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Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nebraska feedlot political fight makes way to statehouse
A branding battle is emerging in Nebraska over whether feedlots should pay branding fees. () LINCOLN — A divide between rural Nebraska lawmakers is rustling in the statehouse. State Sen. Teresa Ibach of Sumner, in west-central Nebraska, has proposed a bill that would exempt a significant sector of agriculture in the state — feedlots — from branding and inspection fees under the state's livestock branding law that she has said she aims to 'modernize' with Legislative Bill 646. 'LB 646 simply provides an exemption for [feedlots], so [they] are treated uniformly across Nebraska,' Ibach said during the bill Agriculture Committee hearing. She has faced opposition from State Sen. Tanya Storer of Whitman, a freshman rural lawmaker from north-central Nebraska who proposed an amendment to essentially kill the bill and let lawmakers make a more informed decision later regarding one of the state's biggest industries. Her reason: Most lawmakers don't deal with cattle. 'The reality is there's only about four in this body of 49 that understand that,' Storer said. Nebraska is the second-largest cattle-producing state in the U.S., generating $13.2 billion from cattle and other livestock, according to the latest tally from the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. Parts of that industry are regulated by the Nebraska Brand Committee, which is tasked with investigating cattle theft and verifying ownership through branding when cattle are bought, sold or moved in or beyond the brand zone in state law, essentially covering the western two-thirds of the state. Its services are funded entirely through fees, not by taxpayers. The divide on the Ibach bill is that it would exempt feedlots in the state's brand inspection area from paying branding-related fees, replacing them with a one-time payment of $500 to apply for feedlots to get exempt status. The Brand Committee called the legislation an attempt to 'severely' weaken the cattle industry's checks and balances, and several cattle industry groups have opposed it. During the bill's hearing before the Agriculture Committee, Nebraska Farmers Union president John Hansen said the Brand Committee provides security from cattle theft. He added the whole state should be under the Livestock Brand Act because the areas not in the branding area are an 'invitation for abuse.' 'If I were stealing cattle, I know that I would be trying to sell them in the area of the state that does not have brand inspection,' Hansen said. 'So the viability of the system will be undermined if this bill goes forward as is.' The Nebraska State Dairy Association testified in support of the bill and requested its own exception from the state Livestock Brand Act, calling the system a time and economic burden on the dairy industry because the branding committee hasn't updated its ID Program. 'Our producers are tired of waiting for the change to pay for a program that has no value to our industry,' said Steve Wolfe, who testified on behalf of the Nebraska State Dairy Association. Bill sponsors initially included all eight of the Legislature's Agriculture Committee members, though only six of the eight voted it out of committee for a floor debate: two original sponsors, State Sens. Mike Jacobson of North Platte and Dan McKeon of Amherst withdrew their names from the bill last week. Jacobson said it because his constituents won't like it. 'The only reason I signed on to begin with was to try to get to the point where we could negotiate something better than what we have today,' Jacobson said. 'Every email and phone call I've gotten on this issue, except from the feed yards who stand directly to benefit, have been not only no but hell no. That's a pretty strong message.' Other cattle-feeding states, including Texas and Oklahoma, deal with cattle branding differently. In those states, it's not mandatory but encouraged to deter theft, while brand inspections are mandatory in Wyoming and Colorado. Elliott Dennis, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor of livestock marketing and risk management, said Nebraska's cattle branding approach is unique because some parts of the state don't have to deal with the inspection fees. Dennis said the quirk is because areas in the eastern parts of the state have fewer cattle than most of western Nebraska. He said consumers wouldn't feel the proposed changes to the branding law. Feedlot owners and beef and dairy cattle growers tried but failed in 2020 and 2021 to comprehensively update state branding laws. Dennis said feedlot owners have historically been against brand inspection due to the frequency of fees they must pay based on their cattle numbers and because getting an inspector can slow down production. He said who proposed the bill tells a lot about its intention. 