Bill would try to ease heating woes
■ L8502 changes taxes on
natural gas to be based on
usage instead of a fixed rate.
BY GEORGE GREEN
Nebraskans struggling with
soaring heating costs this winter
might find solace in knowing
cheaper bills could be on the
horizon.
The Revenue Committee
heard testimony Wednesday on
LB502, which would change how
the state taxes natural gas.
The bill, introduced by Sen.
John Hilgert of Omaha, would
change natural gas taxes from a
6.5 percent sales tax to an
adjustable excise tax based on
energy use.
With a sales tax in place, the
state's bank account swells when
gas prices rise because citizens
shell out more taxable dough,
Hilgert said.
If LB502 gets a nod from the
Legislature, the government
won’t get extra tax money when
gas prices rise because the new
tax would not consider prices, it
would only consider use.
Less tax money is good in this
situation because it means less
burden on citizens strapped for
cash, Hilgert said.
“I don’t want the state to
piggy-back’’ on the hardship of
citizens, he said.
Representatives from a vari
ety of utility companies, includ
Legislature
ing Kansas City, Mo.-based
UtiliCorp United, one of
Nebraska’s largest natural-gas
providers, lined up to support
Hilgert’s bill.
' Doug Clark, a UtiliCorp
spokesman, said his company
helped Hilgert craft a bill that
helped out desperate citizens.
But Stan Timm, the finance
director for the City of Omaha,
said the bill wouldn’t help des
perate municipalities.
Of the 6.5 percent sales tax,
1.5 percent goes to cities and 5
percent goes to the state.
By axing the tax, the state
forces some cities into serious
financial troubles, Timm said.
The City of Omaha takes in
more than $2 million each year
from the sales tax on natural gas,
he said.
Yanking these precious dol
lars would force Omaha to jack
up other taxes or cut services, he
said.
“We don’t want to have our
legs cut out from under us,” he
said.
Hilgert acknowledged the
plight of municipalities, but he
said the government couldn’t put
its own difficulties ahead of its
citizens’.
“The state shouldn’t have a
hand in the citizen’s hardships,”
he said.
Campaign finance laws draw criticism
CAMPAIGN from page 1
didates the option of staying under a spend
ing ceiling.
Candidates who choose to forgo the
spending limit must provide a good-faith
statement detailing how much they plan to
spend over the lid. The state steps into the
picture after the statement is filed find pro
vides matching funds to the opponent of the
candidate who opted out of the limit.
The goal of the law is to equalize the
campaign process and keep campaign
spending down, Gould said.
Thus far, he said, the law has worked per
fectly. Only a hand full of candidates have
broken through the voluntary ceiling since
the Legislature enacted the law, he said.
And, he said, Ferlic has been the only
candidate to truly shatter the barrier.
Moreover, he said Ferlic intentionally
schemed against the law.
“It was a contrived effort to shock the
CFLA (Campaign Finance Limitation Act),”
he said.
Ferlic announced his spending plan on
the last possible day to file spending state
ments, and Brashear filed a lawsuit against
the law on the same day, he said.
Nevertheless, Gould said he supported
Brashear’s lawsuit because it would test the
law and give it finality.
“This could be the case that goes all the
way to the Supreme Court,” he said.
Until the court rules, he said the law
should stay on the books because it protect
ed poor people’s freedom of speech.
If it’s repealed, he said the wealthy would
get another step up on the less fortunate.
“Wealthy men can speak louder than the
poor,” he said.
Despite its lofty goal, Dave Heineman,
Nebraska state treasurer, said the law was “a
noble failure.”
It’s chock full of loopholes that let candi
dates skirt the restrictions, he said.
For example, candidates who stick to the
limits don't get a dime of state money until
their opponents spend 40 percent of their
money that is beyond the limit. Therefore,
crafty candidates could stop at 39 percent
beyond the cap and keep their opponents
from getting state money.
The result is one candidate having nearly
twice the resources of another, he said.
Issues about independent expenditures,
which aren’t governed by the law, further
cripple the act, he said.
More importantly, he said taxpayers
don’t want to pick up the tab for campaigns.
Fees paid by citizens who violate the law
provide the backbone of the campaign fund.
These technicalities and other more
complicated problems shoot a good idea in
the foot, he said.
And, Heineman said, lawmakers should
recognize the act’s problems and erase the
law.
“It’s time to repeal the law,” he said.
Faculty mulls grading changes
CRAPES fir6m page 1
“No single activity the uni
versity takes is likely to have a big
effect by itself,” he said. “The
grading system by itself is not
what makes the difference. I
think it’s sad that students will
argue against working harder.”
Karen Lyons, assistant direc
tor of the Honors Program and
an English professor, said she
was in favor of the new system.
