Nebraskans will get their opportunity to share their opinions on the ideas brought by lawmakers to cut property taxes or drive new revenue to the state starting this week.
But some senators also signaled disapproval of being called back to the Capitol to consider the governor's plan of slashing property taxes by as much as 50% this summer, in subtle ways or not.
On Friday, the Referencing Committee voted 5-4 to assign LB1, Pillen's tax plan, not to the Revenue Committee, which handles issues related to taxes, but to the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over matters related to political subdivisions.
Court upholds abortion ban
In a split decision Friday, the Nebraska Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the law that added restrictions for abortion and gender-affirming surgeries for transgender youths.
In the majority opinion, Chief Justice Michael Heavican said the appeal presented a very narrow constitutional question of whether LB574 violated Nebraska's Constitution.
He said that after reviewing the facts of the case and the court's historical legal precedent, which has rarely found violations of the single-subject requirement.
"We find no merit to Planned Parenthood's argument that LB574 contains more than one subject," he said.
Lincoln City Libraries Director Ryan Wieber on Monday introduced Terri Dunlap as the newest Library Board member, a position that requires City Council approval to a seven-year term.
Councilman Tom Duden asked Dunlap how she felt about keeping certain materials in the youth section — an issue that’s come up several times in the last year.
Dunlap said she isn’t yet familiar with how Lincoln libraries deals with such requests but does feel like it’s parents’ role to decide what their children read.
In the end, Dunlap’s appointment was approved on a 6-1 vote, with Duden voting against it.
That’s it for Monday, July 29. Stay in the know with Lincoln’s longest-standing news source at JournalStar.com and we will see you back here on Tuesday.
