Kleeb and Douglas County Democratic Party Chairwoman Crystal Rhoades. Both say they want to move on from their years-long fight, but neither is giving ground. Kleeb says she either wants Rhoades out as county party chairwoman, or she wants Rhoades to cooperate more with the state party.

Rhoades continues to push back against the state party. In 2018, she supported a behind-the-scenes bid to remove Kleeb from her state party post after she said Kleeb supported Rhoades’ challenger at the county convention. At the core of their fight is the question of who should steer the Democratic Party’s actions and fundraising in the Omaha area.

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