LINCOLN — Every Nebraska worker was set to have paid sick leave starting this fall, because voters approved it through a citizen-led initiative.

That change was part of a wave of ballot measures Nebraska voters embraced in recent years, including the legalization of medical marijuana that left lawmakers and a newly created commission to craft the framework of how the new medicine would be regulated.

While the dangerous effects of climate change continue to worsen, legal efforts to address a range of environmental issues are also on the rise.