Kids could drink communion wine, after all
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BY NANCY HICKS / Lincoln Journal Star
Sen. Lowen Kruse has decided to sidestep a controversy created by his proposal to eliminate all instances where teens can legally drink. Kruse will offer an amendment to assure teens can drink wine at communion.
But his bill would still ban minors drinking at home.
The Omaha senator said he welcomed the uproar around his bill, LB261, because it meant people were paying attention to teen drinking.
ON THE FLOOR:
SMOKING BAN: — Some state lawmakers are calling for a statewide smoking ban. Sen. Joel Johnson of Kearney introduced a bill (LB395) that he said would impose a ban modeled after the one in Lincoln. The Lincoln ban prohibits smoking in all indoor workplaces, including bars and restaurants. Johnson said a statewide ban would improve the health of residents and prevent competition between cities and businesses that have different smoking laws. Omaha also has a smoking ban, but it is less restrictive than the one in Lincoln. State lawmakers have failed in the past to impose a statewide smoking ban.
WITEK BILL: — A legal avenue that led to Kate Witek being nominated as a candidate for state auditor would be blocked under a measure (LB394) brought by Sen. Carol Burling of Kenesaw. A judge ruled last year that Witek could be nominated by the state Democratic Party for her old job — state auditor — after the primary election. The bill would prevent such nominations. Instead, they could only occur in cases where nominations were vacated, or in special elections.
PUBLIC RECORDS: — Currently, people can ask government bodies for all documents produced within certain time frames. But residents would have to get to the point under a measure (LB391) introduced by Sen. Mick Mines of Blair. The bill would allow officials to deny requests that lacked descriptions of specific subject matter being sought. The bill would also put new regulations on what the public can speak about during open meetings. Mines wants comments made by the public to pertain to agenda items “as allowed by the individual presiding over the meeting.”
LOTTERY MONEY: — A portion of lottery proceeds could be used to fight drug crime and catch violent criminals. A proposed constitutional amendment (LR11CA) would divert 3 percent of lottery proceeds from the Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund to a fund benefiting the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice. The money would be given by grant to local law enforcement. The first $500,000 of lottery proceeds goes to the state’s Compulsive Gamblers Assistance Fund. After that payment, 44.5 percent goes to the environmental trust fund, 44.5 percent to education, 10 percent to the State Fair and the remaining 1 percent to the compulsive gamblers fund. Under this legislation, the environmental fund would receive 41.5 percent. The environmental trust fund awards nearly $10 million every year in grants for conservation, recycling and pollution control. Sen. Mike Flood of Norfolk introduced the resolution.
TAX BRACKETS: — A bill (LB436) from Sen. Ron Raikes of Lincoln is a counterproposal to the income tax cuts being pushed by Gov. Dave Heineman. Raikes wants to reduce from four to two the number of tax brackets and increase both standard deductions and personal-exemption credits, among other things. The plan could reduce taxes by a total of roughly $150 million to $175 million annually, which is about $100 million less than Heineman’s plan.
INCOME TAX CREDIT: — Sen. Tom White of Omaha introduced a bill (LB453) that would provide an income tax credit. The credit would be based on property taxes paid the previous year and couldn’t exceed $500.
PROPERTY TAX LEVY: Sen. Chris Langemeier of Schuyler is also eyeing property taxes, but with a different plan. He wants to drop the maximum property tax levy school districts can set without a lid override from the current $1.05 per $100 of valuation to $1 beginning next year.
EDUCATION LOANS: Another bill aimed at reducing taxes, (LB459) from Sen. Tim Gay of Papillion, would provide income tax deductions for interest on education loans.
AG PLATES: — A bill introduced by Sen. Philip Erdman of Bayard would create license plates “reflecting support for agriculture in Nebraska.” The agriculture plates would carry an extra $15 fee, or $40 for personalized plates. Most of that money would go to an Agricultural Research Fund, which the bill (LB419) would create to be administered by the Department of Agriculture.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I’ve given my life to this, and I’d like to see some things change,” said Sen. Gwen Howard of Omaha, who is pushing legislation to limit social workers’ caseloads. Howard worked as a child welfare case worker for 34 years and said she sometimes had as many as 50 cases.
And he never really intended for teens to be arrested for sipping wine as a part of communion when he proposed all exceptions to teen drinking be removed from state law, he said.
Kruse said he assumed common sense would prevail — and the tiny amount of alcohol offered at communion would not rise to a criminal offense.
But people responded as if the senator intended no minor should be allowed to take wine with communion.
His revised version would likely allow minors to consume up to two ounces of alcohol as a part of a religious ceremony.
That would expand the exemption to Jewish ceremonies conducted at home, said Kruse, a retired minister in the Methodist Church, where grape juice is used in ceremonies.
It would accommodate the little glasses Lutherans use, he said, and the communion cup for Catholics.
But Jim Cunningham, who represents the Nebraska Catholic Conference, said the simplest solution is to keep the current language allowing youth to use alcohol at a place of worship in a religious ceremony.
“I cannot imagine there is a shred of evidence that young people receiving holy communion have caused any problem relating to consumption of alcohol,” he said. “Without any evidence of that I cannot fathom on what basis there is a need to eliminate that exception.”
“It is a reasonable, respectful accommodation that has a long history behind it, and it ought to be left alone,” he said.
Kruse said his amended bill would still ban minors drinking in their own home, even with their parents’ permission.
“What remains is a well-supported effort to stop teen drinking,” he wrote in an opinion piece supporting his stand.
Kruse also pointed out a companion bill, LB336, increases penalties for adults who procure alcohol for minors.
Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com.
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