VideoflB
theft may
be made
criminal
ByJillZemaii
Staff writer
People always forget to return the
movies they rent.
No big deal, right?
This attitude could change if the
Legislature passes a bill allowing for
the prosecution of people who don’t
return videos.
Members of the Judiciary
Committee discussed LB 1093 on
Thursday, which would make the
theft of video rental property a crim
inal offense.
The bill was introduced Jan. 7 by
Sen. Elaine Stuhr of Bradshaw. It
would allow video store owners to
prosecute customers who keep video
rental property for longer than the
agreed amount of time.
Stuhr said the majority of cus
tomers are honest and responsible
but sometimes just forget to return
tapes.
i ms Dm is not aimed at them, she
said.
“This is for customers who con
tinually ignore requests to return the
videos, causing the store to suffer
economic losses,” Stuhr said.
Stuhr said 21 states currently
have provisions where video rental
property is protected under rental
theft laws.
Some senators had disagree
ments with the proposed bill.
Omaha Sen. Kermit Brashear
said he thought the bill would require
law enforcement to become a video
retrieval service, which isn’t its
responsibility.
Brashear said he thought video
store owners could employ tactics
other than the use of law enforce
ment.
“Why not have the customers pay
a cash deposit or leave their credit
card number rather than lay a burden
on law enforcement?” Brashear said.
Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha
agreed with Brashear.
Chambers said he thought the
video store owners should enact
practices that would protect them
from video rental theft.
Chambers also said he thought
video rental theft should be consid
ered a civil case, not criminal.
Linda Taylor, owner-of Video
Kingdom in McCook, testified in
support of the bill.
She said she thought it was
important for the legislators to pass
this bill.
Video retailers lose mfoney
because their videos are not avail
able, which causes the state to lose
sales tax revenue, Taylor said.
Dana Wenzl, store director of
Hollywood Video at 2712
Cornhusker Hwy., said he thought
the bill was a good idea.
Wenzl said his store frequently
experiences video tape and video
game rental theft, even though it
takes precautionary measures.
Wenzl said his store required new
members to present two forms of
identification and to pay a $10
deposit on each video game rented.
If customers have a late fee, they
must pay at least a portion of it
before making another rental, Wenzl
said.
The committee has not yet voted
on the bill.
If the committee votes to pass it,
it will advance to the general file,
where all senators will debate it.
— LEGISLATURE —
Husker scalpers
may see trouble
Bill would make selling a ticket
for higher than face value illegal
ByJiUZeman
Staff writer
Students who purchase season
football tickets with hopes of
reselling them for a big profit may
encounter a roadblock next fall.
Ticket scalping would be made
illegal under LB 1059, introduced
Jan. 6 by Sen. Pat Bourne of Omaha.
The bill was discussed Thursday by
the Judiciary Committee.
The bill would make the sale of a
ticket for more than face value a
class IV misdemeanor, which is
punishable by a $100-$500 fine,
Bourne said
John Anderson, University of
Nebraska-Lincoln director of ticket
operations, said selling tickets on
campus for more than face value is
already against university policy.
Anderson said he thought foot
ball would be the only UNL sport
affected if die law passes.
Cornhusker football tickets are
offered only as season tickets.
Because of this, about 1,500 UNL
student tickets are sold to non-stu
dents every game, Anderson said.
If the bill becomes law, there is
the chance that the sale of student
season tickets could go down,
because some students purchase
season tickets with the intent of
reselling diem, Anderson said.
Another group affected by the
bill is ticket brokers.
Ticket brokers purchase tickets
forevents and resell diem to individ
uals who are unable to purchase
tickets directly from the promoter,
said Chad Carr, president of Ticket
Express, a small ticket brokering
business in Lincoln and Omaha.
Carr testified against the bill
I-1
” People are
being precluded
from attending
events because
someone is trying
to make a profit.”
Pat Bourne
Omaha senator
Thursday and said his business
would be forced to shut down if
LB1059 passes.
“Wfe provide a service for people
who don’t want to camp out
overnight for tickets or those who
forget to call on the opening day,”
Carr said.
Bourne said people who don’t
purchase tickets directly from the .
promoter run the risk of paying high
prices.
“People are being precluded
from attending events because
someone is trying to make a profit,”
Bourne said.
Sen. Kermit Brashear of Omaha
had a mixed opinion about ticket
brokers.
“I can see they provide a service,
but I also understand the object of
the legislation,” Brashear said.
Bourne’s bill would exclude
charitable groups or nonprofit orga
nizations that purchase and raffle
tickets for fund-raisers.
The committee will decide at a
later date whether to advance it to
the general file, where all the sena
tors would debate it.
Senator has support
for UNMC research bill
FETAL from page 1
researchers to put it on hold, they will
leave.”
Researchers will go to other uni
versities that promote the use of
aborted tissue, he said.
Miller said he would testify
against the bill.
Schmit-Albin said she and her
colleagues would provide whatever
support Hilgert and the other co
signers needed to pass the bill.
That includes circulating peti
tions to show how many Nebraskans
are in support of ending the use of
aborted fetal tissue. So far, 3,000 sig
natures have been collected and
given to the regents, Schmit-Albin
said.
The bill has not yet been assigned
to a committee. Hilgert said he
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^ If you tell
researchers to put
it on hold, they
will leave.”
Drew Miller
regent
expected the bill to receive a commit
tee hearing and go to the floor this
session if it passes in committee.
So far no senator has identified
the bill as a priority bill - which
would insure that the bill would be
put on the agenda for this session.
But Schmit-Albin said it is still
possible for a senator who has not
identified a priority bill to do so.
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Required reading
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Attention:
University of Nebraska
Chemical Engineering
, Students |
I would like to extend an offer to attend an informational
meeting on career and SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
available for University of Nebraska-Lincoln chemical
engineering students. The meeting will be Wednesday January
26, 2000 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. in room 336 Avery Hall.
ADM will make a short presentation on career opportunities
and explain the ADM scholarship process. Pizza and soft
drinks will be served. Please feel free to dress casually.
Anyone with an interest in learning about how a degree in
Chemical Engineering fits in one of the world’s largest
agricultural processors is encouraged to attend.
So that we have plenty of
food, we need you to respond
to Nicole Church in the
I Engineering Career Services
department by January 24, ^
2000 if you can attend. My (0
thanks for your interest, and ^
we look forward to seeing you
on January 26th.