Supreme Court redistricting bill amended, advanced

Senators advanced from select file May 17 the first of six redistricting bills that lawmakers will consider this session.

LB699, introduced by the Redistricting Committee, would redraw boundary lines for the six judicial districts of the Nebraska Supreme Court.

Sen. Mike Flood of Norfolk offered an amendment that would alter the boundary lines of all but one of the six judicial districts.

Under the amendment, adopted 37-4, District 3 would expand into western Douglas and Sarpy counties. Flood said the change would bring the more rural parts of those counties into the northeast district, which currently comprises over 20 counties, many of them sparsely populated.

“The true character of the district is rural in nature,” Flood said, adding that rural officers of the court share concerns such as ensuring adequate resources for county clerks and citizen access to judges.

“That’s the difference between urban Nebraska and rural Nebraska,” he said.

But Omaha Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh said the changes offered in the amendment seemed to be more about perception than genuine differences in the practice of law between urban and rural areas of the state.

“I don’t know how much of a difference this makes in reality,” he said.

Sen. Annette Dubas of Fullerton supported the amendment, saying the distance traveled in rural Nebraska to obtain services is an important issue for her constituents.

“There’s much concern [about] the potential consolidation and elimination of courts and court services,” she said.

Other changes in the amendment would include moving Seward County from District 5 to District 1 and moving all of Cass County into District 5.

Lincoln Sen. Danielle Conrad said the proposed combination of Seward and Lancaster counties in District 1 makes sense because judges in the two counties currently assist each other in addressing workload issues.

“The amendment represents a much more acceptable map,” she said.

Following adoption of the Flood amendment, senators advanced LB699 to final reading by voice vote.