LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A controversial voter ID bill slated for debate in the Nebraska Legislature has been removed from the agenda.
Debate on the measure (LB239) had been expected to start as early as Tuesday. The bill by Fremont Sen. Charlie Janssen would require a government-issued identification to vote in Nebraska.
Critics say the measure would suppress voter turnout, especially among low-income and minority populations. Several Democratic senators in the officially nonpartisan Legislature have attached amendments to the bill for a filibuster.
Nearly 70 people gathered at the Capitol this week to protest the measure, which was introduced last year but carried over to this session. Lawmakers and interest groups have argued over whether voter fraud occurs in the state, and how widespread it is.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) – A former Scottsbluff police officer has lost his appeal for his child pornography case to be dismissed.
Scotts Bluff County District Judge Randy Lippstreu has rejected arguments by Tyler Reinpold. Reinpold had said the initial search of his property and the seizure of his computer violated his constitutional rights because authorities didn’t have a warrant.
Reinpold faces a Jan. 23 trial on 10 counts of possessing child pornography. His lawyer has said the pornographic images were part of an investigation Reinpold was conducting.
Prosecutors say a relative discovered the images of girls ages 11 to 14 in August 2010 while he was fixing Reinpold’s computer.
Reinpold was a Scottsbluff police officer for about three years before being dismissed in January.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman is urging lawmakers to adopt nearly $326 million in tax cuts.
The Republican governor proposed a legislative package Thursday that would eliminate an inheritance tax collected by counties and reduce corporate and individual income tax rates over a three-year period. It also would widen tax brackets, so families would see more of their income taxed, but at lower rates.
Heineman told lawmakers in his State of the State address that Nebraska cannot wait for additional tax cuts, which he described as key to helping middle-class families and enabling businesses to grow.
The governor also called for cuts in Medicaid spending and reductions in spending on home health services.

YORK, Neb. (AP) – The state of Nebraska and a former inmate have settled her lawsuit that said she was forced to deliver her daughter in a toilet at the women’s prison in York.
The agreement calls for Charlene Clifton to be paid $25,000.
Clifton was serving time for felony assault of an officer in Dodge County. She was released in February 2010.
Clifton’s lawsuit says she told prison staffers she was in labor about noon on June 4, 2009. The suit says Clifton was told she couldn’t go to a hospital until her water broke, and she was sent back to her cell about 10 p.m. But on the way, she went into a restroom and gave birth to her daughter in a toilet.

GERING, Neb. (AP) – Western Nebraska officials have identified the 93-year-old woman who died after her car was caught by a railroad crossing signal as a freight train approached.
Scotts Bluff County Attorney Doug Warner says that Vera Clary, of Gering, died in the Wednesday afternoon accident.
Warner says a driver behind Clary told police that Clary was crossing the railroad tracks when the warning signal’s arms came down and caught the rear of her vehicle. After that, Clary’s vehicle crept forward a bit but it remained on the tracks when the Union Pacific train arrived.
Warner says Clary may have become confused after the crossing arm hit her car. Clary was ejected from her car when the train hit it, and she died at the scene.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – The Nebraska Supreme Court has set an execution date for death-row inmate Michael Ryan, who was condemned to die for a 1985 murder at a farm near Rulo.
The court scheduled the execution for March 6.
Ryan was convicted of torturing and killing James Thimm at his compound. His execution would be the first in Nebraska since 1997, and its first by lethal injection.
The order came two days after Attorney General Jon Bruning’s office filed documents with the high court saying a legal challenge by Ryan’s lawyer was frivolous and irrelevant. Ryan’s lawyer had challenged the state’s method of obtaining one of three drugs needed to carry out the sentence.
Attorney General Jon Bruning said in a statement Wednesday that officials will now prepare to carry out the sentence.

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) – The last of five former workers charged in an abuse investigation at the Beatrice State Development Center has pleaded not guilty.
30-year-old Matthew Pangborn, of Beatrice, pleaded not guilty to 11 charges on Wednesday in Gage County District Court. Pangborn is charged with six counts of abuse of a vulnerable adult and five counts of strangulation.
A judge set a status hearing for Feb. 29.
The other defendants in the case – Cody Creek, Carmen Yates, Matthew Johnson and Cameron Barnes – also have pleaded not guilty.
The five were fired and charged after a report said at least seven residents were routinely slapped, shoved, pinched, punched and choked, often until they fell unconscious.