Bills would ease ex-felon voting; restrict teacher buyouts

March 31, 2017, 3:51 a.m. ·

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Sen. Justin Wayne, center, urges easing rules on ex-felons voting (Photo by Fred Knapp, NET News)

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It would be easier for ex-felons to vote, but harder for teachers to get early retirement, under bills advanced by the Nebraska Legislature Friday.


Under current law, someone convicted of a felony in Nebraska has to wait two years after completing their sentence to be able to vote. A bill sponsored by Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha said such laws were originally enacted because of racism.

Wayne, who is biracial, said because minorities are convicted out of proportion to their percentage in the population, the result is discriminatory. “The current scope of this policy is not only too significant to ignore, but it is too unjust to tolerate. So today I’m asking all my colleagues to stand with me to make sure that we get rid of this disenfranchisement law. That we allow that everybody once they can pay their debt to society, finish their time, to participate in one of our most basic, fundamental rights – the right to vote,” Wayne said.

Sen. Jon Murante of Gretna, chairman of the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, opposed the bill. Murante said a constitutional argument could be made that only the Parole Board can restore someone’s civil rights. And he also cautioned against letting someone convicted of voter fraud vote again. “It is difficult for me to say that it is in the best interest of the people of Nebraska to have these folks in polling places and in election offices, where they are around the citizens of Nebraska’s ballots, and they have the ability to commit voter fraud again,” Murante said. “To me, it is putting fire near gasoline and to me, it is bad public policy.”

Senators voted 28-8 to give the bill first round approval.

On another matter, lawmakers debated a bill by the Education Committee that touched on a wide range of subjects. One of them was a proposal by Sen. Tom Briese of Albion affecting the ability of school boards to offer teachers and administrators buy-outs for early retirement.

Currently, money spent on such buyouts does not count against state limits on how much school districts can tax and spend. But Briese said citizens are clamoring for relief from property taxes, most of which go to schools. So, he argued, spending on buyouts should count toward those limits. “If a board makes a determination that these are a justifiable use of taxpayer dollars, then I believe they should be subject to the levy and budget growth restrictions. To the extent these restrictions are a factor, then districts will have to prioritize their spending and look for alternative ways to fund such expenditures. We need to be clear here. We’re not taking away a district’s ability to use this tool, it simply has to be used within the levy and budget limitations in the statute,” Briese said.

Sen. Burke Harr of Omaha opposed the proposal, saying it would limit schools’ ability to save money by replacing higher-paid with lower-paid teachers. “While this may seem like a good idea, it’s penny-wise, pound foolish. The actual application… is something (that) may save us short-term, but it’s actually costing us money,” Harr said.

Harr proposed an amendment to limit buyout payments to $45,000 per employee, but came up two votes short getting it adopted. Senators then advanced the bill on a vote of 32-2.