Jeff Hajny

    A member of the U.S. Legislature visited Seward and expressed his concerns for small towns in Nebraska this past week.
     Sen. Greg Adams visited Valentino's in Seward Feb. 8 to give locals a chance to see what kind of bills he was proposing to the state legislature.
     Adams began by addressing the Safe Haven Bill, which allows mothers who feel they are not able to care for their children to leave them at a safe place without being charged with neglect.
     "The bill looked fine to me, but I wasn't looking at the whole picture," Adams said. "A group of firemen came in and were against the bill. Part of the bill said babies could be left at fire stations."
     Adams said the problem with this was that the majority of fire departments in Nebraska are volunteer and do not have people there 24 hours a day.
     Adams said the bill was changed so babies could be left at hospitals without the parental rights being dismissed. The part of the bill that is still problematic was the word "child" being used, meaning parents could leave their children up to age three.
     He moved on to introduce changes he was proposing, which included:
     • a change to public nuisances bills, which states that if someone has a car in their yard, it will be taken away by the city as "punishment." The problem is that this is not a burden to the owner because they will be losing their trash and the government has to pay for it;
     • changing the number of permits required to use a concrete truck. He wanted only one permit to be required rather than having to renew a permit every 10 days;
     • the Teacher Pay Bill, which would create an educational trust fund and a pay-for-performance mechanism; and
     • a bill that will change the language in the Early Childhood Education Bill by asking for money to be sent to rural Nebraska schools instead of just focusing on Omaha schools.
     "What we see as the problem right now is there is no language where one can recall the problem," he said.
     Other problems Adams addressed included:
     • frustration with the roads. In Seward's district there is an incomplete expressway and the district wants attention from the Department of Roads. A problem is the district is having troubles paying for the repairs; and
     • the Super Advantage Act, which affects businesses which are started in Nebraska or come into the state. If the business makes a $10 million investment or their employees are paid above 200 percent of the county wage, they could qualify for the act. The act is currently a down-the-road piece of legislation.
     "I support this because we want our kids to go to college, find a career and come home but the problem is those high-paying jobs aren't found in small towns," Adams said.
     For more information regarding changes to laws in the district, contact Adams at (402) 471-2756 or e-mail him at gadams@leg.ne.gov.