Opinions

Monday night ended in silence—not the good kind. Not the kind that comes after a campfire and a full belly. I’m talking about the kind that crawls in through your ears and nests in your bones. The kind that only follows extra innings and a walk-off loss.

This year’s long (90-day) session of the Nebraska Legislature finished on Monday, June 2. This year 736 bills and resolutions were introduced, with 10 measures withdrawn early on, so we ended up holding 726 hearings, giving the public the opportunity to weigh in on all those measures. Along with the budget, we sent 209 bills to the governor to be signed into law. That means only 28 percent made it through the “sausage mill” to have the possibility of being signed by the governor and becoming law. Additionally, we sent a constitutional amendment to the secretary of state, which will be giving voters the opportunity to extend the term limits of legislators to three terms instead of the current two. I voted against this measure.

Two weeks ago, I left Omaha with a stomach full of pastrami, a head full of regret, and a hotel keycard that might’ve been cursed. My last column— Fear and Loathing at the Old Mill Inn— documented what can only be described as a low-budget horror film disguised as a baseball trip: hallway meth ghosts, midnight police encounters, vending machine cuisine, and that unmistakable motel scent of old sweat and lost dreams.

Our state budget is finalized and balanced as we conclude our 90day legislative session. As with 44 other states, our state constitution requires us to spend no more than we take in. Nevertheless, our state government is often asked to give more of your money to social programs in many different forms. Although most Nebraskans are self-reliant and exercise personal responsibility and self discipline, we continually move in the direction our federal government has gone in succumbing to the pleas for more social spending. Let’s see where it has taken us nationally.

We were somewhere on the edge of Omaha when the pastrami kicked in. Three nights at the Old Mill Inn.

Loren Lippincott, District 34 Senator In November 2024 voters approved two ballot initiatives that allowed for the use and regulation of medical marijuana in Nebraska. The legality of this initiative is presently under review by the Nebraska Supreme Court, in terms of the process used to place it before the voters.

Loren Lippincott, District 34 Senator It’s that time of year! The Appropriations Committee has sent a balanced budget to the floor of the legislature and debate on what and who should receive money is center stage in Lincoln. Senators who serve on the Appropriations Committee only serve on that committee because it meets every day.

The class of 2025 walked out of the school one last time a few weeks ago. This week, two pillars of Central City Public Schools quietly followed behind them.