KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A Gibbon man originally placed on probation for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl has now been sentenced to prison for the offense.

Taylor Welty-Hackett was sentenced Monday to one to five years in prison.

The sentence comes after the Nebraska Court of Appeals in December overturned a decision by Buffalo County District Judge Bill Wright to sentence Welty-Hackett to four years of intensive supervised probation. Welty-Hackett had been convicted of sexually assaulting the girl in 2015.

At the sentencing hearing, Wright had called the victim the “aggressor” and said “she made the advances.” Buffalo County Attorney Shawn Eatherton appealed the sentence.

With credit for time already served, Welty-Hackett will be eligible for parole in three months.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska school bus drivers will no longer have to pay a $5 annual permit fee to the state under a bill signed by Gov. Pete Ricketts.

Ricketts announced Wednesday he has signed the measure into law as part of a larger occupational licensing package. The Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles says it issued approximately 4,900 school bus permits in 2016.

The bill By Sen. Suzanne Geist of Lincoln doesn’t change any requirements imposed by the Nebraska Department of Education. Drivers will still have to undergo drug and alcohol testing, behind the wheel training and criminal background checks.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — University of Nebraska administrators, faculty members, students and their allies are imploring lawmakers to reject the state budget cuts proposed by Gov. Pete Ricketts.

Supporters of the university crowded into a legislative hearing Wednesday in hopes of sparing the university from the proposed $11 million cuts in the current budget year and $23 million in the next budget year.

University of Nebraska President Hank Bounds says the cuts would force the elimination of academic programs in geography, art history and electronics engineering. It also would force the closure of extension offices statewide and the Haskell Ag Lab in Concord.

Lawmakers face a projected $173 million state revenue shortfall that they need to balance this year.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska senator is proposing a bill that would require state and local law enforcement agencies to provide public notice before they agree to enforce federal immigration laws.

Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha said Wednesday he introduced the measure following news that Dakota County’s sheriff had enrolled in a federal program to deputize local forces.

The bill would require agencies would to provide notice to their local government 30 days prior to entering an agreement so it can be discussed at the next meeting.

Supporters say the bill promotes communication and transparency. They say the programs could incur large costs to taxpayers and create distrust between immigrant communities and law enforcement, which could lead to decreased crime reporting.

Opponents say they want increased enforcement of immigration law.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A trial has been scheduled for a Missouri man accused of stopping an Amtrak train in Nebraska.

Court records say pleas of not guilty were entered Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Lincoln for Taylor Wilson, of St. Charles, Missouri. He’s charged with attempting to disable a train and attempting to interfere with an engineer or conductor. His trial is set to begin April 16.

Authorities say the charges stem from an Oct. 22 incident in which Wilson enabled an emergency brake as the eastbound California Zephyr train traveled through western Nebraska. The conductor and others subdued Wilson, then held him for sheriff’s deputies to arrive where the train stopped in Oxford, about 200 miles (322 kilometers) southwest of Omaha.

Authorities say Wilson was armed with a revolver.