Meet other OCA members and discuss local issues in the OCA Nebraska Forum
Nebraska News & Alert Center
Mobilizing Organic Consumers in Nebraska
Please Support Our Nebraska Sponsors
Intelligent Nutrients:
The Organic Harmonic Science of Health
and Beauty
Become a State Page Sponsor
Recent Nebraska Forum Posts
Nebraska News
- 10/21/08 - Wind-Farm Contracts Stir Up Lots of Questions
- 10/21/08 - Many Nebraska Voters to Decide on Fluoride in Water
- 10/09/08 - Food Security Challenges Health of Rural People and Communities
- 09/09/08 - Nebraska Agricultural Finance Program Changes
- 09/09/08 - Ability of Rural Areas to Retain and Attract Young People Dependent on Local Ownership
- 09/09/08 - Center for Rural Affairs on Farm Program Reform
- 09/08/08 - Nebraska Victims of Formaldehyde Gas Holding Organizational Meeting Sunday
- 08/23/08 - Scott Kleeb: Our Newest Ally in the Senate?
- 08/22/08 - Grassroots Direct Action: San Francisco Voters Nov. 4 Will Tell Their Congress Reps to Defund the War
- 08/21/08 - Our Current Crisis is a Looming Catastrophe: These Revolutionary Times
- 07/24/08 - Has Your Town Declared Peace Yet?
- 06/30/08 - States Taking Initiative on Environmental & Climate Crisis while Feds Do Little or Nothing
- 06/14/08 - USDA's Organic Factory Farming Scandal Continues to Unravel
- 06/11/08 - Move Over MoveOn: Grassroots Netroots Alliance (GNA) Launches New Progressive Campaign to 'Press the Politicians'
- 06/02/08 - The Jungle 2008: Government Manipulates Figures on America's Dangerous Meatpacking Plants
- 06/02/08 - Growing Controversy Over Biofuels, Food Security, & Rising Food Prices
- 05/15/08 - Center for American Progress: What Are You Paying for the War?
- 05/08/08 - Survey Finds Nebraska Cropland Values Soar
- 05/08/08 - Cultural Smorgasbord in a Rural School
- 05/08/08 - Initiative 300 Replacement Bill Killed
- 04/09/08 - Farm Bureau seeks to Expand Biotech Yield Endorsement to Nebraska
- 03/27/08 - Immigration Policy in the States- Mid-session Developments
- 02/27/08 - Organic Groceries: Worth the Extra Cost?
- 01/03/08 - All Leading Candidates Except McCain Toe the Line on Ethanol in Iowa
Submit News Stories
Help The Center for Rural Affairs Find Examples of Corporate Farming
(From The Center for Rural Affairs)
Nebraska's long-standing anti-corporate farming law, Initiative 300, was struck down by the courts in 2007. In 2008 the Nebraska Legislature rejected a legislative replacement for the law. As we evaluate the next steps to protect Nebraska's farmers and ranchers, we need your eyes and ears.
We are collecting examples of agriculture ventures that would have been prohibited under I-300. And for that, we need to Nebraskans to be our eyes and ears on the ground. Can you help us?
If you hear of agricultural land sales or new agricultural ventures that you believe would have been a violation of I-300, please contact Brian Depew at briand@cfra.org, 402.687.2103 x 1015. We will be following up on leads and collecting examples over the next year.
Already one egregious example has surfaced in which a Delaware corporation with unknown investors paid $52 million for a 20,000 acre farm in Lincoln County, Nebraska. Ironically, the farm they purchased was the same farm purchased by Prudential in the early 1980s - a controversial sale then that contributed to the success of I-300 at the ballot box. You can read more about this recent development and the history of I-300 at www.cfra.org/i300.
updated 10/8/08
Nebraska '08 Legislative Roundup
(From Progressive States Network)
In the last legislative session before term limits are
implemented and many veteran legislators are pushed into retirement,
the Nebraska legislature made solid, if relatively small progress, in a
number of areas. [solid, if relatively small progress....confusing]
On the Budget,the state faced a tightening belt but made important budget reforms for road funding and school aid.
