Weekly Roundup

Another week of the Nebraska legislature is in the books and we are onto a new week! A number of bills relevant to Common Cause Nebraska were heard by the Executive and Government committees last week, and more are set for committee hearings on Wednesday and Thursday.

The following is a list of bills that were heard for the week of February 17. We have also included bills on the docket for this week. Both lists contain a brief overview of the bill as well as Common Cause’s stance on each one. For bills on the docket for this week, we have also included the time and meeting place for committee hearings for any CCNE members that would like to attend.

Bills Heard Last Week

LB1167: Would add a section/time for public comment at every meeting held by a public body.

Sponsor: Albrecht (District 17)

Heard by: Government, Military and Veteran’s Affairs Committee

Common Cause Position: Common Cause supports this bill because it reflects our belief in free speech and aids constituents in holding their elected officials accountable.

LB981: Changes the provisions regarding state contracts to certain state entities (mainly state constitutional officers)

Sponsor: Hunt (District 8)

Heard by: Government, Military and Veteran’s Affairs Committee

Common Cause Position: Common Cause supports this bill. Both the bill and the organization’s support stemmed from a questionable contract provision granted by the State Treasurer’s office; this bill would remedy conflicts of interest and provide oversight to the contract provision process.

LB982: Change the prohibition on use of state funds for advertising or promotional materials

Sponsor: Hansen, M. (District 26)

Heard by: Government, Military and Veteran’s Affairs Committee

Common Cause Position: Common Cause also supports this bill. Similar to LB981, this bill stems from a series of advertisements put out by the State Treasurer’s office that were of questionable content. (Board Member Jack Gould testified in support of both LB981 and LB982).

LB1195: Update to public records access to ensure all public files are available to the public, including those on computer files.

Sponsor: Morfeld (District 46)

Heard by: Government, Military and Veteran’s Affairs Committee

Common Cause Position: Neutral stance.

LR280CA: Constitutional amendment to change legislative terms to three consecutive terms

Sponsor: Wayne (District 13)

Heard by: Executive Committee

Common Cause Position: Neutral/support. Typically longer tenured legislators are more effective as political operatives in passing legislation.

LB935: Allow for candidates/elected officials to pay for childcare out of their campaign funds

Sponsor: Hunt (District 8)

Common Cause Position: Neutral. The intent of this bill is overall good, though the organization is wary of any campaign spending outside typical campaign expenditures.

LB936: Allow for candidates/elected officials to use campaign funds to cover family/spouse travel for work related to their elected duties.

Sponsor: Hunt (District 8)

Heard by: Government, Military and Veteran’s Affairs Committee

Common Cause Position: Neutral. Similar reasoning as the previous bill related to campaign expenditures.

Bills on the Docket this week

LB1005: Would allow for non-partisan voting in state primary elections. Local elections would remain restricted to partisan affiliation.

Sponsor: McCollister (District 20)

Hearing Date/Place: Wednesday- Government, Military and Veteran’s Affairs Committee, Room 1507

Common Cause Position: Neutral.

LRCA286: Add a constitutional amendment to remove any felony convictions other than treason as a disqualification for voter eligibility.

Sponsor: Cavanaugh

Hearing Date/Place: Wednesday- Government, Military and Veteran’s Affairs Committee, Room 1507

Common Cause Position: Support. This bill would remove the current two year cooling off period required for returning citizens and make them eligible voters once they are without papers.

LRCA292CA: Constitutional amendment to require proof of identity prior to voting.

Sponsor: La Grone

Hear Date/Place: Thursday- Government, Military and Veteran’s Affairs Committee, Room 1507

Common Cause Position: Against. Common Cause has previously been against voter ID and remains so. Voter ID would unnecessarily prevent access to voting and place undue burden on the public. Simply put, this bill goes against all of the core values of the organization.

Feel free to email me to provide input/feedback on these bills at choefer@commoncause.org. Thank you and have a wonderful week!