June 17, 2009
Sarpy County Democrats,
The First Session of the 101st Legislature has adjourned Sine Sie. Over the last
six months, your Nebraska Legislature has passed a number of important
legislative bills.
*LB 16 – I co-sponsored Senator Tom White’s Taxpayer Transparency Act, which
requires the state to develop a website that provides data on the state budget,
public contracts, and tax incentives. This will allow Nebraskans to easily see how
their tax dollars are spent and will encourage transparency and efficiency in our
state government.
*LB 63 – This wide-sweeping crime bill modernizes penalties on those who have
committed certain criminal activities, including gang and graffiti-related crimes. A
co-sponsor of this important legislation, I worked with Senator Ashford to find seed
funding for the Office of Violence Prevention, which will provide community funding
for anti-violence and crime prevention programs.
*LB 97 - The Legislature passed, LB 97, a bill designed to update penalties on sex
offenders. This legislation strengthened penalties on those convicted of sex
crimes and requires additional information to be listed on the sex offender registry,
including drivers license numbers, email addresses, instant messaging screen
names, and other internet communication identifiers. As the use of the internet
and social networking sites have become more commonplace, this legislation is
necessary to keep our children safe online.
*LB 555 – My priority bill this year, LB 555, increases the research tax credit
provided by the Nebraska Advantage Research and Development Act. In order to
qualify for the credit, the research must be performed at a college or university-
owned facility in Nebraska. This “Innovation Economy” bill provides an opportunity
to create high-wage, high skilled jobs right here in Omaha and Bellevue.
*LB 603 – I was pleased to work with a small group of Senators to develop a
compromise on the issues brought to light by the Safe Haven situation last year.
LB 603 provides additional funding for children’s mental health services and
increases the access for health insurance for Nebraska’s most vulnerable children
through the Kids Connection (S-Chip) program. While LB 603 offers more services
to those families battling the behavioral health bureaucracy in our state, I firmly
believe this is only a first step in helping families who are placed in these difficult
situations. I will continue to work with my colleagues and community members to
find solutions to the problems brought to light last year.
While this has been a difficult session due to the unique budget circumstances, I
believe these key pieces of legislature are just a few of the new laws that will help
make South Omaha and Bellevue safer and stronger. I appreciate hearing from
you; please feel free to contact me with your thoughts on these or any of the
issues facing our state
.
Working for you,
Senator Heath Mello
Heath Mello
NEBRASKA STATE SENATOR, DISTRICT 5
Senator Heath Mello
Nebraska Legislature
District 5, Omaha
©2009 Sarpy County Democrats
Paid for by the Sarpy County Democratic Party. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.
119 W Mission Ave •. Bellevue, NE 68005 • 402-884-5053
Support the Employee
Free Choice Act
