Action on political front returns to Lincoln

News on legislation will take a different direction this week, away from all that’s been going on nationally. The Nebraska Unicameral convened on Wednesday, and it already sounds like there will be a lot of interesting legislation the senators will have before them during the short, 60-day session.
    One of the bills which will be introduced, according to a report in the Omaha World-Herald, is Sen. Joni Albrecht’s legislation that will restrict the State Board of Education from adopting health standards for schools. The senator from Thurston said her legislation would keep the instruction of health education with the local schools, where it should be.
    Rightly so, she reminds the public that it’s the legislature that has the authority in that area, and said the State Board of Education should focus its time on improving standards in the five core subject areas it does have authority to develop.
    At least the state board stopped further development of the health standards after a significant outcry from concerned Nebraskans after they became public. Some of the proposals would have taught gender identity and sexual orientation, some of it at very early ages, that was likely in conflict with what many parents teach at home.
    Also watch for action on a new prison in Nebraska. With funds from tax revenues that exceeded projections by about $400 million, approval for a new prison to replace the overcrowded one is something many senators and Gov. Ricketts want to see happen this year.
    The year 2022 is also a significant session for this area, as our state senator for the past seven years, Sen. Dan Hughes of Venango, started his eighth and final year Wednesday representing the 44th District. We wish him well in his final year representing Chase County and all of the counties in his 44th District.
    With Hughes’ exit, that means a legislative seat up for election later this year, as well as a host of state offices and important elections here on the local and county levels. That will all add to an interesting year of politics in our area, and state, as the year unfolds.