The Nebraska Legislature adjourned sine die today, May 23, 2017. Much of the session consisted of battles over the state budget and a plan to cut taxes.

Gov. Pete Ricketts’ plan to cut income and property tax stalled in the legislature, but he plans to continue garnering support in hopes of passing a package next year.

The session was also marred by the resignation of Sen. Bill Kintner after retweeting offensive comments and using a state-issued computer to engage in cybersex.

Reviving his concern from last year’s legislative session, Sen. Ernie Chambers introduced a bill to prevent lawmakers from accepting meals from lobbyists in the Capitol. Legislative Bill 445 is similar to a proposal Sen. Chambers sponsored last year, but it never made it to a vote. The bill specifically aims to prohibit meals served to lawmakers at the end of the session, when last minute decisions are made.

Lobbyists typically pool their money and provide large, buffet-style meals for legislators as they work into the night. Sen. Chambers said he is concerned the meals create the appearance improper influence.

After months of scandal, state Sen. Bill Kintner resigned from the Nebraska Legislature today. Kintner’s announcement comes just hours before a resolution to expel him was expected to be brought to the floor.

Problems for Kintner began last year when it was discovered he used his state-provided laptop to engage in cybersex. He evaded pressure to step down only to face further criticism this week for retweeting a post implying participants at the Women’s March were too unattractive to be sexually assaulted.

Kintner’s resignation is effective January 30 and a special election to fill his seat has yet to be announced.

Photo of Sen. Bill Kintner courtesy of the Nebraska Legislature website.

Speaker Galen Hadley is in favor of calling the Nebraska Legislature into a special session to address the issue of Sen. Bill Kintner. Kintner was recently fined $1,000 for using his state-issued laptop to engage in cybersex. Both Hadley and Gov. Pete Ricketts have called for Kintner to resign, though Kintner appears unwilling to do so.

The Legislature’s Executive Board meets today and can recommend impeachment, expulsion, or censure of Kintner, but such action would have to be taken with lawmakers in session. If Kintner resigns before September 8, he could place his name on the ballot in November and allow the voters to decide if he should continue his work as a senator.

The Nebraska Legislature adjourned its 2016 legislative session sine die on Wednesday, April 20, 2016. Despite almost doubling the number of filibusters from last year, lawmakers passed 216 bills, including a new state budget and increased funding for road projects.

Opponents were successful, however, in blocking a Medicaid expansion proposal and a bill to create a winner-take-all system for presidential Electoral College votes.

State Sen. Ernie Chambers introduced a resolution to prevent lobbyist-provided meals from influencing legislators. The resolution, Legislative Resolution 414, prohibits lobbyists from providing meals to legislators inside the Capitol while the legislature is in session. Last year, catering bills, paid for by lobbyists, exceeded $10,000.

Nebraska law currently limits gifts from lobbyists at $50 per month to senators and their immediate families, but meals and beverages do not count toward the limit when the lobbyist is present at the event.

Defending the tradition of a serving line during the final weeks of the session, Speaker Galen Hadley dismisses the idea of food influencing how a senator votes. Sen. Chambers believes the practice creates the appearance of impropriety and should be ended.

State lawmakers have introduced legislation to make it harder for candidates to misuse campaign contributions. So far, thirty senators have backed a measure allowing the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission to cross-check campaign finance reports with year-end balances of campaign committees to ensure the proper use of campaign funds.

The bill also prohibits loaning campaign funds and increases penalties for violations of the law. A similar bill was introduced last year but died before reaching the floor.

Sen. John Murante, the committee chair of the Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee, where the bill is being held, said he will bring the bill up for discussion in the coming weeks.

The Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission has provided notice of a public hearing to amend Title 4, Chapter 6, Rules and Regulations for Lobbying. The proposed amendments will bring the rules and regulations in line with the provisions of Laws 2012, LB 782 providing for electronic registration and reporting by lobbyists.

The public hearing will be held by the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission on October 16, 2015.

The first session of the 104th Legislature adjourned sine die today, May 29, 2015, on the 89th day of the scheduled 90-day session.

