• Gerald Lee Rosenberg, 37, North Platte and Bobbie Jo Fuller, 35, North Platte

 

• Chase Allen Miles, 22, North Platte and Danielle Lynsey Boyda, 23, North Platte

 

• Bryan Joseph White, 32, Sutherland and Shauna Rae Swedberg, 28, Sutherland

 

• Eliseo Machado Jr., 37, Gothenburg and Nikki Rene Vieyra, 41, Gothenburg

 

• Mark Andrew Kennedy, 50, Woodruff SC and Melissa Ann Salisbury, 35, North Platte

 

• Jacob Levi Wilcox, 30, North Platte and Haley Rose Sisson, 27, North Platte

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A lawmaker known as a tax-cutting fiscal conservative is urging his colleagues to pass a fuel-tax increase to help repair Nebraska’s aging roads and bridges.

Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion argued Friday that the phased-in, 6-cent-per-gallon increase would help maintain roads for farmers, truckers and businesses.

The proposal would raise Nebraska’s gas tax to 31.6 cents per gallon. The full tax would generate an additional $25 million annually for the state and $51 million for cities and counties. Nebraska’s gas tax fell behind Iowa’s for the first time in decades on Sunday when Iowa’s gas tax rose.

Some opponents argue that Nebraska should find construction money by running the Department of Roads more efficiently. Smith says that won’t be enough to bridge the gap.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Former Gov. Dave Heineman has agreed to pay $250 to the state for using public resources to announce that he was applying for University of Nebraska presidency.

Heineman will make the payment as part of a settlement approved Friday by the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission.

The commission ruled that Heineman violated state law after the Nebraska Democratic Party filed a complaint. Heineman was accused of using the governor’s official letterhead and state employee time to announce that he would apply for the university’s presidency.

Heineman left the governor’s office in January. He wasn’t selected as a finalist for the presidency, and the job ultimately went to Hank Bounds, the commissioner of higher education for Mississippi Public Universities.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A bill to increase the cost of marriage license fees in Nebraska has passed in the Legislature after a prolonged debate.

Lawmakers voted 42-4 Friday to pass the measure, which would raise the county fee for marriage licenses from $15 to $25. Certified copies would rise in cost from $5 to $9.

Lawmakers debated a full eight hours on the original bill, which would have increased the fee to $50, before compromising at $25. Opponents say the fee is really a tax, and the increase is too steep.

The Nebraska Association of County Officials says the current $15 fee does not cover the costs of filing a marriage license and verifying the information.

Gov. Pete Ricketts has five days to approve or veto the bill.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Experienced nurse practitioners will no longer need to get a written agreement to consult with a doctor before they can practice in Nebraska.

Gov. Pete Ricketts signed a bill Thursday to remove the requirement on nurse practitioners to sign integrated practice agreements with physicians. The agreements are designed to ensure a physician is available if the patient does not respond to treatment.

Advocates say such agreements have made it harder to provide health care, especially in rural areas with a provider shortage.

Lawmakers passed the bill 46-0. Last year, the bill was vetoed by then-Gov. Dave Heineman.

The American Association of Nurse Practitioners says Nebraska is 20th state to authorize nurse practitioners to have full-practice authority.