Petition circulator bill advances

Lawmakers gave first-round approval Feb. 14 to a bill that would require that petition circulators be 18 years of age or older.

LB759, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Bill Avery, would remove a requirement that a circulator be an elector of the state and instead require that a circulator be 18 years or age or older.

Avery said the definition of an elector includes a residency provision, which recently was held to be unconstitutional.

A Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee amendment, adopted 27-0, removed an additional provision from the bill that would have required the sponsor or principal circulator of a petition to provide each circulator with identification containing a unique number.

Avery said the ID provision was opposed in committee and was removed in order to ensure that Nebraska’s petition regulations are in place for the 2012 election.

LB759 advanced to select file on a 34-0 vote.