After unprecedented gridlock dominated her first session in 2023, Sen. Jana Hughes is hoping for a better rhythm in the Nebraska Legislature this session.
State senators convened at the Capitol Jan. 3 for the second year of the 108th Legislature – a 60-day session expected to run through April 18.
Hughes, who represents Seward, York and Polk counties in District 24, said she’s “cautiously optimistic” that this session will go smoother than last year’s.
“I feel like I saw all the bad things (last year). I feel like I learned everything I shouldn’t do. You can learn from the bad,” she said.
Senators were to hold a rules hearing beginning Monday afternoon. Hughes said that would likely set the tone for the rest of the session.
“People are stepping gingerly. That’s the feeling I get on the floor,” she said Jan. 5. “People are being super civil and nice, but a lot of people are almost just waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
One problem she hopes to avoid this year is ‘Christmas tree’ legislation – one big package of unrelated bills adorned with layers of amendments.
“One bill, one vote,” Hughes said. “Then we start getting that rhythm of what it’s supposed to be like.”
She said that would make a big difference in how some senators vote on certain issues.
“There were a few last year that you voted for it...I would have never voted for it on its own, but since it was with 25 other bills, it got through,” she said.
Senators may introduce bills in the first 10 days of the session. Just a few days in, hundreds of bills have already hit their desks.
“We are in a 60-day session, it’s shorter. People are already trying to set their priorities,” Hughes said. “I’ve heard some really good bills that are getting prioritized.”
In addition to those, senators will take up carryover bills that didn’t get debated last session because of time constraints.
Hughes said she hasn’t selected her priority bill yet, but she had already introduced five of her six bills as of Jan. 5.
She said she is most excited about two bills in particular, one that would allow prescription drug recycling through the Iowa-based SafeNetRx program, and one that would restrict online vape sales and limit the types of vape devices that can be sold.
Property tax shifts
Talks abound about Gov. Jim Pillen’s plan to shift about $1 billion in state tax revenue from property tax to sales tax, but Hughes said she has yet to hear that proposal in bill form.
Pillen’s plan centers on increasing state sales tax by two cents from 5.5 cents to 7.5 cents, raising cigarette taxes by $2 per pack and lowering property taxes by about $2 billion, with the goal of reducing property taxes by a total of 40%.
That would bring Nebraska’s property taxes nearly to the midpoint of all 50 states, but it would propel sales tax rates to one of the most expensive at 7.5%.
County and city governments also have the authority to add up to two cents of their own sales tax on top of the state rate.
“In the original talks of that, they were going to go after some exemptions in the existing sales tax,” Hughes said.
Streamlining taxes for services, she said, is one place to start.
“You don’t pay taxes on landscaping service but you do on pool service,” Hughes said.
Towing services are taxed, but car repair is not. Upholstery cleaning is taxed, but dry cleaning laundry is not. The list of discrepancies goes on.
“That’s the lower-hanging fruit, if you will,” Hughes said. “Let’s get that broader tax base first before we bump it up two cents.”
She said she likes the governor’s idea of front loading tax relief instead of making property owners file for a tax credit during income tax season.
“Why should the government take my money and then make me ask for it back? Don’t take it in the first place,” Hughes said. “I really like that piece that he’s talking about.”
Prescription recycling
Hughes’ LB1035, the Prescription Drug Donation Act, would allow Nebraska to partner with Iowa-based company SafeNetRx to donate unused medications to people who need them but can’t afford them.
The company accepts unused prescription medications that are in their original, tamper-evident packaging, are not expired and show no signs of deterioration.
Currently, Nebraska pharmacies will take back unused medications. Those drugs are sent to Texas and incinerated at a cost of $25 per pound.
Hughes and other state officials toured the SafeNetRx repository in Iowa last year, where about $20 million worth of prescription drugs were waiting to be shipped out to people in need.
To date, nearly $115 million in inventory has been donated to SafeNetRx, which then uses a database to allow pharmacies to locate drugs needed for underinsured or uninsured patients who can’t afford their prescriptions.
“If somebody can stay on their meds, they might not end up in the ER and have further issues that are more complicated and more expensive,” Hughes said. “Otherwise, we throw these meds away and it’s nuts.”
The program currently operates only in Iowa. Beneficiaries must live in Iowa, be uninsured or underinsured and have an annual income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.
The company does not fill orders for controlled substances or drugs that must be refrigerated. Donated medications are thoroughly inspected before being shipped to patients.
Under current law, Nebraska can donate medications to SafeNetRx, but it cannot receive donated drugs back into the state.
“We have to change the law to allow pharmacists to access it to distribute the meds back into Nebraska,” Hughes said.
The only cost involved is shipping the drugs to and from the repository.
Currently, the incineration fees are paid with money allocated by the legislature.
“If this gets going, we won’t have as many to destroy,” Hughes said. “It would be nice if we could shift some of those funds to pay for this.”
Vape sales
Hughes also plans to introduce legislation that does not allow for online sales of vape products and prohibits the sale of vape devices that aren’t FDA-approved.
She said vape companies are targeting children as young as elementary school with devices that look like toys and school supplies.
“We have vapes that look like a yellow highlighter. They look like toys, they’re geared at kids,” she said. “No adult wants to smoke a yellow highlighter. You’re doing that so kids can sneak it into school.”
She said she’s concerned about the unknown effects of vape products, which contain the addictive substance nicotine.
“We’ve got young kids paying older kids 25 cents to take a hit on their vape. The younger you get hooked, the harder it is to get off it down the road,” Hughes said. “We don’t even know 30 years down the road what health effects this stuff is going to have.”
Additional bills
Hughes has introduced four other bills. They include:
• a bill to clean up language for the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy revolving around water systems.
• a bill that would require the state to give as much information as possible to young adults when they age out of the foster care system. Currently, they are given their birth certificate and Social Security card. The bill would require they also be given, when possible, their medical records, a history of schools they’ve attended and a history of where they’ve lived.
• a bill to undo legislation enacted last year as part of a large education-related package that prohibits suspension of students in pre-K to second grades. Hughes said smaller schools do not have as many options as large schools when it comes to removing a disruptive child from a classroom or relocating them until behaviors improve. The bill would apply to Class 3 schools and smaller.
• a bill that would prohibit a retailer from selling alcohol below cost as a way to discourage the promotion of drinking and level the playing field among retailers of like products.
