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By Jessica Fargen
Senior staff writer
This year senators dealt with some
tough issues — tobacco, guns, minor-in
possession-of-alcohol laws, capital
punishment and corporate farming.
Also in this 90-day session, which has at
least 16 working days left, legislators
have the task of sorting through a $4.7
billion state budget.
All the while, lawmakers are adjust
ing to Gov. Mike Johanns after eight
years with former governor Ben
Nelson.
Proposals still alive include a mea
sure that would halt the death penalty
for two years while it’s studied, a bill that
would raise the cigarette tax from 34
cents to $ 1 per pack and a bill that would
put restrictions on meat-packing.
Bills debated this session that have
been put on the back burner, possibly
until next year, include a bill that would
allow Nebraskans to carry concealed
weapons, a bill that would stiffen the
state’s minor-in-possession laws and a
bill that would make not wearing a seat
belt a primary offense.
Debate on some bills has gone
quickly, while discussion on other bills
has reached near the 10-hour mark.
Many times, because he disagreed with
a bill, Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers has
used stall tactics on bills, thus drawing
out debate.
Death penalty maybe halted
It has happened every year since
1970. That’s the year Chambers became
a state senator. Every year since then he
has sponsored a bill to abolish the death
penalty. It is usually shot down in com
mittee, but has made it to the floor a few
times and actually passed in the 1970s
before being vetoed.
This year, lawmakers advanced the
bill past the first round of debate, with
somemajor amendments. LB76 would
place a moratorium on die death penal
ty, meaning all state executions would
be stopped for two years while the state
studies the fairness of all the death
**'r. -T’
penalty sentence cases since 1973.
People could still be sentenced to
death and the appeals process would go
on, but no one could be executed during
the moratorium.
Chambers has said the death penal
ty is racially biased. Race, along with
gender, religion and economic status,
would be looked at during the study.
If the bill passes the remaining two
rounds of debate and Johanns signs it,
the sentencing of the death penalty
would be studied.
66-cent cigarette tax increase
The problem? Smoking - especially
teen smoking. The solution? Make it
more expensive to smoke.
That’s the way Lincoln Sen. David
Landis sees it, which is why he is push
ing for an additional 66-cent tax on a
pack of cigarettes. This would bring the
tax to $1 per pack.
But the bill has failed to pass the
first round of debate. During debate last
month, senators suggested raising the
tax by 30 cents, while some wanted to
leave it where it is. The debate ended
with a vote to delay debate until at least
May 14.
Tobacco lobbyists and senators who
oppose the bill have said increasing the
price of cigarettes won’t make people
quit or even slow down.
Many have cited examples of black
markets for cigarettes forming in states
with high tobacco taxes. Others said the
high tax would drive Nebraskans to buy
their smokes out of state.
Landis said bracketing the bill
would give him and other senators time
to sort out what type of increase, if any,
is in the best interest of the state.
Farm bill takes on meat
packers
Aside from the meat packers it tar
gets, few people have spoken against
LB835.
The Agriculture Committee intro
duced the bill in response to drastic live
stock price drops, especially in the hog
industry. The bills’ supporters say meat
packers have too much control over the
market
Ewing Sen. Cap Dierks, Agriculture
Committee chairman and the bill’s chief
advocate, said the bill is intended to
make competition more fair for small
farmers and ranchers.
But packers argue that targeting
them won’t solve the problem.Too
much supply pushed prices down, they
say.
it iooks luceiy, tnougn, tnat the
Legislature will pass the bill, which
requires price reporting by packers, pro
hibits packer feeding of animals and
says that packers cannot discriminate on
quantity alone.
The bill has one more round of
debate left - f nal reading - and Johanns
said he will probably sign it as long as he
has no objections to any new amend
ments that might be introduced.
Concealed weapons
Eight hours of debate, nearly 40
amendments and high emotions charac
terized discussion on a bill that would
make it legal for Nebraskans to carry
concealed weapons.
After first-round debate, senators
voted to indefinitely postpone it, essen
tially shelving it until possibly next year.
Nickerson Sen. Ray Janssen, the
bill’s sponsor, has called the measure a
safety bill, not a gun bill.
