Lawmakers advanced a bill to select file March 9 that would create a commission to protect the state\u2019s military installations, attract new missions and serve Nebraska\u2019s military members and veterans.<\/p>\n
LB754, introduced by Bellevue Sen. Sue Crawford, would establish the Commission on Military and Veterans Affairs. The governor-appointed commission would assist the state in attracting and maintaining military missions, Crawford said.<\/p>\n
She said Nebraska currently has important assets such as Offutt Air Force Base and its estimated $1.3 billion annual contribution to the state\u2019s economy. There also are opportunities to pursue and secure additional missions and leverage them for economic development across the state, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe commission and the military liaison established by this bill assure that Nebraska is in the best position to respond to these opportunities and threats when they occur,\u201d Crawford said.<\/p>\n
Among other duties, the commission would have the authority to:
\n\u2022\treceive and administer funds;
\n\u2022\taddress matters of military significance in Nebraska;
\n\u2022\tconduct activities relating to economic development;
\n\u2022\tconduct activities relating to the welfare of veterans; and
\n\u2022\tadvise the governor, Legislature, Nebraska\u2019s congressional delegation and other governmental officials where appropriate.<\/p>\n
A Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee amendment, adopted 30-0, removed a requirement that the commission partner with the state Department of Economic Development in carrying out its functions.<\/p>\n
The amendment also removed the bill\u2019s provision for a $50 per diem for ex officio members and reduced the number of ex officio, nonvoting members of the commission to the following:
\n\u2022\tchair of the State Committee of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve;
\n\u2022\tcommander of the 55th Wing of the Air Combat Command or his or her designee;
\n\u2022\tcommander of the United States Strategic Command or his or her designee; and
\n\u2022\tcommander of the 557th Weather Wing of the United States Air Force or his or her designee.<\/p>\n
Among the commission\u2019s specific duties would be identifying ways to support sound infrastructure, adequate housing, education and workforce transition for Nebraska\u2019s veterans and current and retired military personnel and their families.<\/p>\n
Gretna Sen. John Murante, chairperson of the committee, praised Crawford for her ongoing work on behalf of the military in Nebraska.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know of any member of this Legislature who has done more to ensure the rights and benefits of those members of our state,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Under the amendment, the state Department of Veterans\u2019 Affairs would hire a military affairs liaison for the commission and provide administrative support.<\/p>\n
The commission would provide an annual report to the governor, the Legislature and commanding officers of military bases in the state regarding recommendations for preserving and sustaining military assets and existing missions, as well as ways to encourage expanding such assets and missions.<\/p>\n
Sen. Tommy Garrett of Bellevue supported the bill, saying Nebraska needs to be vigilant in maintaining its military assets and the economic development they bring to the state. The Air Force has excess bases, he said, and is looking for reasons to consider closures.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the primary reasons that I\u2019m a state senator is that I was very much interested in protecting Offutt Air Force Base,\u201d Garrett said.<\/p>\n
The bill advanced to select file 35-0.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lawmakers advanced a bill to select file March 9 that would create a commission to protect the state\u2019s military installations,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[106],"class_list":["post-18881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-government-military-and-veterans-affairs","tag-sen-sue-crawford"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18881"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18883,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18881\/revisions\/18883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}