The Nebraska Legislature has completed roughly twenty days of their 90-day legislative session. Public hearings on legislation have been underway for a solid two weeks, with over a month and a half remaining. Fairly simple, straightforward bills with broad support are already being debated and advanced through legislative floor debate.
At the same time, the different associations and groups that have an advocacy presence at the Capitol have been meeting with their membership and boards to evaluate bills they will support and oppose.
The same is true for us at the Nebraska Catholic Conference.
We’ve reviewed the 715 legislative bills and 15 legislative resolutions seeking to amend the state constitution. We’ve made recommendations to the Bishops. The Bishops have evaluated these proposals, and provided their direction on bills the NCC will support, oppose, or monitor.
This session, we'll support or oppose around 50 legislative bills. And we’ll “keep our eyes on” numerous others as they develop through the process. This is a typical legislative session “workload” for the NCC.
If you want to review all the bills we are working on, our Legislative Bill Tracker is available at our website www.NEcatholic.org, which I strongly encourage you to visit. At our Legislative Bill Tracker, you’ll be able to read the testimonies we submit for committee hearings and learn the “why” behind our support or opposition. You can also use the Legislative Bill Tracker to find the “status” of each bill and determine where it’s at in the legislative process.
The bills we are working on run the gamut, but they all fall under our five main advocacy areas: 1) Life & Human Dignity; 2) Marriage, Family, & Human Sexuality; 3) Education; 4) Social & Human Development; and 5) Church as Institution.
Here’s a sample of bills that will be advocated on over the next 70 days of legislative session.
Under life and human dignity, we’ll be supporting legislation to protect the health and safety of women by ensuring there are safeguards against the chemical abortion drugs and requiring proper screening for domestic violence and trafficking. We’re also supporting legislation that honors the fetal remains of unborn children by requiring human disposition of their bodies after an abortion, versus treating them as “medical waste”. We are also supporting legislation that educates Nebraska students on the science of human development in the womb.
Under marriage, family, and human sexuality, we are supporting legislation that recognizes that we are created either male or female, would prevent boys from playing girls sports, and properly limits access to private areas—locker rooms and bathrooms—based on sex and not false notions of gender identity. We’re also supporting legislative proposals to protect children from predatory and addictive social media practices.
Under education, we are prioritizing school choice, to make sure parents have the financial means to choose a school that is best for their children. We are also keeping an eye on several other bills that could have a regulatory impact on our Catholic schools across the state, as we want our schools to be free to live their mission and provide excellence in education.
Under social and human development, we’ll be supporting legislation that gives legally work-authorized immigrants the ability to work in law enforcement and access critically needed employee benefits. We’ll also be supporting legislation to provide adequate governmental assistance for low-income people who need more food access or other financial support such as earned income tax credits. As well, we’re keeping up the good fight to end the death penalty.
In short, there’s no shortage of bills to keep us bearing the light of Christ in the public square this legislative session. Like I said, learn more at www.NEcatholic about all our bills. And be on the lookout for the launch of registration for our annual advocacy day, Catholics at the Capitol, coming very soon!