- Roads funding: With record-high gas prices, raising gas taxes to pay for roads was controversial, but lawmakers overrode Gov. Dave Heineman's veto of a bill to raise the tax by about a penny a gallon to keep up with inflation. However, they backed off a plan that would have increased the tax by 3 more cents a gallon. They also added $15 million from the state's reserve over three years to assure that Nebraska will qualify for millions of federal roads dollars.
- Schools funding: Responding to a lawsuit by Omaha Public Schools over inequity in school aid funding formulas and shortfalls in school budgets, state lawmakers enacted LB 988 to change the state's school funding formula to direct funds to schools with the most costly children and increased overall school funding by about 9 percent next year -- unfortunately still less than the 17 percent hike that schools were expecting.
On Election Reform,the state focused on procedural measures to rein in potential abuses by paid campaign staffs:
-
Passed over the governor's veto, LB 39 requires those paid to circulate statewide petitions be paid by the hour rather than by the signature and require that they live in Nebraska.
-
LB 720 requires that automatically dialed calls be made only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. and that all calls state who is paying for the call and for whom it is being made, along with the contact information of the person making the call.
On Health Care,the state made some small progress in areas while restricting stem cell research at public facilities:
-
Prescription Drugs: LB 830, the Medicaid Prescription Drug Act, establishes a preferred drug list and allows the state to negotiate directly with insurance companies, contract with pharmacy benefit managers or join multistate purchasing pools to lower drug costs.
-
Smoking Ban: LB 395 enacts a statewide smoking ban in all bars and restaurants across the state.
-
Stem Cells: LB 606 was a compromise bill that avoided a proposed ban on all stem cell research in favor of a bill that just restricts use of state dollars to destroy a human embryo for cloning and research. However, the University of Nebraska Medical Center can continue to use cell lines in existence before 2001 from other sources for research. The bill also establishes a Stem Cell Advisory Council, with $500,000 of matching funds for non-embryonic stem cell research.
The legislature made some solid reforms in a number of other areas:
-
Energy Efficiency: LB 1001 creates a grant program for utility companies to help low-income homeowners make their homes more energy efficient.
-
Contractor Reform: LB 204 requires all contractors doing $5,000 in business a year to register with the Department of Labor.
-
Economic Incentives: A new Nebraska Super Advantage tax incentive, LB 895, focused on attracting higher-paying jobs in the state by targeting a 15 percent investment tax credit and a 10 percent wage credit to businesses paying at least 150 percent of the state average wage or 200 percent of the average wage in the county where the business is located, whichever is greatest. To qualify, companies will need to create 75 new jobs and make a $10 million capital investment, or create at least 50 new jobs and make a $100 million investment in capital.
- Anti-Bullying: LB 205 requires schools to adopt an anti-bullying policy.
- Criminal Justice Reform: LB 179 requires the electronic recording of all confessions and statements by those in custody.
-
Nebraska Foreclosure Protection Act: LB 123 strengthens the consumer rights of mortgage borrowers to be fully informed and allows courts to void mortgage contracts that are deemed one-sided and unconscionable.
On
immigration,the good news was that Governor Dave Heineman's bill, LB 963, to take state benefits away from undocumented immigrants and their children was buried by the Legislature's Judiciary committee in late February, partly because a proposal to revoke in-state tuition proved to be too controversial.
Take Action. Support Green Jobs!
The Green Jobs Act of 2007 authorized $125 million per year to create an Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Program as an amendment to the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). The Green Jobs Act (GJA) is an initial pilot program to identify needed skills, develop training programs, and train workers for jobs in a range of industries - including energy efficient building, construction and retrofits, renewable electric power, energy efficient vehicles, biofuels, and manufacturing that produces sustainable products and uses sustainable processes and materials. It targets a broad range of populations for eligibility, but has a special focus on creating "green pathways out of poverty."
Congress has not yet appropriated money for the Green Jobs Act. Please contact your Senator today and urge them to fund the Green Jobs Act of 2007!
Read more at Green for All's web site.
More Activities
- Click here to print this page
(and distribute it to co-ops) - Get involved with the OCA
- Donate
- Sign up for OCA's bi-weekly email update