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State Fair Update: When we started thinking about the possibility of moving the state fair to Grand Island not many people saw the vision. After the fantastic plan shown in the presentation to the Agriculture Committee this week, many people are now seeing the vision we see. In a recent radio interview even the mayor of Lincoln, Chris Beutler, was quoted as saying that if he had to choose between losing the state fair and gaining the Innovation Research Park for the University, he would choose the Innovation Park. This could be a huge win for Grand Island, but also a huge win for Lincoln. However, the decisions are not made yet, so we have to keep working on it. Great job, Grand Island team!
The much talked about smoking ban is now history. Governor Heineman signed LB 395 and Nebraska will soon be a smoke free workplace. In addition to the benefit of healthy air, there's a financial issue in the background. Every time a person in a group health insurance pool gets medical care for a smoking related illness (lung disease, cancer, heart attack, stroke and others) that person incurs a large bill for the medical care. That bill affects the premiums for everyone in that group. Smoking related illness is the single largest avoidable cost to your health insurance.
If the cost of health care and private health insurance goes up, so does the cost of care paid for by Medicaid. That's your tax dollars. We are all responsible for paying these costs, not just the person using tobacco products. I happen to believe that the lives and livelihoods lost to smoking are more important than the cost of health insurance but the two are related. Experience has shown that smoking bans can reduce the cost of health care and at least stop the double digit increases in premiums.
Obesity is often brought up as a comparison. Although there are no laws against obesity it is definitely being targeted in wellness programs in the private and public arena. The problem with smoking that is not a factor in obesity is that it affects other people's health as well as the one using the product.
Another issue that I've heard about for years is blocked train crossings. LB 676, a bill trying to deal with this issue, was killed in Committee because time and time again the courts across our country have ruled that federal laws regulating train speed and length preempts state and local laws on this subject. The most recent rulings come from two separate courts in Illinois. Both courts ruled that the federal law preempts state law and local ordinance with regard to blocked crossings because of a 1994 federal law giving the U.S. Secretary of Transportation oversight of train movement. There is one Nebraska ruling on this issue that came from Dodge County in 2006 with the same result.
It can be difficult to follow the legislative process because day to day life keeps most people very busy. If you have a legislative bill you are interested in, let my office help you keep track of it. Just give my staff a call and they will get the available information to you. Other sources of information include the bill room where you can request a copy of a bill by mail at 402-471-2877 or at the website: www.nebraskalegislature.gov.
The Web site contains a link to Unicam live where you can watch the Unicameral when it is in session.
As always, please contact me with your support, opposition or questions on any legislative bill or issue. Thank you for allowing me the privilege to represent you in the Unicameral.
Senator Ray Aguilar
District 35, P.O. Box 94604
Lincoln, NE 68509
402-471-2617
raguilar@leg.ne.gov
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