Legislative Newsletter

Senator Tom Carlson-District 38
February 7, 2013
This is the 21st day of the 90 day Session. We meet for morning debate as a body and afternoon hearings have full agendas.
Last week, Senator Mark Christensen introduced LB 185 in front of the Appropriations Committee. The bill would provide state assistance to implement stream flow projects and I was happy to testify in favor of the legislation. The bill is necessary due to four NRD’s pooling resources to purchase land in Lincoln County to pipe water to the Republican River and Platte Rivers. A lawsuit has, for now, stalled efforts to bond the project, but LB 185 would provide temporary funds to allow construction to proceed.
Under the bill, $40 million would be transferred from the Cash Reserve Fund to the Water Contingency Cash Fund. The state Dept of Natural Resources would loan the funds upon request by the NRD’s and these loans would have to be repaid to the state by June 30, 2018.
I have introduced two bills concerning the future of Nebraska water. LB 517 would create the Water Sustainability Project Task Force. The group would consist of 22 voting members. They would be charged with making recommendations to beneficial use of Nebraska’s water resources through research and data gathering, conjunctive management of water, improving existing infrastructure, and providing information to policymakers to justify a stable source of project funds for the next twenty years. These recommendations would be completed by December 31, 2013.
The task force shall forward a report to the Legislature by January 31, 2014. It will be a short period to gather information and formulate a listing of programs, projects, and activities in each river basin of the state.
The second bill is LB 516, the Nebraska Water Legacy Act. This bill is a companion to LB 517 and could earmark a portion of sales tax revenue for a new Nebraska Water Legacy Fund. The funding request would be for adequate funds to enable completion of the twenty year plan.
Hearings on the Governor’s tax package begin yesterday and continued into the late evening. There will be a second bill heard this afternoon. I will review those hearings in my next report.