Krusin' the Capitol
By Nebraska State Senator Lowen Kruse
Vol. 2 #12
April 6, 2002
Hi--
I had hoped to tell you about our fresh decisions to close the budget gap.
None. Frustration compounded.
The governor had about $70 million which I supported and the floor has
rejected. Then various ones "blow smoke" (in my humble opinion) by boldly
talking of cutting taxes, 2 here and 5 there. I said when you reject 70 it
is hard to cover the gap a nickel at a time. (The 70 is just under 50 for
cigarettes and over 20 for the delay in paying back tax rebate on
investments.)
We spent over four hours on gambling. Had a fairly tight bill, which allowed
some increase but with legislative control. Got 21 votes. (25 required) So
that is dead. Now we will have a petition from Keno operators to have slot
machines in every Keno place. Simply stated, wide open gambling across the
state. Financial disaster for the state. Most of us will fight it but it
will probably pass. Sigh.
Then we spent nearly two days trying to broaden the sales tax base. Like the
above item, excellent debate. But 21 votes. If we cannot get it back we
will be forced to a half cent increase in the sales tax. About the poorest
idea around, but what makes it attractive is that the public does not object.
VERY little comment. In fact, to be frank, most comments are to do what is
needful on taxes as long as we do not cut schools.
We passed a flock of bills. Or is it a herd? Covey? Plethora? Bushel?
Several Christmas trees. As the budget gap will dominate the rest of our
time, if you have a bill that is not controversial and really needs to be
done (correct language, authorize minor change in procedure, etc.) you look
for a bill which can be amended. Must be a similar subject. A Game and
Parks bill had pieces of 7 or 8 bills. A legal language bill must have had
15. In each case, a committee has had a hearing, discussed the matter and
passed it without dissent.
One day as we were rolling through these bills I went to consult with Senator
Chambers on how we would do an amendment. As I left his desk he said, "Did
you notice I am managing the floor today? Look at those bills sail through!"
Love his humor.
Do NOT love what he did to one senator, which you will not see in the paper.
She wrote about him in a newsletter, in a negative but fair way. He punished
her by not letting her bill be considered. That is unworthy of him. As I
have said in these epistles several times, I value the open debating society
we have. We have agreed that anyone can say what he or she pleases, and he
has made use of that more times than we can count. "Open" applies for
everyone. He will hear about it.
Drug Courts are a WONDERFUL new addition to our court scene. Young people
who have messed up but appear to want to learn go through a course and
process, managed by judges and officers, mostly volunteer. It lost funding
on the floor this week, as one of the many budget cut items, because the
sponsoring agency will not come clean on how it is managed. Argh. [Like
most of the "cut" items, it does not save the state money. Sounds good, but
just moves it around or delays. Double argh.]
We have two major funding bills which will take most of next week. We gave
our Speaker authority to select the order in which amendments will be
considered, which is a BIG positive. Those who do not like a section cannot
kill it by filing a bunch of delaying amendments. For example, I know my
modest amendment, which picks up $7 million, will be in the second batch up
on Monday morning. Helps.
Sometimes it is hard to find the right time to go to the bathroom. I do go.
Cheers,
Lowen
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