“It allows us much more
accuracy in the assessment of
students,” she said. “I think that
this is a very good grading sys
tem.”
Lyons said the system would
allow students applying to law
and medical schools to submit
grades that would not be altered
to compare with grades from
schools that use plus-minus sys
tems.
She also said though stu
dents may be worried about
keeping scholarships, her sense
was that scholarship and Honors
Program requirements would
change with the system.
Now, honors students must
maintain a 3.5 grade point aver
age - a B+ average - to remain in
the program. Under the new sys
tem, a B+ average would corre
spond to a 3.33.
Interim Chancellor Harvey
Perlman said he had confidence
that the faculty would maintain
fairness to students while
increasing academic challenges
under the new system.
"The grading system is an
assessment of student perform
ance,” he said. “The real test is,
‘Can you challenge students to
perform at a higher level?'”
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Research on jury decision
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Reunion holds onto past
REUNION from page 1
struction remain. Paint splatters
line the floor and walls, and left
over canvasses are scattered
around the space.
A random row of lockers sits
in the middle of the room. In
other rooms, left over display
cases remain.
A few precisely positioned
buckets collect water that drips
into the building.
“The Reunion serves as a
transition space,” said John
Benson, director of Institutional
Research and Planning.
The second floor is used to
store part of the university
museum’s collection, Benson
said. The lower level contains
samples for the earth and con
servation survey.
The future of the building
remains in limbo. The universi
ty's master plan, which spans
the next 25 years, eventually
calls for the building to be tom
down, but no date has been set,
Benson said.f
Said Jenkins, the building’s
owner when it was in its union
heyday. “Once the first business
closed, everything fell apart.”
(11 a v * c r\ S t. \! a r y Lodge
!formation call:
10-368-3689
Ammonia
used in meth
faces ban
BY GWEN T1ETGEN
Charging criminals for mak
ing methamphetamine is a prob
lem for Nebraska law enforce
ment officials.
Anhydrous ammonia, a sub
stance farmers and the agriculture
industry use to fertilize com, soy
beans and other crops, is also used
to make methamphetamine.
LB815, introduced by Sen. Ed
Schrock of Elm Creek, adds anhy
drous ammonia to the list of drug
paraphernalia and closes the gap
in current state law between
using the substance as a drug and
a fertilizer. <
The bill was heard in the
Judiciary Committee on
Wednesday. No action was taken.
Under the bill, anhydrous
ammonia would be illegal when
not in a container approved by
the Department of Agriculture
and when intended for the use of
producing a methamphetamine.
Tom Mutt, sheriff from the
Phelps County Sheriff’s Depart
ment, brought the problem to
Schrock last fall.
"I felt we needed a law to com
bat the using of anhydrous
ammonia to make methamphet
amines,” Mutt said.
Because criminals tend to
steal anhydrous ammonia from a
200 or 300 gallon tank, Mutt said,
it leaves farmers in danger.
"This substance is very dan
gerous," he said. “It can bum your
eyes out, suck the air out of your
lungs and cause severe damage to
the skin.”
Schrock said the bill was
aimed at helping law enforce
ment officials and farmers simul
taneously.
“It'll help give law enforce
ment officers another tool to stop
this kind of activity,” he said.
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Series of forums help
address women's issues
FROM STAFF REPORTS
The Chancellor’s Commiss
ion on the Status ofWomen hopes
to gather the experiences of
women faculty, staff and students
to get a feel of what the climate for
women at the University of
Nebraska-lincoln is like.
Commission members hope
to get feedback from women at an
11:30 a.m. forum today in the
Culture Center multipurpose
room. The forum will be open for
women to tell about their experi
ences.
Three other forums will take
place in addition to today’s. The
next forum will be held Feb. 21 at
11:30 a.m. at the Nebraska East
Union. On March 6, the forum
will be field in the Nebraska
Union at 11:30 a.m. On March 9, a
forum will be held during the
“Honoring Women’s Voices” con
ference.
Jan Deeds, assistant director
of student involvement and a
member of the commission, said
she hoped students would partic
ipate in one of the forums.
“It’s very important that we
have student input on what the
climate is, as well as faculty
input,” Deeds said.
Those who don’t feel comfort
able participating in the forum
setting can e-mail Deeds at
jdeedsl@unl.edu. Those who e
mail should include whether they
want to have their names dis
closed. An anonymous letter can
also be sent to Deeds at the
Women’s Center at 340 Nebraska
Union.
Deeds said the commission
wanted to know both the positive
and negative experiences women
on campus have had.
“We want to know whether
there are places, departments or
people that have made them feel
welcome,” she said.
The feedback gathered will be
compiled and presented to the
chancellor.
www.dailyneb.com
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