OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Starting next year, Nebraska lawyers will not be forced to pay for lobbying and other programs run by the state bar association.

The change comes with a Nebraska Supreme Court ruling issued Friday on a petition by a state lawmaker who wanted to make paying annual dues to the Nebraska Bar Association voluntary. Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh objected to mandatory dues being used for political, ideological and other non-germane activities.

The state’s high court rejected the petition for a voluntary bar association, but did limit mandatory dues to only activities necessary to regulate the legal profession — like maintaining records and mandating continuing education for lawyers. But it made voluntary those dues that would go for other activities, such as lobbying and programs that provide free legal help to the poor.