Feb. 16-19, 2016
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UNICAMERAL UPDATE Stories published daily at Update.Legislature.ne.gov Vol. 39, Issue 7 / Feb. 16 - 19, 2016 Funding for Attempt to lower age river weed for public office stalls control proposed he Natural Resources Com- mittee heard testimony on a Tbill Feb. 18 that would provide funding to clear the state’s rivers of invasive plant species. Under LB711, introduced by Sen. Dan Hughes of Ve- nango, the state De- partment of Agricul- ture would receive $2 million annually to control invasive plants, noxious Sens. Tyson Larson (right) and Adam Morfeld discuss strategy during debate on LR26CA. weeds and other veg- Sen. Dan Hughes fter two days of discussion, remove state Supreme Court judges etation in and near the banks of any select file debate stalled Feb. from the bill’s provisions. natural stream. The department would 18 on a measure that would Morfeld said the amendment apply for additional federal funds and A allow an 18-year-old to hold public reflected concerns raised during gen- provide grants to weed management office in Nebraska. eral file debate that a ballot measure entities, local weed control groups and As introduced by O’Neill Sen. based on the resolution would contain natural resources districts. Tyson Larson last session, LR26CA multiple subjects—which the Nebraska The department would administer would place a proposed constitutional Supreme Court has ruled unaccept- the Riparian Vegetation Management amendment on the November 2016 able in the past. Task Force, whose members would general election ballot that would “This should alleviate any constitu- be appointed by the governor from change age eligibility for public office tional concerns based on the research the natural resources districts, the in Nebraska to the federal voting age. that I had on the case law,” he said. Department of Natural Resources, the Currently, an individual must be Larson supported the amendment, Nebraska Weed Control Association 21 to serve in the Legislature and saying it should address concerns and other agencies in addition to land- 30 to serve as governor, lieutenant about the proposal and allow voters owners. The task force would develop governor or as a Nebraska Supreme to decide the measure’s merits. a vegetation management plan, analyze Court judge. “It’s wrong to disenfranchise any the cost effectiveness of available treat- Lincoln Sen. Adam Morfeld of- individual based on age, sex or race, so ments and provide an annual report to fered an amendment Feb. 17 that let’s make sure that we don’t do that,” the Legislature on its progress. would limit the bill’s provisions to he said. “Let’s make sure that everyone Hughes said the bill would reinstate legislative and executive branch of- has a voice and that everyone has the the task force, which was created in fices. He said the amendment would opportunity to serve.” (continued page 2) (continued page 3) INSIDE: Priority bill list • Reporting of fracking well water contents requested • Hearing schedule February 16 - 19, 2016 Funding for river weed control proposed U.S. Congress (continued from front page) contact information 2007 and ran out of funding in 2014. He said the program should be restarted because of its success. “Invasive species don’t ever take a year off because they Senator Deb Fischer don’t have money,” he said. United States Senate 383 Russell Senate Office Building Brent Meyer, weed control superintendent for Lancaster Washington, D.C. 20510 County, spoke in favor of the bill. He said the original Tel. (202) 224-6551 project succeeded in clearing thousands of acres of weeds from the state’s river systems, allowing them to flow more freely. This reduced the severity of floods, protected wildlife Senator Ben Sasse United States Senate habitats and preserved more water for agricultural and B40E Dirksen Senate Office Building recreational use, Meyer said. Now that funding for the Washington D.C. 20510 project has run out, he added, those invasive plants are Tel. (202) 224-4224 regaining their foothold. “The battle is not over,” he said. “In fact we are just Congressman Jeff Fortenberry beginning to realize the impact invasive vegetation can (District 1) have on our river systems.” 