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Blog
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2010 Legislative Session Report
Posted Apr 15 at 3 PM
Now that the Legislature has adjourned Sine Die for 2010, I would like to share with you what I have been working on over the past five months.
Since I came to the Legislature, I have been focused on passing laws that strengthen South Omaha and Bellevue by creating good-paying jobs, protecting neighborhoods, and making government do more with less.
Here are just a few laws I helped pass this session:
*LB 935: Passing a Balanced Budget with NO Tax Increases
As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I spend everyday influencing state government to be more accountable and transparent with your tax dollars. After negotiating a balanced budget that protected affordable housing funds for South Omaha, I fought to include a provision I crafted in the state budget that requires state agencies to submit a government efficiency plan that identifies ways for government to do more with less.
*LB 1081 and LB 918: Creating Good-Paying Jobs for Working Families
Like last year, job creation was my priority for this legislative session, which is why I made LB 1081, the Teleworker Job Creation Act, my priority bill. This law will utilize existing job training funds to help train and employ over 1,000 workers in South Omaha, Bellevue and across the state with teleworker jobs they can do from their own home. As the chief co-sponsor of LB 918, I helped pass this new law that will provide incentives to bring new data centers like Google and Yahoo! to Nebraska and create good-paying technology jobs in our community.
*LB 961 and LB 1020: Expanding Job Training and Fighting Against Tax Increases
With more workers losing their jobs, I have advocated for flexible job training programs that move people into high-skilled jobs. As a co-sponser of LB 961, I helped make our existing job training cash fund more flexible for South Omaha, Bellevue, and other key areas of our state that have experienced significant job losses. This year, I also worked with a coalition of labor unions and businesses to pass LB 1020, a law that provides job training for Nebraskans who collect unemployment, and accepts $43.6 million in federal funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help reduce the need to raise unemployment insurance taxes.
*LB 563: Holding Dishonest Employers Accountable
As one of the chief co-sponsors of this legislation, I stand firm on holding businesses accountable that abuse independent contractors, hire undocumented workers, and avoid paying taxes through dishonest practices. LB 563 helps ensure that businesses in the construction and delivery services industry hire employees through a transparent, legal process, and stops businesses from cheating taxpayers by not paying taxes on their employees.
*LB 978 and LB 997: Making Energy Efficiency a Priority
Energy efficiency saves money and protects the health of our communities, which is why I introduced LB 978 and LB 997. With the passage of LB 977, the State of Nebraska will now purchase energy efficient appliances when it makes financial sense. Making energy efficiency a priority in Omaha and Bellevue is also now easier with the passage of LB 997, a law I wrote that requires Nebraska's cities and counties to include energy efficiency and usage in their comprehensive plans.
*LB 1048: Creating Green Jobs by Exporting Wind Energy
Nebraska ranks third nationally for wind energy potential, and with this wind comes the opportunity for thousands of new, green jobs. This is why I strongly support LB 1048, a law that encourages and allows businesses to develop, own, and operate facilities that export wind energy from Nebraska to other states. The potential for multi-million dollar investments in wind farms creates an opportunity for South Omaha and Bellevue to benefit from the creation of new manufacturing and construction businesses.
While I focused my efforts this year on creating jobs and making government do more with less, there is still much work to do in the next two years. The State of Nebraska faces over a $660 million deficit beginning in January 2011, which means my work on the Appropriations Committee will only get more challenging.
Beyond looking at ways to make your government more accountable and transparent over the next six months, I will be also working on eliminating a "double tax" on the City of Omaha's sewer separation project, and exploring affordable options for businesses and homeowners to finance energy efficiency upgrades to their property.
I would like to invite you to visit my website, www.heathmello.com, to stay informed with up-to-date information, and as always, please feel free to contact me with your concerns at hmello@leg.ne.gov or (402) 471-2710. Thank you once again for the opportunity to represent you in the Nebraska Legislature.
Working for you,
Senator Heath Mello
District 5 -
Update on LB 1099
Posted Feb 01 at 4 PM
January 22, 2010
Dear Fellow Omahans,
You may have read an article in the morning edition of today’s Omaha World-Herald regarding LB 1099, a bill that would establish a voluntary, fee-for-service recycling program. Unfortunately, this article was inaccurate and does not adequately describe what the proposed legislation changes.
LB 1099 proposes allowing the residents of the City of Omaha to participate in a voluntary, fee-for-service recycling program. This type of recycling program has been extremely successful in other municipalities, resulting in as much as a 300% increase in recycling collection rates.
This legislation is also beneficial for the City of Omaha because it diverts would-be landfill costs and provides retail coupons and rewards to participants who voluntarily join the program.
Let me be clear, this legislation does not allow the City of Omaha to impose a new garbage fee. I have stated numerous times that I do not support allowing the City of Omaha to impose a garbage fee, which would not change under LB 1099.
While LB 1099 was not accurately described in today’s Omaha World-Herald, I believe we can find common ground that a voluntary, expanded recycling program that saves property tax dollars for the City of Omaha and provides meaningful incentives to its participants is beneficial to the greater Omaha-area.
Working for you,
Senator Heath Mello
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2009 Legislative Session Report
Posted Jun 09 at 11 PM
The First Session of the 101st Nebraska Legislature recently adjourned Sine Die. Over the last five months, a number of important legislative bills have been passed by your Nebraska Legislature. I would like to give you a quick update on a few:
*LB 16 - I co-sponsored Senator Tom White's "Taxpayer Transparency Act", which requires the state to develop a website that provides data on the state budget, public contracts, and tax incentives, because we need to help restore the belief that government should work for the people it serves. This will allow Nebraskans to easily see how their tax dollars are spent and will encourage transparency and efficiency in our state government.
*LB 63 - This wide-sweeping crime bill modernizes penalties on those who have committed certain criminal activities, including gang and graffiti-related crimes. As a co-sponsor of this important, I worked with Senator Ashford to find seed funding for the Office of Violence Prevention, which will provide community funding for anti-violence and crime prevention programs.
*LB 555 - My priority bill this year, LB 555, increases the research tax credit provided by the Nebraska Advantage Research and Development Act. In order to qualify for this credit, the research must be performed at a college or university-owned facility in Nebraska. This "Innovation Economy" bill provides an opportunity to create high-wage, high-skilled jobs right here in Omaha and Bellevue.
*LB 603 - I was pleased to work with a small group of Senators to develop a compromise on the issues brought to light by the "Safe Haven" situation last year. LB 603 provides additional funding fro children's mental health services and increases the access fro health insurance for Nebraska's most vulnerable children. While LB 603 offers more services to those families battling the behavioral health bureaucracy in our state, I firmly believe this is only a first step in helping families who are placed in these difficult situations. I will continue to work with my colleagues and community advocates to find solutions to the problems brought to light last year.
While this has been a difficult session due to the unique budget circumstances, I believe these key pieces of legislation are just a few of the new laws that will help make South Omaha and Bellevue safer and stronger.
As we begin working for the next legislative session in January 2010, please don't hesitate to contact my office with your thoughts on these or any issues facing our state.
Working for you,
Senator Heath Mello
