Eventually, the Nebraska Legislature will address this year’s impending deficit and the state’s annual property tax angst, the latter a required subject each session.

Smart money says it gets there soon. Besides, a keyword search indicates over three dozen related bills are already in the tax-and-budget hopper.

We might, however, have to wait for those discussions, let alone potential legislative action. Right out of the blocks, this version of the NINO (non-partisan in name only) Unicameral seems determined to first consider other stuff: determining who has access to public bathrooms and school locker rooms, establishing parental bloodline rules for cheeseburgers and steak sandwiches and repairing an unbroken electoral system by changing the rules rather than making a better case.

There’s more: A reprise of the notion — which voters clearly disabused in last November’s election — that using public money to send students to private and parochial schools is wise. A recent edict from the governor expands the state’s role in the federal business of adjudicating immigration. Plus, amid all this Nebraska legislative and governmental movement, even news junkies can get overloaded as we also wrestle with a firehose of recent presidential fiats flooding our attention spans.

A Waiting Game

Perhaps the waiting game will work. U. S. News & World Report ranked Nebraska’s fiscal stability third out of 50 states in 2023, although that was before we pegged our looming budget shortfall at $432 million. Since then we’ve called a special session of the Legislature to address property taxes but made little real progress — however one might define property tax progress.

Meanwhile, we’re all over the aforementioned rules regarding bathrooms and sports locker rooms, the idea being that we need to keep women of all ages safe from transgendered females … neighbors, classmates or athletes who might occupy the same “private” space. Good idea. Women should feel safe in bathrooms and locker rooms. So should men. And while we’re at it, so should transgender individuals who are far more likely to be subject to assault than just about everyone else.

The Legislature should use the available science and data, not the insistence of a loud few that trans people do not or should not exist. The Nebraska School Activities Association has reached an apparent workable solution for high school sports and could be a guide.

That said, as a cisgender male in good standing, I’m not sure I want to be sharing a public restroom with anyone who spends this much time and energy considering the state’s aggregate genitalia.

State Sen. Loren Lippencott of Central City has proposed that we return the state’s process of determining presidential electors to a winner-take-all format (LB3). State Sen. Myron Dorn of Adams is backstopping him with a proposed constitutional amendment (LR24CA) that would order a vote of the people should LB3 fail. Let’s hope it does.

Here — once again (exasperation added) — is why: Rather than change the rules to eliminate the “blue dot” in Omaha that has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate three times in the last four elections, perhaps the Republicans should shore up their argument and win the vote on substance, rather than a mechanical rule change.

The potential for essentially disenfranchising a swath of Nebraska urban and suburban voters just to be like 48 other states — as has been argued — loses both on balance and merit.

Priorities Matter

Finally, while defining “real” meat and redebating “school choice” may occupy some space on the Legislature’s hard drive, immigration also will be a topic of conversation via proposed bills such as LB532, which requires employers to use E-Verify.

Gov. Jim Pillen’s recent proclamation declares that Nebraska supports the president’s executive order to apprehend and deport criminals in the country illegally.

Among the governor’s points was this: When state law enforcement officers arrest someone or prison officials secure them, they should report to the feds “where a reasonable suspicion exists that federal immigration law has been violated.”

Missing among the orders was just what constitutes a “reasonable suspicion?” The type of crime? Whether violence was involved? The ethnicity or first language of the offender? 

The Legislature has an enormous task every session: solving the state’s problems while enhancing the opportunities and lives of its citizens. You know, strengthening the Good Life. Props to those willing to do the work because sifting through and prioritizing hundreds of bills at least one senator thinks is a winner is no easy gig.

That said, after the Legislature visits bathrooms, blue dots and verifiable beef, let’s also hope enough time remains for senators to devise a plan to pay the state’s bills in black ink rather than red.

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/02/03/big-legislative-tasks-need-time/

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