Our office has had several victories in recent days. The Recreational Liability Bill, which I spent weeks negotiating into a shape that balanced the interests of citizens and municipalities, passed unanimously. This bill will insure that cities can continue to provide recreational services for all of us without an inordinate amount of risk while maintaining reasonable liability protections for those who engage in these activities.

I also expect that the body will vote again to support my identity theft protection bill, LB 674, which has passed unanimously through the first two rounds of debate. This bill will provide Nebraskans with some of the strongest identity protection measures of any state in the country.

Yesterday the body passed LB 321, the part of the budget package that appropriates funds for state government expenses. The budget bills are extremely complicated, but one aspect of this bill that I tried to change was an increase in the gas tax. With gas prices on the rise and with a $200 million surplus in the state treasury, I did not think it a responsible action to raise this tax at this time. I supported AM 1177, introduced by Senator Tom White, which would have repealed the tax increase.

As of this writing, the tax cut bill has also been passed on to final reading. The bill is a positive step for Nebraska and should help to stimulate the economy and create jobs, however, I am of the opinion that it does not return enough money to Nebraska's middle-class taxpayers. I fought for several amendments which attempted to change that by providing substantial property and sales tax relief. White's LB 453 showed that it was possible to return $500 to every homeowner in the state. Thus, I think that the Revenue Committee's proposal, which returns less than $150 to the average Ralston homeowner, fell far short of this ideal.

On a positive note, the OPS schools bill passed the first round of debate much more smoothly than anyone anticipated. Rather than bog down the debate for days on this inflammatory topic, Speaker Flood urged the body to pass the bill onto the second round of debate and to work out changes in the meantime. The Education Committee has done an excellent job and spent many hours arriving at the current form of LB 641. Dr. Virginia Moon, Ralston's superintendent of schools, supports the bill. Ralston already does an excellent job of ensuring that every students' needs are met regardless of race or economic considerations. Under the Learning Community structure provided by the bill, Ralston Public Schools could become an example to the rest of the Omaha area schools. The bill is too complicated to go into much detail here, but such aspects of the plan such as the Learning Community Council and the Learning Centers are novel approaches to extremely difficult problems, which could make Nebraska a nationwide leader in urban education policy.

Please feel free to contact our office if you have thoughts on any of these topics. My assistants are Chris and Sean and our number is 471-2623. My e-mail is slathrop@leg.ne.us.