Omaha Forums

Emily Nohr - World-Herald Bureau wrote:One thing is certain about the coming Nebraska legislative session: The budget is sure to dominate much of it.
... A number of lawmakers have identified the state Corrections Department as a priority.

nebraska wrote:I always like reading these kinds of budgets and things.

PDF! 2016 Nebraska (which ends in June for some reason).

Corrections spent $249 million and Criminal Justice spent $20 million. State Patrol spent $80 million. Let's see what plans the bean counters have.

nebraskalegislature wrote:Fiscal Year

The time period for which appropriations are made is the states' fiscal year that runs from July 1st through June 30th of the following year. The fiscal year covering the period July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016 is referred to as FY2015-16, FY15-16, or simply FY16. Within this 12-month period, agencies are limited to only those appropriations made for FY2015-16. The fiscal year covering the period July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017 is referred to as FY2016-17, FY16-17, or simply FY17.

jessep28 wrote:The 105th legislature will include poetry by Ernie Chambers. Chambers will also verbally enter parts, if not all of the Nebraska State Patrol's report on the Bill Kintner cybersex investigation into the public record.

Martha Stoddard - World-Herald Bureau wrote:How will lawmakers close the budget gap?
How will lawmakers respond to calls for tax reductions?
How will lawmakers move forward on fixing the state correctional system?
How will lawmakers work through two bitter internal issues?
How much influence will the governor have with lawmakers?

Coyote wrote:Pressure on as Nebraska lawmakers face five hefty challenges this legislative session

Martha Stoddard - World-Herald Bureau wrote:How will lawmakers close the budget gap?
How will lawmakers respond to calls for tax reductions?
How will lawmakers move forward on fixing the state correctional system?
How will lawmakers work through two bitter internal issues?
How much influence will the governor have with lawmakers?

iamjacobm wrote:

Coyote wrote:Pressure on as Nebraska lawmakers face five hefty challenges this legislative session

Martha Stoddard - World-Herald Bureau wrote:How will lawmakers close the budget gap?
How will lawmakers respond to calls for tax reductions?
How will lawmakers move forward on fixing the state correctional system?
How will lawmakers work through two bitter internal issues?
How much influence will the governor have with lawmakers?

And a bill to change the state flag.

Nebraska senator faces criticism for women's march retweet

choke wrote:Introduced by Sen. Sue Crawford of Bellevue:

Riverfront Development District Act



http://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/Floo ... o/LB97.pdf

RNcyanide wrote:Bill Kintner is resigning after his comment about the women's march, beating the impeachment proceedings against him to the punch. Made it all the way to the Chicago Tribune.

Nebraska Legislature fails to adopt permanent rules after fierce fight over filibusters

“This is a travesty,” declared Chambers, the body’s lone independent. “We look like a bunch of fools. The Legislature is floundering.”

“I’ve been here 17 days, (and we) haven’t done squat,” said frustrated freshman Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard, a Republican.

Caleb Pollard, Scratchtown Brewing Company wrote: February 1, 2017
Nebraska prides itself on it’s business friendly atmosphere. It’s been the core of every single Governor’s talking points I can remember. Look at the efforts made in the past three years that have opened doors for craft brewing to grow. Over the past three years, several industry groups and legislators worked together to pass LB1105 last year that deregulated certain aspects of the market to allow craft brewing to grow. And that’ s exactly what happened as the industry exploded with new and highly respected brewers opening up across the state. Existing breweries opened new taprooms. They invested millions of dollars and created hundreds of jobs. This is the perfect example of a policy working.

Then came 2017, as the year is not shaping up to be craft-friendly at all. Our industry “partners” from the Associated Beverage Distributors of Nebraska (ABDN) have proposed legislative changes in LB632 that will severely limit craft beers’ ability to continue to grow in our state. It will kill jobs, investment and the momentum the industry has had since it’s upswing.

LB632 does many things but at it’s core it is anti-Nebraska Craft Beer. Provisions in it will not allow us or any other brewer to open any other locations that were granted to us in 2016 (up to five satellite locations for the brewery). The same provisions were agreed upon a year ago with ABDN, yet now they want to move the goal posts. This effort was also completed in secret without any input from the affected licensees and despite all our efforts to work collaboratively with our ABDN (associated beverage distributors of Nebraska) “partners”. Furthermore, this bill proposed a licensure freeze as of 1/1/17, which absolutely affects the expansion plans of two Nebraska craft brewers.