'This isn't a person unfamiliar with the cattle industry,' Dennis said. Ibach, a first-term senator, is married to the longest-serving state agriculture director Greg Ibach. She and her family own a cattle operation in Dawson County. She said the legislation is about updating the state brand law, not getting rid of it. 'To be clear, [the] bill does not do away with brand inspection inside the brand area, nor does it impact anyone's ability to own or use a brand,' Ibach said. In an op-ed last month on KRVN Rural Radio's website in Lexington, Ibach said she worked with the Nebraska Brand Committee and the Nebraska Farm Bureau after the bill's Agriculture Committee hearing to add amendments to address the concerns from the committee, farm bureau, and other groups. 'I believe the amendment addresses legitimate concerns raised by the testifiers and others,' Ibach wrote. Her amendment, AM 829, to LB 646, would cap the amount the Brand Committee can charge feedlots. Currently, the committee can charge for each additional increment of 250 cattle above the total of 1,000 cattle, which represents the lot's one-time capacity. Feedlots are charged a $1,000 annual permit. If the bill becomes law, it's estimated the committee would lose $1.6 million annually, roughly 25% of its operating budget. Nebraska Farm Bureau Senior Director of State Legislative Affairs Bruce Rieker said the Bureau's stance on the bill could change as negotiations between stakeholders in the cattle industry continue. 'There are very sincere conversations going on between many of the parties now, Rieker said. 'Much more so now than maybe they were earlier in the session.' On Tuesday, the Farm Bureau released a statement expressing disapproval of the amendment to the bill, signaling that it still opposes the changes. 'For more than 80 years, the Nebraska Brand Committee has played a vital role in overseeing livestock brand registration, enforcement, and proof of ownership.' The statement reads, 'We support the work of the Brand Committee and believe the Committee should have the fee authority necessary to adequately fund its programs.' Nebraska Cattlemen also expressed continued opposition to the bill. Still, the group said it would 'remain committed to working with Senator Ibach toward a solution that could be acceptable to the membership as we work to modernize brand laws in Nebraska.' The statement said the Cattleman Board of Directors would meet Tuesday to discuss and take a stance on the agriculture committee amendment. Storer announced an amendment late last week to Ibach's bill that would delay immediate action on the bill and call for a study by the Nebraska Brand Committee for potential solutions. Storer said she was 'frustrated' with how the bill was initially crafted without the input of the Brand Committee and the cattle industry. She said her amendment was reasonable and would give more parts of the cattle industry a say. 'I believe it is vitally important that we have an agency in place to provide oversight that prevents fraud and theft in that industry,' Storer told the Nebraska Examiner. 'So at the end of the day, anything that's going to weaken that agency…to prevent fraud and theft is problematic.' The legislation is set to be debated on the floor Wednesday. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill to open unemployment benefits to immigrant ‘Dreamers' advances to legislative debate
A bill advanced to debate by the full Legislature would align Nebraska with other states in allowing Dreamers, DACA recipients, access to unemployment benefits. Shown here, supporters of the DACA program rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court. (Robin Bravender/ States Newsroom) LINCOLN — Nebraska is a step closer to joining other states in allowing 'Dreamers' — and other immigrants who have legal permission to work in the U.S. but who lack permanent residency — access to unemployment insurance benefits. The Legislature's Business and Labor Committee, despite concerns raised during a previous public hearing, voted last week to advance Legislative Bill 299 on to full debate by the Legislature. State Sen. Teresa Ibach of Sumner, who introduced the bill along with Sen. Margo Juarez of Omaha, said the U.S. Department of Labor had flagged a 'technical' problem with language in the initial draft, which put federal funding at risk. She said federal and local labor officials worked to resolve the issue. 'Once that was fixed, the committee moved to advance it to the floor for debate by the entire Legislature,' Ibach said. 