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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 4, 1990)
T Daily t [ Slab. B ij#^ "^L0SI ^KMSfifc H JF* Wednesday, mostiy sunny and breezy, high Editorial.4 liggk 8 4j ISt Mr *£€| pg^ ' • |B§ gL * US » Is Hr around 60, north wind 10-20 miles per hour. sports 6 ^Bkl «»"• B P# 1® Hifek, BA ■ m Wednesday night, partly cloudy, low around 30. Arts & Entertainment. .. 9 TO IT B JB B Wjm 8j H 2u^day'most,ycloudy’breezyandcolder'h|gh ciass,^.n April 4, 1990 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Vol. 89 No,428£^) Reconsideration successful 9 bills meet deadline, advance to second round By Victoria Ayotte Senior Reporter With just enough votes, 30, the Ne braska Legislature on Tuesday voted to suspend the rules and advanced nine bills, one of them deaiing with abortion, to a second round of consideration. Tucsday was the last day for bills on the first round of consideration to ■ ■■ be advanced to a second round of debate. Only three days remain in the legis lative session. senators usually ad vance bills twice before voting on their fate in final reading. State Sen. Bernice La bcdz of Omaha moved to suspend the rules to change the speaker’s agenda so that the nine bills could be advanced at once without further debate, motions or amendments. The nine bills had been scheduled for separate consideration. Labedz said she was worried that senators wouldn’t have enough time to consider the bills if they were not advanced together. She said the bills arc important and should be given a chance. Several controversial bills were involved: • LB976, stiffening drug penalties. •LB854, requiring a woman planning to have an abortion to sign a statement saying she knows the consequences of her decision. After signing the statement, the woman would have to wait 24 hours before having the abortion. •LB 1062, authorizing drug or alcohol test ing of applicants for employment. • LB866, authorizing a reduction in prop erty tax valuations. Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha provided the main opposition to Labedz’ motion. “The bill that is the underlying reason for this is LB854, and we all know this,” Cham bers said. Such a motion would be4 ‘just putting off to another day what ought to be fought here today,” he said. Sen. Loran Schmit of Bellwood supported the motion, but said “it isn’t really going to make much difference” because senators also will be pressed for time when the bills come up for second-round debate. The argument that the bills are very important isn’t as much of a consideration, he said. “All bills are important just as all babies are beautiful,” Schmit said, defending all sena tors’ priority bills. “I can place no higher priority than on protecting those who cannot protect themselves.” The motion is “just one more base” and does not constitute a home run, he said. Schmit said he wanted the bill to advance directly to final reading. Sen. Howard Lamb of Anselmo said the motion is proper because Speaker Bill Barrett of Lexington had a motion up for the afternoon that would suspend amendments, motions and debate on a series of bills on final reading. That motion included the controversial LB 1059, dealing with school financing. Barrett said, however, that he did not see the association between this motion and his on final reading. “My purpose in life is to keep the agenda moving,” Barrett said, and senators already had debated the bills on final reading. Sen. Dan Lynch of Omaha supported the motion. “This is a hell of a way to do business, obviously, but I’m going to support it,” Lynch said. “I might as well join in the stupidity along with everyone else ...” Sen. Jacklyn Smith of Hastings said she wasn’t willing to go along with the stupidity. The Legislature should not follow bad leg islative procedures, such as Friday’s filibuster, she said. ‘‘I haven’t been very proud to be a member of this body the past few days,” Smith said. “I am ashamed of us.” Chambers said, “The abortion issue has tinged and embittered everything about this session.” The motion, which needed 30 votes to be successful, originally was defeated with only 28 votes. Labed/. moved for reconsideration and was successful. The motion then passed 30-16. Chambers moved to again reconsider the vote, but was unsuccessful. The Legislature then considered the motion to advance the nine bills to select file. “We’re down to the muscle and the bone” of the issue, Chambers said. The Legislature’s action in approving the motion would be “not illegal, but irresponsible.” Schmit urged senators to vote their convic tions. On a 30-15 vote, they advanced the bills. Senator’s motion suspends rules to break logjam By Roger Price Staff Reporter nhe Nebraska Legislature voted again to suspend the rules Tuesday afternoon to “break the logjam” that earlier filibusters over abortion and school financing have caused. Speaker Bill Barrett of Lexington moved to suspend the rules to allow final consideration of 20 bills without amendments or debate. Barrett said he made the motion to keep bills moving in the legislative process. AH the bills covered in the motion had been debated and amended twice on the floor of the legislature, Barrett said. Barrett said he was concerned about this session and the entire legislative process breaking down. “This is a chance to partially put the system back together,” he said. Slate Sen. Ernie Chambers of Umaha opposed suspending tne rules because he said some of the bills affected by the motion need addi tional consideration. Sen. Rod Johnson of Sutton said the Legislature is “playing fast and loose with the rules.” Johnson said the motion was a result of senators starting to get nerv ous as they “waste away the time” remaining in the session. Sen. Howard Lamb of Anselmo said that although he supported sus pending the rules in the morning ses sion, he was opposed to Barrett’s motion. Lamb said bills advanced out ol general file still are debated two more times, and problems can be corrected. Final reading, he said, is the last chance senators have to correct problems. The morning suspension allowed nine bills on general file, the first round of consideration to be advanced to select file, the second round of consideration, without debate or amendments. Barrett’s motion provided for 20 bills on final reading to be considered individually without debate or amend ments. Once a bill is passed out of final reading, it is either signed or vetoed by the governor. Barrett’s motion to suspend the See SUSPEND on 3 David Fahleaon/Daily Nebraskan UNL junior Phillip Walton examines his pickup Thursday mornincj after hitting a motorcycle on 17th and R streets. Kevin Coulson, tne rider of the motorcycle, was taken to Lincoln General Hospital. Coulson, 36, was conscious and not seriously injured, said Bruce Craig, a driver for Eastern Paramedic Ambulance service. The 1982 Chevrolet pickup was making a left turn from 17th Street when it struck Coulson’s 1982 Kawasaki, which stopped in the eastbound left turn lane on R Street. Walton said he turned the corner too short while watching for other traffic and hit the motorcycle. “I saw the traffic coming through the light and didn’t see him,” Walton said. Officials work to increase gasohol use atUNL By Todd Neeley Staff Reporter_ University of Nebraska-Lincoln officials are working to in crease gasohol use in the uni versity’s state vehicles, said Ray Coffey, UNL business manager. Coffey said for the “past few months” he has been encouraging university employees to use gasohol while traveling on official business. In addition, the university will eliminate all tanks containing fuel without added alcohol at its pumps on City Campus. One pump of regular unleaded gasoline will be left on East Campus for older vehicles and agri culture equipment, Coffey said. Gasohol should be used in state vehicles that were made no earlier than 1985, Coffey said. Older vehicles and agriculture equipment on campus can use gaso hoi, he said, but they were not made to bum the fuel and it isn’t recom mended. Because Nebraska’s economy is based on agriculture,Coffey said, it is important to use the state’s resources. See GAS AH OL on 5