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New Dist. 40 Senator is learning the ropes in Lincoln

LINCOLN — Tim Gragert has a pretty good view of the world from his new 11th floor office high above the state capital building.

Gragert, Creighton, was one of 13 new Senators officially sworn into office by Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Heavican during a special ceremony on the Legislative floor Wednesday.

He moved late last week into the office he will call home for the rest of the 90-day session.

All Senators are typically given first floor offices so constituents have easy access to them, but a major remodeling project connected with the installation of a new HVAC system for the capital, has forced Gragert and five other freshmen senators to cram into this 11th floor storage area turned common space surrounded by their private offices. Most of the seven other new Senators had to take over similar offices on the 12th floor.

The HVAC project put quite a bit of the Capitol off-limits. Several workers from various state offices who were housed in the tower were moved off-site, so all Senators could remain in the building.

His office does gives him a great view.

He’s able to look out and see an array of picturesque scenes, from the tree-lined Lincoln Mall, which connects the state capitol to county and city buildings just to the west, to the railroad tracks and lake which are visible in the distance, as well as a myriad of downtown buildings, streets and roads.

His new office is quite a contrast, though.

The yellow paint-peeled walls are empty, allowing conversations to echo off of them as he sits behind his clutter-free desk for one of the first times.

The only thing on the beat up old book shelves beside him is a medivac helicopter helmet — a gift from fellow Senator and mentor Tom Brewer of Gordon.

While the shelves are nearly empty, the first-year Senator’s workload is far from void.

He spent much of the first few days in the new session trying to learn the landscape.

“Just getting around this place takes a lot of thought,” he said.

His first day in office was spent in former Dist 40 Sen. Tyson Larson’s office. The second day began in a hearing room before he was assigned to the 11th floor.

He will spend the rest of the session trying to learn the ropes.

It seems he has a lot to learn this session.

Prior to the start of the session, Gragert and the other freshmen senators took part in a four-day workshop designed to help them better understand the process of getting a bill introduced, shepherded through committee and then debated on the floor.

He will need that knowledge as the session moves along.

Gragert was assigned Wednesday to two committees. He will serve on the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee, which meets Monday and Tuesday afternoons, and the Natural Resources Committee, which meets Wednesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons.

In the Nebraska Legislature, most every bill  is referenced to a committee based on the subject matter and is guaranteed a hearing, allowing the public to testify in support or opposition to the legislation. The Legislature will meet as a body in the mornings during the public hearing process and in all-day session beginning in April.

Bill introduction is allowed for the first 10 days of the legislative session.

Gragert said he plans to do a lot of “watching and learning,” this session

“What I don’t want to do is mess up a bill by not knowing the process or procedure,” he said.

“I did take on one bill, but it’s because it’s a subject I am very familiar with,” he said.

He plans to introduce a bill to form a Healthy Soils Task Force, which would be charged with helping to clean up nitrates in the water table.

He has also agreed to be a co-sponsor on two bills already introduced.

He put his name on LB153, a bill introduced by Sen. Brewer that would give retired veterans a tax break.

He was also one of 24 Senators to sign onto a pro-life bill introduced by Sen. Joni Albright that she calls pro-life, pro-women and pro-transparency.

The bill, LB209,  requires doctors to let women know an abortion pill can be reversed. So far, 24 senators have signed the proposal.

 

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