Adjournment Notwithstanding, Legislature to be Active

Details: 23 April 2010

The second and concluding regular session of the 101st Nebraska Legislature completed its 60 legislative days April 14 as scheduled.

No last-day drama; no late-hour adjournment; not even the buzz of a veto override. There was plenty of time to honor the three senators known for sure to not be returning for the 102nd Legislature.

As is naturally and typically the case, the practical results of the 2010 session, and of this Legislature as a whole, won’t be fully known for a while. Often, it takes some time for the true impact of public-policy changes to make a difference. Most of the 196 bills passed this session won’t take effect until mid-July—90 days after adjournment sine die. Some of the bills were passed with an “emergency clause,” which means they took effect when the Governor gave his signature of approval.

From most perspectives, the second regular session of the 101st Legislature was successful; probably not anything historically monumental, but efficient and significant.
The Speaker of the Legislature, Senator Mike Flood of Norfolk, told his colleagues in his closing speech that “fiscal responsibility” was the standard of the session. With few exceptions, any bill requiring a general fund appropriation did not make it through the process. Following up on last November’s special session, the legislators further pared the current budget and resisted temptations to tap the cash reserve, which now exceeds $300 million, a number that is pretty remarkable relative to other states.

Even though its two regular sessions are now concluded, this Legislature is by no means finished. The cash reserve notwithstanding, a budget deficit now projected at nearly $680 million for the next fiscal biennium is a source of ongoing concern and anxiety for current legislators, most of whom will confront it directly in 2011.

Although unlikely, it’s not out of the question that this Legislature will have another special session before the end of 2010. More unique with respect to the current situation is something the legislators did April 14, the next-to-last day of their session. On a 46-0 vote, they approved Legislative Resolution 542, which was introduced by the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Lavon Heidemann.

LR 542 sets in motion a process for preparing to confront the budget deficits in 2011. It encourages the current Legislature’s standing committees and executive board to “examine General Funded functions and expenditures of state agency operations and aid that are required by state law.”

Articulation of what this might mean is found in this statement: “…it is hoped that committees are able to identify statutory changes that de-obligate the state from operating and aid costs for the forthcoming biennium.”

The resolution also expresses the Legislature’s desire “that the Governor submit enabling legislation specific to his budget recommendations.”

Any time budget making involves “de-obligating” and statutory changes, it’s a major situation, much more so than just setting line-item numbers. Given this context, the rest of 2010 is clearly going to be active and meaningful.

The three senators who for sure won’t be back in 2011 will be able to participate in LR 542 and other legislative activity, because their terms continue until their successors are sworn in early next January. They are the district 22 senator, Arnie Stuthman of Platte Center; the district 14 senator, Tim Gay of Papillion; and the district 8 senator, Tom White of Omaha. Senator Stuthman is the only legislator subject to term limits in this election year. Senator White opted to run for another office and Senator Gay opted not to seek a second term. Appropriately, they each addressed their colleagues during the closing ceremony and were applauded for their public service.

Another thought on the recently concluded session: In our own category of “stealth bills,” that is, bills that received less attention than was warranted, but are likely to have a significant impact, we have these two: LB 1036 and LB 1106.

The former is a 43-page rewrite of state laws governing organ and tissue donations, generally consistent with the latest “Uniform Anatomical Gift Act” pushed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.

The latter bill authorizes public-school districts to operate health centers under certain conditions and makes the services eligible for Medicaid reimbursement. Uniquely, it was handled as a budget bill.

These measures passed on final votes of 48-0 and 49-0 respectively. Both had less than eight hours of floor debate and few questions. We’ll give them more attention in a future column.

And finally… Of the numerous internet reactions we’ve seen on the hot issue of continuing prenatal care services for unborn children from impoverished families regardless of the mother’s immigration status, this may be the most amusing: “Nice try (Senator) Ashford, but my governor knows what’s best to deal with the scurge (sic) of illegal immigration, and it isn’t giving them incentives.”

Perhaps that’s evidence of a winning political calculation?