State Legislature & the Ballot
REPRESENTING YOU
It’s been a busy week in the Legislature. We wrapped up work on the biennial budget this week sending it to the Governor for his approval. We were able to close a significant budget shortfall, balance the budget, and maintain our rainy day fund per our Constitutional duty. Three of the bills that I introduced were also approved by the Legislature this week. The Safe Battery Collection and Recycling Act was sent to the Governor. This bill puts in place an industry led solution to the end-of-life management of consumer batteries that have become increasingly problematic to dispose of as they can cause catastrophic fires when damaged. These batteries, which are predominantly lithium batteries, have tremendous utility for consumers in a wide variety of products.
However, without a clear mechanism to properly dispose of them when they no longer work, we’ve seen a very large increase in fires caused when they are improperly disposed of in the trash. Nebraska has the second highest rate of fire in our solid waste industry of any state in the nation. The Safe Battery Collection and Recycling Act allows the manufacturers of these batteries to set up and importantly, pay for, the system of collection, transportation, and recycling of these batteries. All battery types are ultimately recyclable. Lithium batteries contain many rare earth elements that are critical in the defense, high-tech, and manufacturing industries. China has a monopoly on the production of these. It makes zero sense to cast these batteries away in the trash and end up with nothing other than fires to show for it. I’m thankful to the many community leaders, industry partners and others who worked with me to get this public safety bill through the finish line.
The Legislature also approved two other bills this past week that I introduced. These were simple, but important corrections to current law that protects those that serve in law enforcement, as judges and in the National Guard by withholding their home addresses from governmental websites if they apply for this added protection. This was a common sense law designed to protect those that serve and their families. I was honored to close a loophole that had existed for years that undermined the intent of this law.
I’ll have more to update in future newsletters. There is a lot going on in the waning days of the session and I’ll dive into more detail on what was accomplished this year.
As always, if I can be of assistance to you in any way, please do not hesitate to contact my office. My staff members - Matt and Katie - are available to assist you with your needs and they pass along messages, so if you’d like a call back, please let them know!
Email: jhughes@leg.ne.gov Phone: 402-471-2756 Facebook: Senator Jana Hughes
