The 1st Session of the 109th Legislature officially convened this week. Our office was recently relocated out of the tower down to Room 1319 on the 1st floor of the Capitol. No longer will constituents and visitors have to call first and wait for someone to fetch them on the elevator before visiting the District 24 office! Be forewarned, however – due to the ongoing, multi-year renovation of the Capitol, our office is well, not exactly finished. We’ve got exposed framing, cinderblock walls, and temporary carpet squares. We have no doors other than our front office door and open walls, more or less. We’re not complaining one bit. We actually love it. It’s a great representation of the many constituents living in District 24 who work hard, don’t complain, and get things done. We’re quite literally open and transparent.
The Legislative Committee on Committees, yes, that is a real thing, also finished reshuffling the makeup of our committees to accommodate all the new Senators this year. I’m still on the Natural Resources Committee, and I am now joining the Education Committee. I very much enjoyed serving for the past two years on the General Affairs and Agriculture Committees. Those committees will now be led by my classmates Senator Holdcroft and Senator DeKay.
As a member of the Education Committee, I plan to work hard to bring forward solutions. Some of those efforts will be to attempt to secure more state funding for K-12 public education to bring down property taxes, pursue legislation that helps prepare our students to succeed in school and be prepared for the workforce, or pursue a two-year or four-year degree. I also plan to work with my colleagues on the Education Committee to ensure that our colleges and universities help shape a capable and skilled workforce while ensuring that they aren’t saddled with a mountain of debt that impedes their ability to provide for themselves and their families. These are just a few of the many areas of education that I’m excited to work on.
The first 10 days of session are reserved for bill introduction. I have already introduced several bills and plan to add a few more to those in the coming days. I will share more details about those bills in upcoming newsletters.
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
