LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A bill that would have given a property tax exemption to Nebraska farm homes has stalled in the Legislature.

Senators agreed Tuesday to shelve the bill for the rest of the year amid criticism that it only would have benefited rural Nebraska residents.

Lawmakers still have to debate a larger bill that would provide a tax credit for farm and ranch landowners and impose budget restrictions on community colleges.

Some senators say the Legislature hasn’t done enough to lower taxes for all businesses and individuals, and argued that the debate has pitted urban lawmakers against rural lawmakers.

The bill was introduced by Sen. Lydia Brasch of Bancroft.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A push to impose statewide rules for police body cameras in Nebraska faces little opposition in the Legislature.

The bill by Sen. Heath Mello of Omaha sailed through first-round voting Tuesday with a 28-0 vote.

The measure would require the Nebraska Crime Commission to develop a model policy for body-worn cameras. Agencies would need to adopt that model or create their own. The recordings from body-worn cameras could be withheld from the public under an exception to the state public records law.

Representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska have backed the bill, saying the policy is similar to existing policy for camera recordings and audio recordings.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — Teenagers and texting go hand-in-hand, but it’s not often that a teen uses it to blow the whistle on a parent.

Kerney police say that’s exactly what happened Friday, when a 13-year-old girl used Buffalo County’s text-to-911 system to tell authorities her father was driving drunk.

Police then stopped the car and say they found the girl and her 12-year-old brother being driven by their 44-year-old father.

Police say a preliminary breath test showed the father’s blood alcohol level at .224 — nearly three times the legal driving limit of .08.

Authorities say it was the fourth time the text-to-911 system had been used since coming online in January 2015. It was the second time its use led to an arrest in Buffalo County.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Prison officials say the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services is investigating another assault on a staff member.

The department says the incident occurred Tuesday afternoon at the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln. The officer was transported to a local hospital and released after being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Director Scott Frakes says in a statement that the department will not tolerate assaults on its staff. The results of the investigation will be submitted to the local county attorney for prosecution.

Another Nebraska State Penitentiary staff member was assaulted Sunday. Earlier this month, two officers at the facility were dealt minor injuries by an inmate.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A leading abortion opponent is accusing state officials of selectively enforcing a policy that forbids advocacy groups from picketing inside the Nebraska Capitol.

Nebraska Right to Life Executive Director Julie Schmit-Albin raised the issue Tuesday after seeing supporters of a Medicaid expansion bill standing in the Capitol with signs around their necks.

Schmit-Albin says she has been told her group isn’t allowed to carry signs inside the building. State rules allow demonstrations on public sidewalks outside the building and on the East, West and lower North Terraces.

The Capitol’s tourism supervisor says she was unaware that the Medicaid group of roughly 100 was demonstrating inside the building.

Nebraska Right to Life hosts several Capitol events annually, including a “Walk for Life” in January that draws around 5,000 people.

Meteorologists are warning Nebraska residents about an early spring snowstorm blowing into the Panhandle.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch that will run from early Wednesday morning through Wednesday evening. The service says rain is expected to change to snow with accumulations ranging from 3 to 7 inches. Winds of 25 to 35 mph are expected, with gusts up to 45 mph.

The service says the blowing snow could create whiteouts and other conditions that will make travel perilous and pose a threat to livestock.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers have defeated a bill that would have used federal Medicaid and state dollars to provide insurance coverage to low-income residents.

Senators voted 28-20 on Tuesday to bracket the measure, effectively killing it. The proposal would have covered an estimated 97,000 uninsured people whose incomes are too high to qualify for traditional Medicaid but too low to receive federal tax credits to help pay for insurance.

Supporters say the proposal would have been the nation’s most conservative. Instead of expanding Medicaid, the bill would have used the funding to buy coverage for residents without access to an employer-sponsored plan or to pay the worker’s share of premiums for employers that offer plans.

Opponents, including Gov. Pete Ricketts, raised concerns about the bill’s long-term costs.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The director of Nebraska’s Department of Health and Human Services says the agency is tackling a state nursing shortage by simplifying the licensing process.

Director Courtney Phillips and Gov. Pete Ricketts announced Tuesday that the agency has streamlined the application, improved instructions, added commonly asked questions to its website, and is encouraging nursing students to apply for their licenses prior to graduation.

Phillips says only 28 percent of the applications the department received were complete because nurses had difficulty understanding the requirements.

With the changes, Phillips says 95 percent of applications now arrive complete, and the department has increased the number it can process from 27 to 50 per week.

Ricketts says he will continue to work to ensure the government runs efficiently and with an emphasis on customer service.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Two Nebraska colleges have quietly set up private endowments to provide scholarships for undocumented immigrants who don’t qualify for financial aid.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program has promised people brought illegally into the U.S. as children by undocumented parents that they won’t face deportation and will have a right to legal work. But these young people, often referred to as “Dreamers,” still don’t qualify for state or federal government-funded aid to help pay for college.

Twenty-eight students have graduated through the College of St. Mary’s program over the last 10 years. Additionally, the University of Nebraska at Omaha launched a scholarship for Dreamers this year through a private donation.

The University of Nebraska at Kearney has said it hopes to follow suit.