A leading economic indicator in Nebraska predicts a nearly one-percent drop in growth over the next six months. Results from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln September survey were released this week.

Eric Thompson heads the economic indicator and said Nebraska’s economy is growing rapidly, but expects that growth to be marginal heading into 2022.

Thompson said Nebraska’s agricultural performance is among the positive factors aiding the state’s economy.

“We don’t always have as strong of ag economy as we have right now, because commodity prices are good,” he said. “Nebraska’s population growth continues to be solid, not spectacular, but solid.”

Although manufacturing hours slowed in recent months, Thompson said that sector has been healthy in the state.

Low vaccination rates and national supply shortages are negatively affecting Nebraska’s economy now and months ahead. Thompson said correcting those issues should be a priority going forward.

A federal grand jury in California on Tuesday indicted Nebraska Republican Rep. Jeff Fortenberry on charges of lying to federal investigators and another crime in connection with a probe about illegal campaign donations provided by a foreigner, prosecutors said in a tweet.

The announcement of the indictment in Los Angeles federal court came hours after Fortenberry, in an unusual YouTube video featuring his wife, dog and 1963 Ford 100 pickup truck, revealed he expected to be indicted for allegedly lying to FBI agents.

Fortenberry is due to be arraigned in that court Wednesday. He is charged with one count of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators looking into illegal contributions to his 2016 campaign. Full announcement coming.”

“The indictment alleges that Fortenberry repeatedly lied to and misled authorities during a federal investigation into illegal contributions to Fortenberry’s re-election campaign made by a foreign billionaire in early 2016,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles said in a press release.

The indictment says Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagoury, “a foreign national prohibited by federal law from contributing to any U.S. elections, arranged for $30,000 of his money to be contributed through other individuals (conduits) to Fortenberry’s campaign during a fundraiser held in Los Angeles, according to the indictment,” the release said.

Congress avoided a government shutdown Thursday, and it did so without support from the five members of Nebraska’s congressional delegation.

The three members of the House and two senators joined a majority of their fellow Republicans in opposing the measure, which will fund the government through Dec. 3.

The legislation was needed to keep the government running once the current budget year ended at midnight Thursday. Its passage buys lawmakers more time to craft the spending measures that will fund federal agencies and the programs they administer.

The House approved the measure by a 254-175 vote not long after Senate passage in a 65-35 vote. A large majority of Republicans in both chambers voted against it.

In statements, Nebraska congressional members cited a range of reasons for opposing the legislation — though several directed their critiques at the spending habits of Washington.

Lawmakers approved criteria May 26 that will guide the Legislature in the 2021 redistricting process.

The U.S. and state constitutions require the Legislature to redraw various governmental district boundaries every 10 years in response to population changes reflected in the U.S. Census. Senators are expected to complete the redistricting process in a special session in early fall after census data becomes available.

The Legislature will create new district boundaries for Nebraska’s three U.S. House of Representatives districts, 49 legislative districts and those of the Nebraska Supreme Court, Public Service Commission, State Board of Education and University of Nebraska Board of Regents.

A bill that updates several concealed carry provisions and the state’s Uniform Controlled Substances Act passed May 21.

Sen. Tom Brewer
LB236, as introduced by Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, would have allowed counties to authorize residents to carry a concealed weapon without a state-issued permit. Those provisions were removed from the bill and replaced by provisions of four other bills:
• LB85, introduced by Brainard Sen. Bruce Bostelman, which requires the Nebraska State Patrol to notify the holder of a concealed carry permit four months prior to the permit’s expiration;
• LB173, introduced by Blair Sen. Ben Hansen, which exempts from concealed carry prohibitions the transportation of a firearm in a vehicle for lawful purposes or carrying a concealed weapon directly to or from a vehicle if the firearm is unloaded, stored in a case and kept separate from ammunition;
• LB244, introduced by Elmwood Sen. Robert Clements, which allows a 30-day grace period to renew a concealed carry permit; and
• LB301, also introduced by Hansen, which removes CBD contained in a product approved by the FDA from the definition of hashish or concentrated cannabis and updates Nebraska drug schedules and penalties to conform to federal law.

Senators passed LB236 on a 45-0 vote.