Final pays
Matt Miller/DN
Sophomore psychology major Lawrence Black and
freshman environmental studies major Natalie Teaford
cool their feet in Broyhill Fountain as it fills with water
Thursday afternoon. Temperatures reached 93 degrees
as UNL employees worked to get the fountain running
for what may be the last time. Construction is scheduled
to begin early next fall on a water sculpture and an
expansion of the Nebraska Union.
Measure allows brewpubs
to market their own beer
By Ted Taylor
Senior Reporter
Although the timing wasn’t spec
tacular — preceding a bill to raise
speed limits—the Nebraska Legisla
ture passed a bill
Thursday that
would give local
brewpubs a little
more freedom to
expand.
Senators voted
31-10 to pass Sen.
David Landis’
brewpub bill that
would would allow
brewpubs to sell
their product outside their establish
ment beginning March 1,1997.
Other provisions include:
• putting brewpubs and
microbrewerics under the blanket la
bel “craft brewery,”
• allowing brewpubs to increase
annual barrel production from 5,000
to 10,000,
• eliminating the requirement that
brewpubs must sell 50 percent of their
product on premise.
The news from the Capitol was
music to the ears of Linda Vcscio,
owner of Lincoln’s Crane River
Brewpub & Cafe.
“We’re thrilled,” she said. “We’re
real ly, real ly happy.” .wi
Vescio said the bill would stop her
establishment from continually run
ning up against walls.
“We’ve had lots of customers whc
have expressed interest in having our
beer more accessible. Now we can gc
out and see if there is a market oul
there,” she said.
Landis introduced the brewpub bill
earlier in the session as LB 1088, but
because of time constraints, it never
made it to first-round debate. That
forced the Lincoln senator to insert the
bill as an amendment to another bill
during the second round of debate.
Sen. John Lindsay of Omaha rose
Thursday to return the bill to second
round debate, saying “out of frustra
tion, anger and disappointment, Fve
filed enough amendments to keep us
going for a while.”
But after calling the bill “horribly
unfair” and “not good policy,” lie with
drew the amendments and let the final
reading of the bill ensue.
Opponents of the bill said it would
di srupt the “three-tier” system of manu
facturer, retailer and wholesaler.
Legislature passes 51 bills
On the next-to-last day of the 1996
session, the pace was fast and furious
~ . . . I Thursday as the
Legislature Legislature passed
51 bills in eight
W hours.
• SPIRIT
PLATES Corn
husker spirit plates
won a champion
ship of their own
Thursday after a 39
- i M vote passed
Omaha Sen. Kermit Brashear’s
LB 1264.
The license plates will feature a
scarlet “Cornhuskers” or “Huskers”
on a cream-colored plate. They will
cost $70 each, with $30 of the cost
going to the Department of Motor
Vehicles cash fund and the remaining
$40 to a Spirit Plate Fund.
• LOAN DEFAULTS A bill de
signed to move responsibility for stu
dent loans in default from the state to
the individual schools passed 42-1
Thursday.
Revenue Committee Chairman Sen.
Jerome Warner of Waverly introduced
the bill so the money from the loan
defaults would not come from the
state’s general fund.
The bill stems from legislation en
acted by Congress two years ago that
punished institutions with default fees
of 20 percent or higher.
That legislation holds the slate re
sponsible for the funds needed to re
imburse the government.
Warner’s bill also says a university
that had the 20 percent default fee
would have to pay its share back to the
government plus 200 percent as a pen
alty.
That institution also would be sub
ject to aliearingthat could result in the
revocation or suspension of the
school's license.
Senators will take a recess until
next Thursday, when they will attempt
to override any vetoes handed down
by Gov. Ben Nelson.
— Ted Taylor
Candidates share similar visions
Stenberg, Hagel
agree on issues
in Senate race
By Kasey Kerber
Staff Reporter
Candidates for the Republican
nomination in the U.S. Senate race
emphasized issues such as welfare re
form, tax cuts, term limits and states’
ri gilts Thursday afternoon—and didn ’ t
disagree on much.
“We don’t disagree on many is
sues,” said Chuck Hagel, speaking af
ter Don Stenberg in a discussion be
fore the Nebraska Press Association
Annual Convention. “Possibly on how
to administer a few of them, but we
have the same Bob Dole philosophy
on most issues.”
