Several Bills Supported by Youth Leaders for Legislative Days

By Gordon HopkinsThe annual Legislative Days event gives the opportunity for local youth leadership to participate directly in Nebraska's legislative process. Volunteers from the FYI Center in Fairbury were among youth leaders from all over the state that participated in person at the Capital in Lincoln on Monday, February 13, 2023. The previous two years were done via webcam due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The event was arranged by the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation Advisory Board.The weekend prior was spent preparing and learning about the judicial process and choosing which bills they wished to support. FYI Center manager Dakota Howe said those participating were nearly unanimous in their choices of bills.On Monday, youth leaders gave presentations explaining why they supported the bills that they did, first to senators and their representatives at a luncheon and, later to Governor Jim Pillen.A primary focus was on bills that could directly impact Nebraska's youth.LB14The Young Adult Bridge to Independence Act is intended to prepare youth for the transition from foster care to a successful adulthood.Currently, Bridge to Independence is available to young adults in the foster care system until age 21 who have aged out of foster care or were discharged to independent living. Legislative Bill (LB) 14 was introduced by Senator George Dungan (District 26), who said at the floor debate on January 26, “My bill attempts to add youth who are in the probation system to the eligibility pool for the Bridge to Independence program.”LB315Senator John Fredrickson (District 20) introduced LB315, which sets out to reduce the financial consequences of seeking medical care for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, and child abuse.According to the bill's statement of intent, LB315 prohibits providers of medical services, transportation, medications, or other services related to the examination or treatment of injuries arising out of sexual assault, domestic assault, trafficking, or child abuse from referring victims to collections or distributing information that would affect the credit rating of the victim, victim’s guardian, or family. LB315 does not prohibit such providers from seeking payment for such services.LB169 and LB670LB 670, introduced by Senator Megan Hunt (District 8), would prohibit employers of all sizes from discriminating against employees or potential employees on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.The bill's statement of intent reads, “Since the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act has been previously structured to apply only to employers with fifteen or more employees, the intent of LB 670 is accomplished by bifurcating employers into two classes: those with at least fifteen or more employees ('Class I employer') and those with less than fifteen employees ('Class II employer'). The gender identity and sexual orientation antidiscrimination provisions are then applied to both classes of employers, while exempting Class II (smaller) employers from other requirements included in the Act that may be more difficult for small businesses to implement.”Senator Hunt also introduced LB169, which would prohibit discrimination based upon sexual orientation and gender identity.After the presentations, Governor Pillen spoke briefly with those in attendance. He said, “My top pillar; never, ever, give up on kids.”

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