8/12/02-Senators in Nebraska have failed at their attempts to divert money from the Highway Trust Fund to balance the state's budget. Four of the five proposed bills are dead after being "indefinitely postponed" by their committees.

LB30, introduced by Sen. D. Paul Hartnett, would have diverted to the general fund half of the proceeds from the sales and uses taxes on vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers and would have increased the authorization of the Highway Commission to issue bonds for construction and maintenance of the highway system. The Transportation and Telecommunications Committee struck down the bill after a committee hearing Aug. 5. Hartnett says he will re-introduce his bill next session.

Sen. Nancy P. Thompson had three bills to tap into the Highway Trust Fund, all shot down in committee. LB15 would have increased the amount provided to the Nebraska public transportation assistance program from the Highway Trust Fund from $1 million to $1,621,000. LB16 would have taken Highway Trust Fund money from the state and allocate it to the Nebraska State Patrol Cash Fund. LB38 would have directed proceeds from the additional half-cent sales tax on motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers to the General Fund. Thompson says she will re-introduce her bills next session.

LB19 is the only one of the five still kicking. The bill, introduced by Sen. Chris Beutler, could transfer the portion of the motor vehicle sales tax allocated to the Department of Roads from the Highway Cash Fund to the General Fund. The Appropriations Committee tacked the bill's proposal onto another appropriation bill, LB1. For bill status, call (402) 371-2709.

3/8/02 - Nebraska commercial carrier officers could become state troopers and get a raise if the legislature passes LB470. The bill, being promoted by Nebraska State Patrol Superintendent Col. Tom Nesbitt, would make carrier division officers official state troopers with equal pay and benefit levels as troopers. Currently, the starting salary for carrier officers is $26,291 compared to $30,680 for state troopers. Nesbitt says the pay difference causes the carrier division to lose officers seeking better pay and retirement benefits.

The bill moved on to a second round of debate March 6 with a 31-1 vote, with the only "nay" coming from Sen. Ernie Chambers. Although the bill would keep a separate carrier division, Chambers sees the bill as unnecessary because having a separate carrier enforcement unit lets truckers know Nebraska takes its trucking laws seriously.

For bill status information, call (402) 371-2709 or visit www.unicam.state.ne.us

8-2-01 -- The session ended May 31, 2001. Bills left unresolved will carry over into the next session, which begins Jan. 9, 2002. For bill status information, call (402) 471-2271.

3/8/01 - In an unanimous roll call vote Feb. 27, the Transportation and Telecommunications decided to indefinitely postpone a bill that would have reduced truck speed limits on rural interstate highways to 65, creating a 10-mph differential. The sponsor of LB318, Sen. Marian Price, reportedly told the Lincoln Star Journal she hadn't seen any studies showing that split speed limits are not safe.
In the final committee action, other lawmakers apparently didn't see it that way. Senators Jones, Baker, Robak, Dw. Pederson, Hudkins, Brown and Bromm voted for indefinite postponement. Senator Byars was absent.