Stenberg and Hagel each had 20
minutes to speak and answer questions
from the media.
Nebraska’s Attorney General
Stenberg said he was dedicated to a
balanced budget.
“If in the U.S. Senate, I will vote for
a balanced budget amendment,” he
said. “First because it would be good
for the economy, and second because
it’s the morally right thing to do.
“I believe that instead of leaving a
debt for our children, we should leave
an inheritance.”
Stenberg said he also supported
private property rights, eliminating
delays in the death penalty and reduc
ing the amount of violence and sex on
television networks.
“I think the time has come to put
whatever legal pressure we can on the
TV networks and force them to quit
polluting the minds of our youth,”
Stenberg said.
Hagei, wno nas served in tlie ad
ministrations of former presidents
Ronald Reagan and George Bush, said
he was dedicated to cutting down regu
latory government.
“Many regulatory agencies have
gone too far,” he said. “Regulation of
health issues is critical, but many agen
cies have overdone their responsibili
ties.
“I’ve said before that I want to cut
each regulatory agency’s budget by 20
percent, and I still mean it.”
Increasing economic growth was
another issue Hagei emphasized.
“Tlie answer for this country is
growth,” Hagei said. “Two percent
growth a year is not enough — our
country is capable of a lot more than
that.”
Either Hagei or Stenberg will rep
resent the Republican ticket against
Democrat Gov. Ben Nelson in the
November election for U.S. Senate.
Property tax package passed
By Ted Taylor
Senior Reporter
Fi fly-nine days after the 19961egis
lative session began, the entire Ne
braska property tax relief package now
-.sits on Gov. Ben
Leqislature Nelson s desk
Hi/ r awaiting his signa
m turc.
“yes” vote would be tough for some
senators but said it would be best for
the state.
“You really are doing a service to
the state,” he said, “even though at
times, it may be painful to do.”
Even more debate was stirred by
LB1114, which lowers and limits lax
rates that local governments can apply
to real estate beginning Jan. 1, 1999.
Chairman of the Revenue Commit
tee, and the senior member of the Leg
islature, Jerome Warner of Waverly
said the 36-12 vote for the bill would
reinstate public confidence in the Leg
islature.
Warner refuted claims from Sen.
David Bernard-Stevens of North Platte
that the bill was on a crash course for
failure in the future.
“We’re not goingto have adisaster
here,” Warner said.
Blair Sen. Bud Robinson said the
package was better than nothing. /
“What if we hadn’t done any
thing?” he asked Bernard-Stevens.
“Of Eddie Jaksha might be out there
in front.” ;
Omaha tax activist Ed Jaksha, who
heads the Omaha-based Nebraskans
for Tax Relief organization.
Jaksha’s group arranged for the
Nebraska Taxpayers Bill of Rights to
appear as one of the three citizen peti
tions on the November ballot.
Jaksha said the Legislature’s pack
age should be discounted because it
was political and lacked guarantees.
“I characterize this package as a
feel-good, look-good, smell-good
package that misleads the public into
thinking the Legislature has finally
done something,” he said from his
home in Omaha. “It hasn’t done any
thing but confuse the public.”
Jaksha said the Legislature passed
the package to divert attention from
the petitions.
The final part of the package,
LB 1177, passed 42-3.
That bill creates a Municipal Equal
ization Fund to smaller cities with lower
per capita values. It also provides a
five cent levy authority to small cities
and counties as incentive to coordi
nate city and county public safety ser
vices.
Gov. Nelson has said he supports
the package and is expected to sign the
bills into law next week.
Senators passed
the final three bills
in the package —
LB1114, LB299
and LB1177 —on
Thursday.
I_II 1IJ Sen. Doug
11 ma Kristensen of
Minden, however, said the passage of
the package didn’t mark the end of the
extensive property tax debate.
“This will help shape it, but it will
not end it,” he said of LB299, which
passed 36-11. “It is not the one bill
with the answer.”
Considered one of the more contro
versial bills of the package, LB299
limits spending by local governments
for rite next two years.
Kristensen acknowledged that a
Yes? Well then WIN your friend a prize. The
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