Posted: 5/10/2005 5:30:42 AM EDT
| LB 454 is on the agenda for today (05.10.2005). |
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I just heard on the news that LB 454 is dead for this year. Pulled by the sponsor as part of an agreement to make it one of the first to be looked at next year.  edit to ad the story. LINCOLN - With time running out in the 2005 legislative session, State Sen. Jeanne Combs of Milligan agreed Tuesday to allow her concealed weapons proposal to be holstered until 2006. "I've got the votes. I just don't have the time," she said. Combs' measure, Legislative Bill 454, would allow Nebraskans to carry concealed handguns if they took a training course, passed a background check and paid a $100 fee for a five-year permit. Legislative Speaker Kermit Brashear agreed to schedule the bill for debate within the first 21 days of the 2006 session in exchange for Combs' cooperation in removing her proposal from this year's agenda. Brashear said there is not enough time in the closing days of the session to handle the controversial bill. He said he recently made a similar agreement with State Sen. Mike Foley of Lincoln, delaying debate of Foley's proposal to establish the crime of fetal assault until 2006. Lawmakers debated the concealed weapons measure for about two hours last week. But the bill would have to make it through three stages of debate with only 14 days left in this year's session. Although Combs is confident her bill has enough support to pass, she said it would take some time to overcome the opposition of State Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha and other lawmakers who strongly disagree with the measure. "If I didn't take the deal, I'd be lucky to get it off general file (first-round debate) this year," she said. www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=1638&u_sid=1407977&u_rnd=7017251 |