Tag: nebraska
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Nebraska Attorney General issues opinion declaring laws restoring voting rights to individuals convicted of a felony unconstitutional
On July 17, 2024, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R) issued a formal opinion that said that only the Nebraska Pardons Board—which consists of the governor, attorney general, and secretary of state—and not the legislature, has the authority to restore voting rights or shorten the waiting period for the restoration of voting rights for individuals…
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Signatures submitted for Nebraska veto referendum on private education scholarship funding bill
Support Our Schools, a campaign sponsored by the Nebraska State Education Association, submitted over 86,000 signatures to the Nebraska Secretary of State on July 17 for a veto referendum targeting a partial repeal of Legislative Bill 1402 (2024). LB 1402 authorizes the state treasurer to administer an education scholarship program with a $10 million budget…
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Six states passed laws related to the restoration of voting rights for felons or voting by incarcerated individuals
Six states adopted new laws related to voting by individuals convicted of a felony or voting by incarcerated individuals, including two states with Republican trifectas that passed bills to restore voting rights to certain individuals convicted of a felony more quickly. In Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed HB 1629 on May 13, restoring voting rights to people convicted…
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Nebraska could see its first abortion-related ballot measures with signatures submitted for competing initiatives
In Nebraska, two competing campaigns sponsoring abortion-related constitutional amendments each submitted over 200,000 signatures on July 3. The constitutional amendments would appear on the Nov. 5, 2024, general election ballot. Two competing campaigns sponsoring abortion-related constitutional amendments filed over 200,000 signatures each with the secretary of state on July 3, aiming to qualify the initiatives…
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Campaigns sponsoring medical marijuana legalization, paid sick leave, and abortion-related ballot initiatives submit signatures in Nebraska
The signature deadline for initiated laws and amendments was July 3 in Nebraska. Campaigns sponsoring medical marijuana legalization, paid sick leave, and abortion-related initiatives filed signatures with the secretary of state. The medical marijuana and paid sick leave initiatives are initiated statutes, while the abortion-related initiatives are initiated constitutional amendments. Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana filed…
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Nebraska campaign submits signatures for paid sick leave ballot initiative
Paid Sick Leave for Nebraskans submitted more than 138,000 signatures for verification on June 27 in hopes of qualifying a ballot initiative that would require businesses to provide earned paid sick leave for employees—up to seven days for businesses of at least 20 employees and five days for fewer than 20 employees. Employees would earn…
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Nebraska bill removing voting rights restoration waiting period for people convicted of a felony passes without governor’s signature
On April 17, 2024, Nebraska’s LB 20 became law without the signature of Gov. Jim Pillen (R). The bill changes the timeline for restoring voting rights to people convicted of a felony by removing a two-year waiting period after the completion of a sentence before rights are restored. Under the new law, voting rights are…
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Three states end judicial deference practices
Lawmakers in Indiana, Nebraska, and Idaho passed bills in March 2024 to end judicial deference practices in each state. The bills were based on model legislation developed by The Goldwater Institute and the Pacific Legal Foundation, titled the Judicial Deference Reform Act. Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen (R) on March 27, 2024, and Idaho Governor Brad…
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More Nebraska legislators are retiring in 2024 than in any cycle since 2014
There are 25 legislative seats up for election this year in Nebraska’s unicameral legislature. Fifteen incumbents (5 Democrats and 10 Republicans) are not running for re-election. This is the highest retirement rate since 2014, when 17 incumbents (8 Democrats, 8 Republicans, and one independent) retired. The average number of retirements each year from 2010 to 2022 was…
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Incumbent officeholder switches party affiliation
Mike McDonnell switches party affiliation to Republican. Senator McDonnell changed his party affiliation from Democratic to Republican on April 3, 2024. McDonnell said the Democratic Party “no longer felt like a place where he could reconcile his faith with his political affiliation.” Earlier this year, the Nebraska Democratic Party censured McDonnell. Democratic Party Chair Jane…