LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s longest-serving senator is pushing once again to end the state’s mountain lion hunting season.

Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha argued Thursday that the population in Nebraska is so small that there’s no need for a state hunting season to manage the animals.

The Game and Parks Commission estimates that 22 mountain lions lived in Nebraska’s Pine Ridge region as of June 2014. The commission opposes the bill, saying it should have the authority to manage the population.

Chambers says the 2012 law that allowed mountain lion hunting was based on irrational fears. If the Natural Resources Committee doesn’t advance it, he says he’ll use procedural tactics to try to pull it from the committee or attach it as an amendment to other bills.

GERING, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska man has been convicted of fatally beating of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old daughter.

After just over an hour of deliberation Thursday, jurors in Gering found 28-year-old Dustin Chauncey guilty of child abuse resulting in the death in the killing of Juliette Geurts in July 2008. Investigators dismissed two other charges against Chauncey because of the statute of limitations.

Chauncey and Juliette’s mother, Charyse Geurts, were living together when the girl was found dead in her crib. Autopsy results revealed she died from internal organ damage caused by blunt force trauma.

Following the guilty verdict, the court ordered that Geurts, who was being held for refusing to testify Wednesday, be released and any contempt proceedings be dismissed.

A sentencing hearing for Chauncey has been set for April 10.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has signed a bill designed to keep the state’s cigar bars in business.

The new law approved Thursday authorizes cigar smoking in licensed establishments. It was introduced after the Nebraska Supreme Court struck down a 2009 law that allowed patrons to smoke cigars in cigar bars and shops.

Before the August ruling, indoor smoking was allowed in cigar bars, hotel guest rooms and tobacco-only retailers.

The law by Sen. Tyson Larson of O’Neill makes clear that state lawmakers intended to create a legal exemption for those establishments so they could continue to operate. It’s written so it will stand up to the court’s review.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Placing a ballot question before voters could get easier under a bill Nebraska lawmakers will debate this year.

The Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee voted 7-0 Thursday to advance a proposal that would let petition organizers pay circulators by the signature.

A 2008 ban on signature-based compensation forces groups to pay petition circulators hourly. Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte, who introduced the measure, says most citizen groups don’t have the resources to pay circulators hourly.

Paying by the signature creates an incentive for circulators to gather more, although some critics argue that it encourages fraud and aggressive behavior.

Committee chairman Sen. John Murante of Gretna says advancing the bill could help to avoid lawsuits that may arise if the ban stays in place.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A bill that would allow more women to qualify for Medicaid family planning services has stalled in the Nebraska Legislature.

Supporters fell two votes short Thursday of the 25 needed to advance it, while 21 lawmakers opposed it.

Sen. Jeremy Nordquist of Omaha says his measure would have prevented unwanted pregnancies, saving the state millions each year and significantly reducing the number of abortions in Nebraska. It also would have funneled some of those savings to the Every Woman Matters program, which funds cancer screenings and mammograms for women ages 40 to 64.

Opponents argued the bill’s savings were only hypothetical, and described it as a partial Medicaid expansion. Abortion opponents said the bill was the incorrect way to effectively reduce abortions.