1514 Longworth House Office Building Mike Clements, general manager of the Lower Republi- Washington, D.C. 20515 can Natural Resources District, also testified in support of Tel. (202) 225-4806 the bill. He said the Republican River’s flow was measured at only 300 cubic feet per second in 2007 because its basin Congressman Brad Ashford was engulfed in phragmites, an invasive reed with a dense (District 2) root system that absorbs large quantities of water. After 107 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 four years of spraying and tearing out root systems under Tel. (202) 225-4155 the previous task force, Clements said, the river can now handle a flow of 1,100 cubic feet per second. “This is something that will have to continue forever,” Congressman Adrian Smith he said. “If that would go untreated for a couple of years (District 3) 2241 Rayburn House Office Building we’d be right back to where we were.” Washington, D.C. 20515 No one spoke in opposition to the bill and the com- Tel. (202) 225-6435 mittee took no immediate action on it. g UNICAMERAL UPDATE The Unicameral Update is a free, weekly newsletter published during the legislative session. It is produced by the Clerk of the Legislature’s Office through the Unicameral Information Office. For print subscriptions, call 402-471-2788 or email [email protected]. Visit us online at Update.Legislature.ne.gov and follow us on Twitter.com/UnicamUpdate. Clerk of the Legislature: Patrick J. O’Donnell Editor: Heidi Uhing; Writers: Kyle Harpster, Kate Heltzel, Ami Johnson; Photographer: Bess Ghormley Printed copies of bills, resolutions and the Legislative Journal are available at the State Capitol room 1104, or by calling 402-471-2709 or 800-742-7456. Status of bills and resolutions can be requested at that number or can be found on NebraskaLegislature.gov. Live video of hearings and floor debate can be viewed on NET2 and at NetNebraska.org/capitol. Senators may be contacted by mail at this address: Senator Name, District #, State Capitol, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509-4604 Assistance provided by the Clerk of the Legislature’s Office, the Legislative Technology Center, committee clerks, legal counsels, journal clerks, pages, transcribers, mail room and bill room staff and the State Print Shop. THE NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE’S OFFICIAL NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1977 PAGE 2 • UNICAMERAL UPDATE • 104TH LEGISLATURE February 16 - 19, 2016 Lower age for public office stalls (continued from front page) Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers of- there is not a pressing need to alter the The bracket motion failed Feb. 17 fered a motion Feb. 17 to bracket the state constitution. The state does not on a vote of 14-17. bill until April 20, 2016. He said his lack qualified candidates for office, he When debate resumed Feb. 18, objections to the proposal were based said, and an individual who would be Chambers filed a series of motions in on policy issues as much as on ques- a good candidate for the Legislature at an effort to extend debate and compel tions of the constitutionality of the 18 would be an even better candidate a cloture motion—an attempt to cease ballot language. Lawmakers should be at 21. debate and force a vote on a bill. protectors of the constitution, he said. Williams said lawmakers should be After four hours of debate, Larson “Our responsibility is to winnow— spending their time on issues of vital offered a cloture motion that was to sort out—and to not just dump importance to the future of the state defeated on a 26-18 vote. Thirty-three things on the public,” Chambers rather than solving a problem that votes were required for adoption. said. “People this age are generally doesn’t exist. A failed cloture motion results in immature when it comes to assuming “I think we need to be careful that debate on a bill ceasing for the day. the responsibilities of public office.” we are not exhibiting bad judgment LR26CA is unlikely to be scheduled Gothenburg Sen. Matt Williams in the Legislature,” he said. “People for further debate this session. g supported the bracket motion, saying expect a great deal of us.” Search for Bills Learn more about bills considered by the Unicameral by logging on to www.NebraskaLegislature.gov. The Legislature’s website offers a bill search on the upper-right portion of the home page. Entering a bill number will retrieve the bill’s text, fiscal note, statement of intent, transcripts and more. You also can search current laws using the keyword search found below the bill search. 104TH LEGISLATURE • UNICAMERAL UPDATE • PAGE 3 February 16 - 19, 2016 Smith said the department’s current Dirk Petersen, vice president and level of funding cannot support signifi- general manager of Nucor Steel in cant new construction. Approximately Norfolk, also spoke in support of the $600 million in expressway projects bill. Speaking on behalf of 4 Lanes 4 Transportation infrastructure remain unfunded, he said, and it would Nebraska and the Nebraska Chamber bank proposed cost another $800 million to bring the of Commerce, he said completing the state’s county bridges up to standard. state’s expressways would create jobs, The state would allocate up to $300 He said the infrastructure bank would add billions of dollars to the state’s million in cash reserves and gasoline supplement a 2011 appropriation to gross domestic product and improve tax revenue over seven years to fund fund surface transportation and a law public safety.