How to influence legislation

I thought I would take a moment to pass along to you a bit of the behind the scene impact Senator Kopplin has on legislation. Senator Kopplin is a member of the Reference Committee, where proposed legislation is determined to what committee it will be sent to for further review and work. The impact of this committee is tremendous as they wield considerable influence on whether a proposed bill either survives or dies in committee. Send it to a committee which is friendly and it survives, or send it elsewhere to die.

UPDATE OMAHA Land Grab

UPDATE

I sent an email to Senator Nelson and he has already replied. Here is a copy of his comments to me.

Scott,

I think a general misunderstand about LB 1166 exists. No cities would be in danger of annexation by Omaha if LB 1166 passes. The area that will have the potential for annexation will be unincorporated areas adjacent to the city of Omaha.

Thank you,
John Nelson


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I believe it will be very important to keep an eye on the bill so it doesn't end up amended to something more. I do want to say Sen. Nelson's email was a pleasant surprise and I did say as much in my reply to him. Next to Senator Cornett he is one of the most responsive legislators to date.


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Citizens,

We have yet another Legacy Bill laid at out feet by Senator John Nelson.

He has proposed LEGISLATIVE BILL 1166. Introduced by Nelson, 6.
A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to cities of the metropolitan class; to amend
section 14-117, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2006; to provide
for the extension of corporate limits into an adjoining county; and to repeal
the original section.

This will let BIG cities grab land over county lines!

The legislature took away rural schools, forced the Learning community on Sarpy County, and now they want to take the cities too! In this Learning Community bill we have seen how our representation has been ineffective in achieving the overwhelming will of the district.

Sen Nelson was elected in 2006 and represents Omaha.

Census & Redrawing the boundries

My Fellow Citizens there is something foul afoot in Lincoln and I thought you might want to know about it.

I was informed this past weekend that there are Senators trying to introduce legislation to tie the hands of future Senators. Senator Schimek, district 27 of Lincoln, is trying to put into statute rules and guidance on how redistricting should be done in the future. It seems her intention is to provide future Senators the benefit of her wisdom, and to make it law!

It is precisely issues and tactics like this which demand we have representation in the legislature who will call this out and say NO! Please keep an eye out for what happens over the next months as we work to identify more of the Legacy Legislation!

Thank You

A story about ships

This Saturday the Republican State Central Committee was held in Omaha and I had the opportunity to attend and be part of the process by proxy. I was also asked to speak to the 2nd district caucus, along with many other candidates. I knew from past Central Committee meetings I would be asked if I would like to address the group, so I practiced my stump speech and was ready to go. What I had not anticipated was all the speeches before me were basically along the same lines! And why wouldn't they? The fundamentals of the Republican Party, Lower Taxes, Controlled Spending, and Economic growth all resulting from LESS Government. So as my turn approached I decided instead of putting the audience through yet another stump speech with the same content I would speak to them about ships, and I will share that with you now.

I would like to talk to you about ships. No I was not in the Navy, but I did serve for 20 years in the Air Force. The first ship I would like to talk about is Stewardship. I believe as a legislator this is a fundamental concept that must be kept in the forefront of a senators mind. We are charged with being good stewards of the state's resources. I have a demonstrated record of having been a good steward of tax dollars during my years of service in the Air Force. I was responsible for building multi million dollar budgets for equipment and tools supporting our troops in the field. I was responsible for maintaining equipment while deployed and at home station. I had the opportunity to work with contracts and budgets at multiple levels of Government from the Federal down to the State level. I took great pride in being able to maintain the highest levels of readiness while keeping within budget. So stewardship is more than a concept to talk about, it is something I have been doing for years.

The next ship is Leadership. This is a concept many people have tried to define for years so I will not stand before you and try to do so. What I can say is what I have done and what I believe the qualities of a good leader are. We need leaders in the Legislature who are willing to fight the good fight, and have a vision for Nebraska. Leaders who can build relationships with others in the legislature to accomplish the work set before the body. A leader who will do what is right over what is popular. Someone who will listen to the people and engage on issues in support of the the peoples desires. We have so much at stake in the next session and we need strong and effective leadership to carry the day. I believe my years of service and as a small business owner have demonstrated my ability to provide real-world leadership. Whether it was accomplishing the day to day tasks set before me or tackling larger issues having to work with foreign governments to determining how we could get the job done. So I believe the leadership qualities required to support the 3rd district are the same qualities I have been honing for the past 20 years.

Finally I believe good Leadership has deep roots in Followership. At all points in our lives we are followers and it is an important quality that is all too often overlooked. With the issues before our Nation and State, we cannot spend precious time and resources trying to stand out and make a name for ourselves. To be the most effective we must work together. As you might imagine one would not enjoy much of a career in the military if you couldn't learn how to follow. So I will bring this to Lincoln too.

This is in essence what I presented to the 2nd district Caucus. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. (scott.price@cox.net)

Thank you,