It’s an attack on Nebraska craft brewers plain and simple.

What can you do? Contact your State Senators and express your displeasure with this bill and offer your support of Nebraska Craft beer. Below are some suggestions to use when you contact your Senator (phone or email) and use the hashtag #DontKillOurCraft on your social media efforts.

— This bill is a job killer: It will curtail the expansion of the craft beer industry and impair our ability to invest in our communities, in agribusiness that supports our industry, and in manufacturing that supports our work.
— This bill was negotiated in secret without the input of industry partners and moved the goalposts established a year ago.
— This bill strips away existing rights that will likely lead to litigation against the state and impose a liability on the state coffers.

It makes me wonder personally what motivated the distribution industry in the first place? Perhaps it could be the Budweiser or Miller/Coors signs they have hanging on their warehouses? Not all of these folks are anti-craft, but many of them are and they’ve toeing the corporate line with the megaconglomerate they’re owned by. “Indepedently” owned they are not. They are anti-Nebraskan business and are actively working to curtail Nebraska craft brewers. Scratchtown and our fellow Nebraska craft brewers will not be intimidated. #Don’tKillOurCraft

Caleb Pollard
President
Scratchtown Brewing Company

Brad wrote:Story about LB632 on WOWT tonight at 10

iamjacobm wrote:

Brad wrote:Story about LB632 on WOWT tonight at 10

There was a part of the KMTV article on the issue that said this bill would "level the playing field for Anheuser Busch and Miller Coors" like they are the ones getting taken advantage of here .

iamjacobm wrote:

Brad wrote:Story about LB632 on WOWT tonight at 10

There was a part of the KMTV article on the issue that said this bill would "level the playing field for Anheuser Busch and Miller Coors" like they are the ones getting taken advantage of here .

Nebraska senators eye bill to avoid electoral vote-splitting

choke wrote:Per ASSOCIATED PRESS :

Nebraska senators eye bill to avoid electoral vote-splitting

http://kios.org/post/nebraska-senators- ... -splitting

It makes the Nebraska GOP soooooo mad that the 2nd district electoral vote went to Obama is 2008.

Professor Woland wrote:

choke wrote:Per ASSOCIATED PRESS :

Nebraska senators eye bill to avoid electoral vote-splitting

http://kios.org/post/nebraska-senators- ... -splitting

It makes the Nebraska GOP soooooo mad that the 2nd district electoral vote went to Obama is 2008.

I'd like to see the process of electing the President change. I say we keep the electoral college and ditch the popular vote. Every state should have a random lottery for electors and back up electors taken from the voter rolls. These people's identities are kept secret but they could be any registered voter in a state. They are given the opportunity to meet the candidates selected by all of the parties at various forums and events. Then these people elect the President. This would get rid of campaign ads, it would reduce the acrimony surrounding the election and it would put to rest forever the gnashing of teeth if the candidate who wins the electoral vote loses the popular vote. There would have to be safeguards put in place to prevent tampering with the electors, but the logistics of this would be far easier than what goes on in a Presidential election now.

choke wrote:

Professor Woland wrote:

choke wrote:Per ASSOCIATED PRESS :

Nebraska senators eye bill to avoid electoral vote-splitting

http://kios.org/post/nebraska-senators- ... -splitting

It makes the Nebraska GOP soooooo mad that the 2nd district electoral vote went to Obama is 2008.

I'd like to see the process of electing the President change. I say we keep the electoral college and ditch the popular vote. Every state should have a random lottery for electors and back up electors taken from the voter rolls. These people's identities are kept secret but they could be any registered voter in a state. They are given the opportunity to meet the candidates selected by all of the parties at various forums and events. Then these people elect the President. This would get rid of campaign ads, it would reduce the acrimony surrounding the election and it would put to rest forever the gnashing of teeth if the candidate who wins the electoral vote loses the popular vote. There would have to be safeguards put in place to prevent tampering with the electors, but the logistics of this would be far easier than what goes on in a Presidential election now.

Frankly, I think Nebraska and Maine have got it right with how they split their electoral votes. Less populated states still have a stronger voice vs. the popular vote plus every electoral vote counts.