[{"_1":2,"_85":-5,"_86":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6072392,"mediaKeyId","3027522-28c023428a58b0ea8b3f821379ce684e","parentId",3027522,"title","Debate intensifies over expanding felony assault protections to pharmacists and hospital staff; motion to indefinitely postpone LB3 22 fails","audioSeconds",7596,"startMs",2302000,"endMs",9898000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3027522-28c023428a58b0ea8b3f821379ce684e&start=2302&end=9898","thumbnailUrl","https://d352y6ypj4mjo3.cloudfront.net/AudioPlaceholder.png","articleUrl","/articles/6072392/Nebraska/Debate-intensifies-over-expanding-felony-assault-protections-to-pharmacists-and-hospital-staff-motion-to-indefinitely-postpone-LB3-22-fails","mediaUrl","author","Nebraska Legislature","date","2025-04-15T00:00:00Z","article","The Nebraska Legislature spent extended floor time debating Legislative Bill 3 22, a measure introduced by Senator Klaus that would expand enhanced assault protections to include pharmacists and certain hospital employees. The motion by Senator DeBoer to indefinitely postpone consideration failed 7-34, allowing debate and the bill’s continued movement through general-file procedure.

Senator Klaus said LB3 22 was prompted by requests from the Nebraska Pharmacists Association and the Nebraska Hospital Association to clarify and extend protections created by earlier law (LB677, passed in 2012) that increased penalties for assaulting certain healthcare professionals. \"Pharmacists are the most accessible and frequently in many communities, and as such are potentially more susceptible to violence,\" Klaus said, urging support for the bill and the included amendment that incorporates LB26.

Senator Ballard, who spoke in support, framed the measure as a response to workplace violence statistics, saying health care workers make up about 10 percent of the national workforce but experience a disproportionate share of nonfatal workplace injuries. He said hospitals report workplace violence as a top concern and argued expanded protections would signal that violence against any health worker is unacceptable.

Opponents urged a different approach. Senator DeBoer announced an intent to filibuster and then moved to indefinitely postpone, arguing enhanced penalties would add to incarceration without evidence of deterrence and could produce unintended consequences for people with developmental disabilities and mental-health conditions. Several senators with backgrounds in public defense and criminal-justice reform, including Senators John Kavanaugh and McKinney, said the bill risks filling jails and running counter to data on sentencing and public safety.

Advocates for caution noted prosecutorial discretion and practical complexities: opponents and some proponents discussed that the mental state required for many assault offenses can include acting \"recklessly,\" and that individuals who are developmentally disabled or found incompetent may still be prosecuted and subject to the criminal process. The Arc of Nebraska submitted written testimony urging safeguards or an exemption for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, noting the risk that ambiguous language could criminalize disability‑related behaviors.

The body voted to cease debate on a procedural question (roll-call result 33-8). After numerous speakers from both sides, the IPP motion failed on the final tally, 7-34. A motion to reconsider that vote was later offered by Senator DeBoer and remained on the floor as the chamber moved to recess for lunch.

No final passage or adoption of the committee amendment occurred on the floor during the session day recorded here; the matter remained before the Legislature for further action after the recess.","mediaType","Audio","parentTitle","Nebraska Legislative Session 4/15/2025,","oneSentenceSummary","Senators debated LB3 22, a bill to extend enhanced assault penalties to pharmacists and hospital employees. Supporters cited workplace violence and workforce retention; opponents warned of mass incarceration effects, impacts on people with disabilities and mental illness, and limited deterrent value. A motion to indefinitely postpone failed 7-34.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature NE, Nebraska","taxId",77675,"location","Nebraska","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":50,"_51":82,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":83,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":84,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6072397,"Nebraska senators advance bill requiring cremation or burial of fetal remains after elective abortions",1513,767000,2280000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3027522-28c023428a58b0ea8b3f821379ce684e&start=767&end=2280","/articles/6072397/Nebraska/Nebraska-senators-advance-bill-requiring-cremation-or-burial-of-fetal-remains-after-elective-abortions","The Nebraska Legislature on Tuesday adopted a committee amendment and advanced Legislative Bill 632, which would require healthcare facilities to cremate or bury the remains of an aborted unborn child after an elective abortion.

Senator Hansen, speaking as bill introducer, said the measure prescribes how facilities must handle fetal remains \"in a humane and, public health consideration manner\" and \"requires the facility to either cremate or bury them, the remains after, elective abortion.\" The Health and Human Services Committee advanced the bill with committee amendment AM616, which the floor adopted 46-0.

The bill prompted extended floor debate over whether its requirements would create practical and constitutional barriers to abortion access in Nebraska. Senator Spivey, who had moved to bracket the bill, argued the measure would impose \"unnecessary burden on procedural abortion in the state\" and called it a \"backdoor abortion ban,\" saying the bill would force some patients who need procedural (surgical) abortions to seek only medication abortion options and would retraumatize victims of sexual assault by requiring naming and certification steps to complete cremation or burial.

Supporters said the measure clarifies required disposition methods at healthcare facilities. The floor invoked cloture on consideration of motions and related procedure; a roll call to invoke cloture passed 33-13. Senator Hardin explained that committee amendment AM616 added language clarifying that the prohibition on certain disposals applies to elective abortions performed in healthcare facilities; the committee advanced the bill on a 5-1-1 vote.

Opponents pressed several practical concerns cited on the floor: that collecting the identifying information the bill appears to require could be impossible in some clinical cases and would conflict with the bill's own subsection that says patients need not be notified; that medication abortion is FDA‑approved only through about 10 weeks of gestation, while some legal exceptions allow procedural abortions later in pregnancy; and that cremation or burial costs—testimony on the floor cited typical cremation fees of about $800–$1,300—could impose large unfunded costs on providers. Senator Spivey estimated a potential cost \"at least, at minimum, a half a million dollars\" to a provider network but noted no formal fiscal note was attached to the bill on the floor.

After adopting the committee amendment, the Legislature advanced LB632 to E&R initial by a roll call vote of 34-11.

The debate and the votes were procedural steps that move the bill forward in the legislative process; no final enactment occurred during the session day reported here.","The Legislature adopted a committee amendment and advanced LB632, which requires healthcare facilities to cremate or bury remains after elective abortions. Supporters say it prescribes disposition; opponents called it unconstitutional and an effective ban on procedural abortion for many patients.","actionData","errors"]

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Debate intensifies over expanding felony assault protections to pharmacists and hospital staff; motion to indefinitely postpone LB3 22 fails

Nebraska senators advance bill requiring cremation or burial of fetal remains after elective abortions