State Senator Jana Hughes (District 24) was the featured program at the July 12 Seward Rotary meeting, where she shared her reflections from her first year in the Nebraska Legislature.
Senator Hughes was born in Friend and raised in Seward County on a dairy farm near Goehner. She is a Seward High School graduate and has a degree in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University. She is married to John Hughes of Seward and they have three children. Hughes was elected to the Nebraska Legislature from District 24 (Seward, Polk, York counties) in 2022.
This was her first year as a Senator and as a Freshman, she said she has gained so much information and knowledge with “on the job” training. She served this year on three Legislative Committees-Agriculture, Natural Resources and General Affairs-as well as the Building Maintenance and LR135 Select Interim Committee.
She noted she has just returned from an Energy Summit in Washington and had a great opportunity to network and work with 43 delegates from across the US, which centered on energy and alternative sources of energy. She noted her support of Nebraska's unique 100% public power industry.
She was excited to introduce eight bills to the Nebraska Legislature this year and seven of the eight were approved and passed in the Legislature. She had a “Broadband Grant” Bill that required a change in the cycle of application and can now be applied for at any time. She also sponsored the “Scrap Tire Recycling” bill to extend the program another five years! She was excited about the sponsorship of the bill to “Expand Clinical Nursing Sites,” in the form of a grant program to assist and focus on the need of nurses especially in rural areas.
Another bill she sponsored gave a million dollars to “Cedar’s Home” in the form of a matching grant to house women who are pregnant and in Foster Care or Homeless in the “Carriage House” program. She sponsored a bill on “Suicide Awareness,” and modified the one hour teacher required training program on suicide awareness, giving the program more local control and expansion. Her bill on “Channel Pricing” involving product distribution also passed.
One of her favorite bills was to place an excise tax on “Vape Products” –stating that there is now more equity in the market, even if it is a bit complex of a tax.
Senator Hughes commented that it was “Crazy Town” in the Legislature this year, with so many social issues before the Senators. She noted that there were 291 bills passed in 33 packages, because of time issues. An example is that the “Education Bill” had 27 bills carried in one package and one vote. She hope that this was a unique year and that the regular system will be delivered again next year.
She commented and gave some background on the “Voter ID” bill, the “No Helmet” bill and the “Conceal and Carry” bill. She noted that the “Abortion” Bill was approved. Her most contentious bill centered on “Gender Identify” Change Bill - not allowing minors to make a choice of gender change until of age. The bill passed with HHS setting the parameters for the guidelines.
She was pleased that the Income Tax Relief bill was accelerated and happy to also see a big jump in the Property Tax Relief bill, creating substantial changes for school district funding. She noted that this will assist Seward School District well.
She has enjoyed the experience and looking forward to returning in the fall, with 18 new senators in the mix!
Questions and answers followed. To contact Senator Hughes write Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509, or phone 402-471-2756. You can also reach her at her email address jhughes@leg.ne.gov.