Committee hearings are over and all day debate is underway. My main issue this year, a resolution to extend term limits from two, four year terms to three, four year terms, was debated and advanced to the second round of debate with 30 positive votes. After two more rounds of debate and passage by the legislature, my hope is that LR358CA will appear on the November ballot for your consideration.
I am not against term limits. I support term limits. But I do believe it is in the best interest of all Nebraskans to allow our state lawmakers four more years to be able to deal with issues and make the best decisions on state policy.
Other important bills to be considered yet this session include child welfare, the 2012-13 budget, tax relief, voter ID’s, and school truancy. The oil pipeline, the county inheritance tax, and changes to the Foster Care Review Board are also on the agenda.
The Ag Committee advanced three bills to the floor for debate. LB 1057, which I introduced, would increase the promotional corn check off from the current 1/4 cent per bushel to 1/2 cent per bushel, beginning in October, 2012. Even with this change, the corn check off would fall to less than half of its current level due to the ending of the ethanol assessment. Nebraska would be tied for the lowest promotional assessment rate among major corn producing states if we adopt the 1/2 cent per bushel amount.
The committee also advanced LB 905, which would change the wheat assessment to a percentage of value. Wheat is presently assessed at a fixed rate per bushel. Both the corn and wheat check offs have remained the same for more than 20 years while the purchasing power of the check offs has eroded. The two bills are designated as Committee Priorities. The corn and wheat check offs are used by the producers for promotion of their product, education on the value of their product, and research to improve their crops.
LB 927, introduced by Senator Louden, would provide that livestock bearing a registered brand and entering Nebraska directly from a mandatory brand inspection area of another state need not be individually identified by another method. The bill was amended by the committee to allow the Department of Agriculture to require individual ID in certain circumstances.
A bill that is taking some time is LB 239, by Senator Janssen. The bill would require a government issued photo ID in order to vote. There has been some confusion as to my stand on this bill due to statements made by me during debate and reported on regional news outlets.
I believe purity in the voting process is very important. There must be a way for poll workers in an election to properly and clearly identify that the voter is actually who they claim to be. I don’t know if this is a problem in Nebraska, but I see nothing unreasonable for a poll worker to request proper identification from someone they don’t know.
Those the poll worker know should not be required to further identify themselves. I believe there should be a place for common sense in our voting process.
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