Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Two more Nebraska State Senators will wait for hearing on “Smart Initiatives” bill to make up their minds about it

There’s a proposal pending in the Nebraska Legislature, Legislative Bill 566 (LB 566), authored by State Senator Paul Schumacher, that would implement “Smart Initiatives,” in the Cornhusker State, allowing Nebraskans to sign initiative, referendum, and recall petitions online using electronic signatures.

Etopia News has been reporting on this bill, including comments from most of the members of the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, where this bill will be heard and discussed sometime around the end of February or start of March.

Two more members of this committee replied to Etopia News inquiries about their positions on LB 566 today.

Through a spokesperson, Senator Charlie Jansson, a businessman in Fremont, Nebraska, and the representative of the state’s 15th District, said that since there had not yet been a hearing on the bill, he “could not say he was for it or against it.”

Russ Karpisek, owner and operator of Karpisek’s Meat Market and the state senator representing the 32nd District, said via his spokesperson that he also wanted to wait for the hearing to make up his mind on the bill, and added that “if there were a safe and verifiable way of collecting signatures [online] he’d consider it.”

These comments from Senators Jansson and Karpisek leave Senator Kate Sullivan, a banker and business executive from Cedar Rapids, Nebraska, who represents the state’s 41st District, as the only member of the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee who hasn’t yet expressed a view on the Smart Initiatives measure, LB 566.

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