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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 12 , 2010
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Papalinka Paradise, State Legislative Leaders Foundation
(508) 771-3821
pparadise@sllf
OMAHA, NE - Nebraska State Senator Heath Mello has been selected to participate in the 2010 Program for Emerging Political Leaders, sponsored by the State Legislative Leaders Foundation and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.
This prestigious program is held every year on the campus of the University of Virginia for a select group of state legislators who have been nominated by the Speaker of the Legislature, President of the Senate or Minority Leader from their state. Leaders are asked to nominate one or more members who by their actions have demonstrated those qualities we associate with leadership – integrity, compassion, intelligence, vision, and common sense.
The goal of this program is to inspire these men and women to continued careers in public service. Class discussions will examine qualities and characteristics of leadership including: ethical leadership, the art of compromise and coalition building and the philosophical underpinnings of representative democracy. The discussion will be lead by Professor Ed Freeman, the Elis and Signe Olsson Professor of Business Administration at the Darden School and co-director of the Olsson Center for Applied Ethics. A distinguished UVA faculty along with Dr. Thomas Little, Curriculum Director of the State Legislative Leaders Foundation, will join Dr. Freeman.
Senator Mello is one of only fifty state legislators chosen from a nationwide pool of over 180 outstanding nominees.
As Stephen G. Lakis, President of the State Legislative Leaders Foundation, has noted, “These legislators represent the best and the brightest, and are destined for future leadership roles in their state. After being with these people for several days, you can’t help but feel proud and more confident about our unique system of representative democracy. They are just that good!”
Senator Mello represents Nebraska’s 5th Legislative District, which covers South Omaha and Bellevue. He is serving in his first term in the Nebraska Legislature.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 25, 2010
LINCOLN, NE – State Senator Heath Mello will meet with White House officials and state legislators tomorrow representing the Coalition of Legislators for Energy Action Now (CLEAN). Mello is one of nearly 1,200 legislators that signed on to a letter championed by CLEAN urging Congress and President Obama to enact comprehensive clean energy jobs and climate legislation that relies on continued close collaboration between state and federal governments.
“Emerging from the current fiscal crisis is going to require states to look at meaningful long-term solutions,” said Mello. “Building a new clean energy economy accomplishes this goal, and now is the time to take action, pursuing a future that is more prosperous, secure, and energy independent.”
In 2009, Senator Mello introduced the Nebraska Green Building Advantage Act, a bill that would have created new green building tax incentives for LEED certified buildings.
This current legislative session, Mello has introduced six bills that focus on the clean energy economy:
* LB 977 – Require new state buildings and renovations to comply with energy efficiency standards
* LB 978 – Provide requirements relating to energy star certified appliances in the state’s competitive bidding process
* LB 997 – Require cities’ comprehensive plans to include an energy element
* LB 1098 – Authorize the creation of sustainable energy financing districts by municipalities, enabling municipalities to establish Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs.
* LB 1099 – Authorize the establishment of an expanded, voluntary recycling program in cities of the metropolitan class
* LB 1100 – Allow operation of low-speed vehicles on highways as prescribed
Mello is a member of the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators and sits on the Council for State Governments-Midwest Legislative Conference, Energy Committee and Economic Development Committee.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 21, 2010
LINCOLN, NE – State Senator Heath Mello introduced two legislative bills today that would build jobs and bring incentives to a burgeoning creative economy in Nebraska.
“Creating new jobs in our state requires new approaches. LB 1073 taps into the pas success of film production in our state and allows Nebraska to compete with other states around the country,” Mello stated today. “In order to bring new jobs to Nebraska, we need to film industry’s desire to do business here, as well as a workforce trained for jobs in the film industry. By setting up a job training program, LB 1074 will provide that training.”
Nebraska’s home-grown talent, like Alexander Payne, has reinforce to film and commercial production companies nationwide that the state is open for expanding the film industry. However, Nebraska is one of either states with no film incentives in state statute.
“As a professional film maker, I find that people are at times surprised at the network in Nebraska of creative talent, production companies and training resources for professional film crew jobs. These bills give our state a standing among other states to compete for projects and turn around those dollars in our communities,” said Mark Hoeger, a film maker with Oberon Productions in Omaha.
Mello concluded, “We made sure that LB 1073 did not make the mistakes other states made in crafting incentive packages for film and commercial productions. LB 1073 is intended to be revenue neutral and is exactly what we should be doing during the current difficult economic times; we must move forward to be successful.”
“Diversifying our economy and building a new industry in Nebraska are good goals. These bills craft a modest approach through refundable tax credits that tell this industry the State of Nebraska is open for business,” stated Stu Miller, retired Deputy Director of Nebraska’s Department of Economic Development.