The bill would require safeguards
such as gun-training courses and back
ground checks. But that didn’t sway
senators who opposed concealed
weapons. Senators who opposed the bill
worried it would increase gun sales and
increase violence.
MEP
Some people called it the “use and
lose” bill. LB 126 would have taken
away the licenses of minors caught
drinking alcohol. License revocation
would last six months on a first offense,
and minors would have to pay $250.
Minors who enter the diversion pro
gram after a MIP would lose their
license for 90 days.
The bill, , which was sponsored by
the late Sen. Stan Schellpeper, made it
to first-round debate but was indefinite
ly postponed, which means it will prob
ably not be debated again this year.
The bill in its original form would
also have given police officers die abili
ty to hand out MIP tickets to minors
caught consuming alcohoL
Schellpeper had said the bill aimed
to make teens take their MIP ticket more
seriously. He said that in marry counties
the law was a joke.
Under the bill, liquor retailers would
also face stiffer penalties for selling to
minors.
Buckle up
Although not wearing your seat belt
is against the law, police officers cannot
pull over motorists for that sole offense
- it is a secondary offense.
But Beatrice Sen. Dennis Byars
thinks the state should make failure to
wear a seat belt a primary offense,
meaning that alone would be sufficient
reason for a motorist to be pulled over.
Under the bill, failure to wear a seaf
belt would result in a $25 fine and loss
of a point on a drivers license.
Chambers objected to LB356
because of the potential for racial dis
crimination. He worried that police
would use the primary-offense law to
pull over minorities for flimsy reasons.
Other senators objected to the bill
because it was intrusive. They said the
state was taking too much responsibility
for people’s individual decisions.
But Byars said die bill would save
lives on Nebraska highways. He relied
on statistics showing a strong correla
tion between buckling up and decreased
medical bills and less serious injuries.
Before senators voted to postpone
debate on the bill until next year, Byars
had some closing words.
I “It won’t go away - maybe for a
while - but I’ll come back to educate
you.”
Senators have until no later then
June 2 to sort through bills that have
already been debated and those that
have yet to make it to the floor.
Parking problems divide UNL community
* By Shane Anthony
Staff writer
The fees are rising and so is the tension.
Faced with a $50 million price tag for three park
ing garages on city campus, UNL officials introduced
parking permit fee increases in March.
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James Main, assistant vice chancellor for business
and finance, and Tad McDowell, director of Parking
and Transit Services, tried to explain the increases and
the garages through discussion sessions.
So far, the response has been less than positive.
“You’re not taking care of your employees," said
Gayle Schuler, a clerical assistant for the school ofbio
logical sciences. “I can’t afford your prices.”
Schuler was just one of several UNL staff mem
bers who ©(pressed their concerns at an April 15 pre
sentation. Employees said they are less able to absorb
the new increases than the higher-paid faculty mem
bers and administrators for whom they work.
The increases will raise faculty and staff permit
fees by 2004. All will increase, but certain permits will
raise from $99 to $396 a year. All student permits will
also increase, with certain permits increasing from
$81 a year to $288 a year.
The Academic Senate also passed a motion April 6
supporting proportional fee increases for faculty and
staff based on income.
McDowell and Main, at their April 15 presenta
tion, said Chancellor James Moeser had asked the
human resources department to review the proportion
ality idea.
Academic Senate members raised many of the
same concerns that staff raised. They passed a resolu
tion urging UNL administrators to fund the 1999
2004 parking initiatives through means other than a
substantial increase in user fees for faculty, staff and
students.
Senators also passed a motion asking that the
Master Plan - which maps UNLs future look for the
next 12 years and beyond - be reconsidered with input
from the Academic Senate or a senate subcommittee.
Pat of that resolution grew from concerns about
safety. After hearing women faculty members talking
about how unsafe they would feel with the proposed
garages, Walter Mientka, a professor of mathematics
and statistics, spoke passionately.
Faculty members do not necessarily work from 8
a.m. to 5 p.m., he said. Late-night walks will be
unavoidable and safety concerns must be addressed.
“We cannot let this go forward,” he said.