'Nebraska is the only state that does not allow legal work authorized immigrants to collect unemployment and retirement benefits that they have paid into.' The previous Feb. 10 public hearing on LB 299 drew testimony that was overwhelmingly in favor of the bill. Among those who spoke were Nebraska Dreamers, immigrants who grew up in the U.S. after being brought to this country as minors by their parents and who qualified for the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Those Dreamers, under current Nebraska law, would not be able to receive unemployment benefits, despite that they work with proper authorization and that their employers are required to pay unemployment insurance taxes on their behalf. In addition to Dreamers, others who would benefit from LB 299 are asylum-seekers who have been granted work authorization while their requests are reviewed and those with Temporary Protected Status, which is granted when returning to a person's home country is unsafe due to natural disaster, extraordinary conditions or war. Nebraska lawmakers hear support for opening unemployment insurance to immigrant 'Dreamers' The lone opponent who testified during the public hearing, interim Nebraska Labor Commissioner Katie Thurber, noted the now-addressed problem that had been raised by federal officials. She said more than $400 million in federal unemployment tax credits was at stake because the language was written too broadly, and reached beyond certain federal requirements. State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln challenged that at the time, saying: 'I find it really hard to believe that we in the state of Nebraska can not get it right like all the other 49 states have done to make sure we are in conformity.' A similar bill introduced in 2021 failed to pass into law. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senator opts against using lottery funds for nitrogen reduction program
State Sen. Teresa Ibach is trying to find funding for the Nitrogen Reduction Incentive Act, her program incentivizing farmers to use less nitrogen fertilizer. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN – A state senator is dropping, for now, her effort to get $5 million a year in funding from the Nebraska Environmental Trust to continue a previously taxpayer-funded program to encourage reducing the use of nitrogen fertilizer. A year ago, State Sen. Teresa Ibach of Sumner obtained $1 million in state funds to launch a program incentivizing Nebraska farmers who use less of the fertilizer. The goal of the Nitrogen Reduction Incentive Act was to help farmers reduce use of the fertilizer voluntarily, partly to address concerns about nitrate contamination in groundwater. Ibach told the Legislature's Agriculture Committee on Tuesday that requests from farmers last year were more than double the $1 million available in the program. But, she said, that funding is running out amid the state's budget shortfall. The senator told committee members she is dropping her initial proposal in Legislative Bill 638 to seek $5 million a year from the Trust due to concerns about using state Lottery funds. The $5 million would have been about one-fourth of the Trust's annual grant from Nebraska Lottery proceeds. The committee was told the Trust's funds can only be used to reimburse expenses, not to be handed out and granted later. Ibach said she's now hoping to get funding from a state water resources fund. However, she added, the $41 million currently in that fund appears to be fully committed, so she is continuing to seek other ways to finance her bill. Among the possible sources: She is considering seeking donations from philanthropists. 'I would say that the intent of this bill is urgent,' Ibach said, emphasizing that funding to reduce nitrate contamination in drinking water should rank at the top of state priorities. Opponents to the bill, which included the Sierra Club and Audubon Nebraska, testified that they support the intent of the proposal, but funding shouldn't come from the Environmental Trust. Omaha State Sen. Kathleen Kauth questioned why Trust funds couldn't be used for the nitrogen reduction program since it appears that its purpose fits with the Trust's purpose of protecting the state's environment. Opponents of using Trust funding said the intent of the Trust was to finance conservation projects that the state wasn't funding, not to provide substitute funds when the state is short of money, as is the case this year. Some said state funds, not lottery funds, should be used. Nebraska Environmental Trust backers bemoan 'raid' on funds financing recycling, conservation The Agriculture Committee took no action after a public hearing on LB 638, one of at least three proposals this year to take Environmental Trust funds to finance state programs. The preliminary budget proposed by the Legislature's Appropriations Committee mirrors a proposal by Gov. Jim Pillen to transfer $7.5 million a year in Trust funds for the next two fiscal years to a water resources fund and a water sustainability fund. Both funds are managed by the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources. The fate of the third proposal is unclear. Pillen had proposed taking $20.5 million a year from the Trust – nearly all of its yearly allocation from the State Lottery – to finance improvements at state parks and bolster the water resources fund. But that idea wasn't included in the preliminary budget crafted by the Appropriations Committee. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
