Abortion restrictions advance; Pillen endorses bonding for roads

Abortion would be banned in Nebraska after about six weeks of pregnancy, under a bill advanced Wednesday evening by a legislative committee. And highway construction could be speeded up by borrowing money, under a proposal endorsed by Gov. Jim Pillen.

The Legislature’s Health and Human Service Committee voted 4-2 Wednesday evening to advance a bill that would restrict access to abortion in Nebraska. The bill, introduced by Sen. Joni Albrecht, would prohibit abortions after cardiac activity is detected, usually at about six weeks of pregnancy.

The bill contains exceptions to the ban, including in cases of rape. But Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, a member of the committee and an abortion rights supporter, said that exception is flawed:

“Rape under this bill is supposedly an exception. However, there's no mechanism. What is the mechanism? Does your doctor have to ask you if you were raped? Do you have to disclose that you're raped? Do they have to call the police? Do you have to fill out a police report? None of that is answered. Or do you just say I was raped and they check a box that says ‘rape,’” Cavanaugh said.

Sen. Ben Hansen, an abortion opponent and chairman of the committee, was pleased the bill advanced.

“It's a bill in my opinion that's gonna save many lives. I'm obviously a pro-life politician and I've never no problem hiding that. And so I think it takes the appropriate steps that some people were looking for, along with myself, to make sure that we can protect women in case of rape or incest or medical (emergency). Some of that stuff might need to be hashed out a little bit more thoroughly when it gets on the floor,” Hansen said.

Opponents of the bill have filed more than 40 amendments that would have to be dealt with on the floor. Those opponents have vowed an all-out effort to block the bill, while conceding they likely do not have the votes to do so.

In other action Wednesday, Gov. Jim Pillen endorsed a plan to borrow money via bonding to speed up highway construction.

Pillen’s endorsement of bonding for roads marks a significant departure from the approach of his predecessor, Gov. Pete Ricketts. Ricketts opposed bonding, favoring a pay-as-you-go approach.

But speaking to the Revenue Committee Wednesday, Pillen endorsed the idea. He contrasted the economic progress brought about by the Interstate Highway system, instituted under President Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s, with Nebraska’s lack of progress on its internal highway system:

"I would say that from my seat and many Nebraskans that let's just say for 50 years the state of Nebraska has really dropped the ball when we talk about intrastate transport in the state of Nebraska," Pillen said.

Under the bill, 75 percent of the funds borrowed would be used to help complete the state’s expressway system. That’s a system of 600 miles of four-lane expressways the state promised to build in the 1980s, but which currently is only about 70 percent complete. Pillen recalled returning with his wife to Columbus, where he built a hog farming business, after getting a degree in veterinary medicine from Kansas State.

"Personally, Suzanne and I moved back from Kansas State in 1983. And guess what? The four lane expansion started that year in 1983, on the east end of Columbus, and we're still not connected to Fremont on four lane. And my math says that's 40 years. So just think if that project would have been bonded and invested, it would have been done in five years instead of 40,' he said.

Vicki Kramer, head of the Nebraska Department of Transportation or NDOT, said the proposal could save money. She said over the last 10 years, construction costs have increased about 9.6 percent per year, and in the last year, they’ve gone up 20 percent. She compared that to bonding interest, which she estimated at six percent a year.

"The money pulled from the state highway capital improvement fund to pay annual debt service is capped, to protect our asset preservation program and ensure the level of service on our roadways is not negatively impacted. It also enables NDOT to continue our fiscal responsibility by avoiding construction inflation cost by spending money today instead of waiting years to complete projects," Kramer said.

The bill limits the state to interest costs of $35 million a year, on bonding of up to $450 million.

No one testified against the proposal. Tim Hruza, representing the Associated General Contractors, testified neutral. He said his association had opposed previous bonding proposals that had not included a decicated funding to pay off the bonds.

"When we issue bonds or the state's going to issue bonds to make future payments, we think it's critical that you identify a dedicated source of funding for how you're going to make those payments to avoid any situation in which you are reaching into your future annual budgets to make payments for work that is already done, and then kind of losing sight or losing track of the upkeep and maintenance of your existing program," Hruza said.

This year’s proposal says bonds would have a dedicated funding source. They would be backed by extending the current quarter cent sales tax dedicated to roads, currently set to expire in 2033, to 2042. The committee took no immediate action on the proposal.