Senators passed 272 bills into law, including an $8.7 billion two-year budget.

The second session of the 104th Legislature is scheduled to convene on January 6, 2016.

Mayor Chris Beutler’s campaign fundraising tactics have come under scrutinty by watchdog groups decrying pay-to-play politics.

During the 2013 construction of the Pinnacle Bank Arena, a $186 million project, the mayor accepted contributions from individuals and companies with city contracts, many with connections to the city-financed arena.

Campaign finance reports show contributions from arena-related companies continued throughout 2014 as well. This practice, however, is not illegal in Lincoln.

Proponents of tougher pay-to-play laws believe restrictions are more important at the local level, arguing smaller contributions buy greater influence in city races compared to state or federal campaigns.

Mayor Beutler is up for reelection this May.

Photo of Mayor Chris Beutler by Lincolnearthday on Wikimedia Commons.

Two lawmakers have announced their intention to introduce campaign finance bills this session. Senator Bill Avery plans to introduce legislation lowering the threshold amount to trigger campaign finance reports from $250 to $100. Senator Avery’s bill would additionally use the amount remaining in the fund created by the Campaign Finance Limitation Act, which was ruled unconstitutional by the Nebraska Supreme Court, to create an online system for filing campaign finance disclosure reports.

Senator Steve Lathrop intends to introduce a bill that would require nonprofits to report their expenditures on political advertising. He argues that nonprofits involved in the election process should be subject to the same rules as other groups required to report their spending.

The clerk of the legislature’s office is implementing voluntary electronic filing for lobbyist registration and reporting for the 2013 legislative session.

Paper filings will be accepted through 2014, and mandatory electronic filing will be implemented January 1, 2015.

With the November elections on the horizon, a number of lawsuits have been filed by potential campaign contributors seeking to determine the constitutionality of their states’ campaign finance laws. The following states have seen campaign finance laws invalidated in August.

In Nebraska, the state supreme court held the Campaign Finance Limitation Act (CFLA) unconstitutional. The CFLA allowed candidates participating in the public financing program to receive additional public funds if their privately-funded opponents exceeded certain spending limits. The court also struck down the CFLA’s aggregate contribution limits and rules governing acceptance of contributions from independent groups after the court determined the public financing portion of the CFLA was not severable from the rest of the law.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Ohio’s ban on political contributions to candidates for state attorney general or county prosecutor from doctors who treat Medicaid patients unconstitutional. The provision was designed to prevent fraud by banning contributions to those officials who prosecute Medicaid fraud, but the court held the prohibition a violation of doctors’ free speech rights.

In Florida, a federal judge issued a temporary injunction blocking enforcement of Florida’s $100 per election contribution limit for persons 17 and under, holding the law an unconstitutional infringement on free speech rights. Florida allows persons aged 18 and over to contribute $500 per election.

A federal judge in West Virginia granted a preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement of West Virginia’s $1,000-per-election limit on contributions to independent expenditure PACs, on the grounds that the limit chills First Amendment free speech rights. The injunction will remain in place pending a final resolution of the case.

Finally, in Colorado, a federal judge invalidated several campaign finance rule changes made by the secretary of state. The rules struck down include one providing that organizations are only subject to reporting requirements if more than 30 percent of their spending was for or against a ballot issue, and one limiting penalties for certain campaign finance violations. The secretary of state’s rule defining electioneering communications was upheld. Two additional rules await a decision.

The state supreme court has held Nebraska’s Campaign Finance Limitation Act (CFLA) unconstitutional. The CFLA allowed candidates participating in the public financing program to receive additional public funds if their privately-funded opponents exceeded certain spending limits.

The Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission issued a statement in August 2011 that it would not enforce the CFLA for the 2012 elections after the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a similar Arizona law. Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning then filed an action asking the state supreme court to rule on the CFLA’s constitutionality.

The supreme court also determined that the public financing portion of the CFLA was not severable from the other provisions of the law, including those providing for aggregate contribution limits and rules governing acceptance of contributions from independent groups, and declared the entire law unconstitutional.