Mr. Miller produced a report last fall for the Nebraska Film Association outlining tax credit options reinforcing efforts to move forward on legislation during the 2010 Legislative Session. A copy of the report is available at the following link:
Nebraska Film Association Sept 2009 Report
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 21, 2010
LINCOLN, NE – State Senator Heath Mello introduced legislation today that would create both short and long-term green jobs through recycling and energy efficiency retrofitting.
“Building the clean energy economy starts today,” said Senator Mello. “Whether through energy audits, weatherizing homes and businesses, or creating an enhanced recycling initiative, LB 1098 and 1099 will create new jobs in a new industry when Nebraska needs it most.”
LB 1098 would enable municipalities and counties to create sustainable energy districts and authorize bonding authority to provide property-assessed loans to residential and commercial property owners for energy efficiency project and retrofits.
“The upfront costs for energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements are often a barrier preventing property owners from making improvements,” explained Senator Mello. “By authorizing municipalities to implement an alternative financing method through the creation of sustainable energy financing districts, it will spur a market for energy efficiency and renewable energy products and services, creating new jobs for Nebraskans in the clean energy sector.”
LB 1099 would permit the City of Omaha to create a voluntary, fee-based enhanced recycling program. Currently under state law, cities of the metropolitan class are unable to collect fees for solid waste management services. LB 1099 would permit the City of Omaha to charge a fee for a new, voluntary recycling program such as RecycleBank. Programs like RecycleBank have been hugely successful in neighboring communities, resulting in redisdential recycling collection rates that increased by as much as 300% , providing the sponsoring City governments significant cost savings.
LB 1099 has the potential to creat up to 71 new “green-collar” jobs through the new recycling program.
“Creating good-paying jobs has been my number one priority,” Mello said. “Saving money on energy bills and increasing the value of your home all while creating new jobs is something Nebraska needs in order to move out of this economic challenge.”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 19, 2010
LINCOLN,NE – State Senator Heath Mello introduced legislation today that aims to save energy and tax dollar through ensuring Nebraska’s state government “leads by example” in green building and energy star purchasing.
“LB 977 and 978 ensure that our state government lea lead by example in long-term energy and tax dollar savings through LEED building and purchasing Energy Star products,” said Mello. “These pieces of legislation demonstrate that by going green, Nebraskans will save some green. ”
LB 977 would require all new state facilities that are 5,00 square feet or larger and all retrofitted facilities that are 5,000 square feer or larger where more thatn 50% of the value of the building will be remodeled to be built to a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System “Silver” certification standard.
LEED buildings are designed with a framework that utilizes green concepts throughout the process, including design and construction as well as operations and maintenance. Factors taken into account to earn the LEED Silver rating include sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indorr environmental quality.
LB 978 would require the Department of Administrative Servies to purchase Energy Star appliances whenever applicable unless the long-term cost savings would be greater by purchasing another product. Energy Star is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy that saves money and protects the environment through energy efficient products and practices.
“Energy efficiency is proving to be a significant cost-saving tool as we re-engineer our state government to deal with our permanent fiscal crisis,” Mello said. “If we are going to build a new clean energy economy in Nebraska, state government must lead by example.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 20, 2009
OMAHA, NE -- As the 2009 Nebraska legislative session ended, Senator Heath Mello (District 5, Omaha/Bellevue) introduced Legislative Resolution 175, a resolution that called for an interim study to examine ways increase financial literacy in Nebraska through financial education courses.
In these uncertain economic times, its in our best interest to ensure Nebraskans have the financial education to make the best personal financial decisions for themselves and their families, said Senator Mello. LR 175 is a first step to examine the role financial literacy has in our daily lives as well as what role it has our education system.
A key aspect of LR 175 is the analysis of options for requiring instruction on financial literacy in Nebraskas elementary and high school courses.
Financial education is an important issue that we must look to address at a statewide level, but we must do it without imposing any unfunded mandates on the local school districts, Mello said. With the changing economy, we must find ways to equip all Nebraskans, preferably in our K-12 system, with the tools they need to make smart financial decisions. Too many students graduate without an understanding of how credit cards work or how different types of loans affect their mortgage payments.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 7, 2009
Lincoln, NE – Heath Mello, former senior aide to U.S. Senator Ben Nelson, was sworn-in early Wednesday morning as Nebraska’s 5th District State Senator.
“I am humbled and honored to represent the hard-working people of South Omaha and Bellevue in the Nebraska Legislature,” said Mello. “Over the next four years, we need our government to do more with less while still fighting for middle class families and seniors.”
Mello replaces long-time South Omaha Senator Don Preister, who is retiring due to term limits. Preister served as Senator Mello’s Honorary Campaign Chair during the 2008 election.
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