Sen. Hughes begins final two years in Legislature

When the 107th Nebraska Legislature convened Wednesday for its two-year session, it marked the start of the final two years of 44th District Sen. Dan Hughes’ second term.

That means when the session is completed in the spring of 2022, Hughes, who farms near Venango, will be term-limited out of the Legislature. 

Nebraska’s adoption of term limits caps the number of consecutive terms for state senators at two. 

If senators want to return to the Legislature, they must sit out four years before running for the seat again. 

In fact, three senators taking office this year were term-limited out and won election again. These include Sen. Ray Aguilar of Grand Island, Mike Flood of Norfolk and Rich Pahls of Millard.

Five other newly elected senators will be sworn in as well.

Executive Committee

On the opening day, senators elect committee chairs as one of their first official duties. 

For the past four years, Hughes has served as the chair of the Natural Resources Committee. 

That committee has played key roles in water legislation during Hughes’ tenure in the Legislature. 

But for his final two years, Hughes is seeking the chairmanship of the nine-member Executive Committee. 

One of the key duties of this committee is to assign all newly introduced bills to one of the standing committees of the Legislature. 

This committee includes senators from all three Congressional districts to provide equal representation. 

With the completion of the 2020 census, the Executive Committee is responsible for appointing members to the redistricting committee. 

That committee looks at census figures to determine legislative district boundaries.

The 107th Session will not include Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha. He was initially term-limited out of a seat he’d held for 38 years.

After his four years, he returned for another eight years, making him the longest serving state senator in Nebraska history at 46 years. 

Over the past six years, Hughes has fought his own battles with Chambers while finding him to be supportive in other efforts. 

So what will it be like with Chambers in the Legislature. “Good and bad,” Hughes said.

“He did look at bills through a different set of glasses than the rest of us, and caught some things that we probably should have caught,” Hughes added.

But one things for sure—the business of the Legislature should move at a much smoother and faster pace, Hughes said.

Hughes said Chamber’s strategy was to string bills out until it got close to the end of the session. “And you know, that gave him more negotiating power,” the 44th District senator said.

Hughes is so optimistic that  things will run smoother that he thinks they could get their business done without needing all 90 days in the first session.

Ending early would save the state a lot of money, too, he said.

Legislative bills planned

Hughes said he’s considering about 10 bills for introduction this session. If other senators introduce similar bills, he said he’d likely just sign on to theirs. 

With the uncertainty that COVID-19 could bring to the session, legislators were encouraged to cut back on the number of bills they introduced. 

However, based on the amount of work the bill drafters are doing, Hughes said that idea is not catching on.

One of the bills he’s considering could be a big hit with many Nebraskans—raising the price for out-of-state park permits.

His bill would raise the caps that Nebraska Game & Parks can charge for temporary and annual park permits. 

One idea is to offer a permit that would include access to all state parks with the exception of Lake McConaughy and Lake Ogallala.

Another more expensive permit would include all state parks, along with access to the lake areas. 

He said the two lakes represent the second largest tourism attraction in Nebraska.

He emphasized there would be no increase in park permit fees for Nebraska residents.

On the big three weekends of the summer, estimates indicate about 90% of the users come from out-of-state. 

The bill would generate revenue from non-Nebraskan residents to be specifically allocated for upkeep and improvements at the Keith County facilities. 

Right now, Hughes said he doesn’t have a number of how much money that would generate but that will be key if the legislation advances. 

Another bill under consideration would benefit distillery businesses in the state and the 44th district.

Right now, distilleries are capped at a 10,000-gallon annual production limit. Hughes’ bill would increase that to 100,000 gallons annually. 

Still facing same issues

Hughes said the Legislature will still be dealing with “more of the same” issues that are a regular on the legislative agenda: property tax relief, income tax relief, state aid to schools, prison reform and social justice issues. 

He said state tax revenues have been coming in strong, despite the coronavirus pandemic. 

That’s good for rural Nebraska since it helps fund property tax relief passed by the Legislature last year. 

One of the proposals being pushed by Gov. Ricketts is the construction of a $290 million prison facility. Hughes said the governor wants half of the money budgeted this year and the rest next year. 

Invaluable knowledge

Looking back over the last six years of his legislative stint, Hughes said the time has passed quickly.

He noted it’s been an incredible learning experience. 

It’s been fascinating to learn the inner workings of both the Legislature and state government and how they run on a day-to-day basis, keeping the trains running on time, so to speak, he concluded.