LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A measure to encourage more drivers to sign up to be organ donors is headed to a second round of debate in the Nebraska Legislature.

Lawmakers voted 32-8 Tuesday to advance the bill, which would require applicants for driver’s licenses or identification cards to answer whether or not they would like to donate their organs if they die.

Supporters say the bill by Sen. Dan Watermeier of Syracuse could save lives by providing more organs for transplants. In states where a yes or no answer is mandatory, more people choose to join the donor registry.

But opponents say the bill violates free speech protections because it would force applicants to answer a government question that is not related to their qualifications to drive.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts plans to greet President Barack Obama at Offutt Air Force Base after previously saying that he would send his lieutenant governor.

Ricketts spokesman Taylor Gage said the governor’s staff was able to rearrange his schedule at the last minute. Obama arrives in Omaha on Wednesday after delivering his final State of the Union address.

Ricketts previously said that scheduling conflicts would keep him from accepting the White House invitation, which he says he received on Monday. Obama’s visit to Nebraska was announced last week.

Ricketts, a Republican, says the initial decision to decline the invitation was not politically motivated. The governor is scheduled to deliver his annual State of the State address and budget recommendations to lawmakers on Thursday morning.

 

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s inspector general for child welfare would have better access to court records that she has previously struggled to obtain under a bill in the Legislature.

The bill by Sen. Bill Krist of Omaha would allow Inspector General Julie Rogers to get access to records within five days once her office receives a complaint or when a child in the system dies or suffers a serious injury.

Rogers says she had trouble getting records and information from the probation office within Nebraska’s Judicial Branch, even though state law is supposed to grant her access. Because the inspector general of Nebraska child welfare reports to the Legislature, probation office administrators have raised concerns about separation of powers.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has opened a new space where students can study and collaborate, including an area that is open 24 hours a day.

The $10 million Adele Hall Learning Commons opened Monday in the campus’ Love Library North. The commons is named after 1953 graduate Adele Hall.

The new space has four areas, including a space with long rows of tables meant to be a quiet study area and an area that features a computer hub. The final area that will be the Digital Learning Center is still under construction.

The Digital Learning Center will have about 200 computers for students to use in computer-aided learning. The campus’ Dean of Libraries Nancy Busch said the center will open in the fall.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts will push for a legislative package intended to address the underlying causes of rising property taxes.

The proposals unveiled Tuesday would tighten spending limits on local governments and slow the statewide growth of farm- and ranchland property values.

They also would eliminate loopholes that allow local governments to increase their levies without voter approval, and slow the growth of certain parts of school district budgets.

Sens. Mike Gloor of Grand Island and Kate Sullivan of Cedar Rapids will introduce the measures Thursday on the governor’s behalf. Gloor and Sullivan co-chaired a joint committee last year that looked for ways to reduce Nebraska’s reliance on property taxes to pay for K-12 public schools.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Good Samaritans who break into a locked car to save a pet could be shielded from criminal charges and lawsuits under a proposal in the Nebraska Legislature.

Sen. Sara Howard of Omaha introduced a bill Tuesday that would grant immunity to a person who damages a vehicle to save an animal locked inside.

The measure would only apply if there was no other reasonable way to save the animal, and if the person believed the animal was in imminent danger.

The bill would also require the person breaking into the vehicle to contact authorities before taking action, place a note with contact information on the vehicle’s windshield or driver’s side door, and wait with the animal at a nearby safe location until authorities arrive.