McDowell said parking cadets will patrol the
garages and video cameras will be installed as safety
measures. The plan also calls for extending shuttle ser
vice until at least! 1 p.m. A tracking system will let rid
«
There s a transition period
that will be painful
But once it gets done, you
will be a lot better
off than you are today.”
Tad McDowell _
director of Parking and Transit Services
ers waiting in the garages know exactly where the
shuttles are.
Main said the garages are necessary. Because of
the UNL Master Plan, new building construction and
the city’s Antelope Valley study, the university will
lose about 4,000 parking spaces.
Hie three city campus garages will replace about
3,600 of those. But by centralizing parking, McDowell
said, faculty, staff and students will have an easier time
finding parking spaces in tire future.
“There’s a transition period that will be painful,”
he said. “But once it gets done, you will be a lot better
-off than you are today.”
Construction on the first garage at 17th and R
streets will begin this June. Past ASUN President Sara
Russell played a crucial role in convincing the admin
istration to build that structure first Without it, she said,
massive amounts of parking would have been lost
The other two garages will be at 14* and Avery
streets and 19* and Vme streets. All three are sched
uled for completion by 2004.
All three garages being located on city campus
sparked criticism from East Campus faculty and staff
who will pay tire increases, but will not get any garages
during that period. Two garages are planned for East
Campus, but the current fee increases do not pay for
those structures. Main said permit fees could change
again if those garages are built
For now, though, McDowell and Main have asked
students, faculty and staff to be patient
“We know what we’ve got to do right now,”
McDowell said. “We know what the effect of doing
nothing will have on our campus community.”
Police aim
to put stop
to illegal
partying
By Josh Funk
Senior staff writer
If police and the university have
their way, underage drinking parties
may become an endangered species.
Last fall, Lincoln Police set out to
exterminate the troublesome gather
ings with undercover and uniformed
teams.
The problems associated with
large house parties - including phys
ical and sexual assaults andneigh
borhood disturbances - have gfowir'
along with the parties, which were
attended regularly by more than 100
people per party, Lincoln Police
Chief Tom Casady said.
The enforcement effort was
planned with the help of the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln to
maximize its effects, said James
Griesen, vice chancellor for Student
Affairs.
“This was a conscious and coor
dinated effort with Lincoln police,”
Griesen said in September.
Some officers worked undercov
er to infiltrate parties where alcohol
was sold, and uniformed officers
then broke up the parties.
The problems inherent in these
parties quickly multiply when two
officers are dispatched to a 100- to
200-person party, Casady said.
“People have figured out that
there is not much two officers can
do,” Casady said. “Much of the risk
has disappeared.
“We are trying to change that.”
The special detail of officers
gives police the resources they need
to handle larger parties, Casady sa|d.
Officers also seized evidence
from the parties including beer kegs,
money from illegal sales and signs
advertising prices.
After the busts, police identify
people who bought die alcohol and
call landlords who own the party
houses.
ronce also are notuy parents or
partygoers and the university when
students are involved.
Under the Student Code of
Conduct, Griesen said, students
could face penalties ranging from a
warning to a dismissal from the uni
versity in addition to criminal
charges.
Though the university does not
usually exercise its jurisdiction for
misdemeanors that occur off cam
pus, these parties are a special case,
Griesen said
“It’s our students they are market
ing to, and our students at risk,”
Griesen said.
“These parties are a detriment to
our purpose.”
Griesen said the university’s
stronger stance on alcohol in campus
housing in recent years has pushed
the parties out into the city.
\ “(The university and police) have
to work together to diminish the
drinking, not just move it,” Griesen
said
Over the course of the year,
neighborhoods once overflowing
with partygoers on weekends have
become more composed, police said
“On any given night you could
stand on the corner of 1100
Charleston Street (in the North
Bottoms) in full uniform and write
tickets until your hand cramps up,”
Casady said
But since the enforcement start
ed, Casady said, it has become more
difficult to find parties because num
bers have decreased.
Casady emphasized that police
are only trying to address some of the
problems associated with large par
ties.
“We’re not interested in stopping
parties,” he said. “We just want
smaller, legal parties.”