Wow, you are one of over 130 people who have subscribed to this weekly brief before we even published an inaugural issue. That’s a good start. You and I can grow this chorus even bigger and louder by working together.

Small actions, big impact
With the 60-day Nebraska Legislature session already in motion, I’ll give you specific actions to take each week to help state government leaders make better decisions when it comes Nebraska startups.

One message, many voices
In your communications, please consider using this message:

Helping Nebraska startups is a strategic investment that creates a more vibrant economy, more high paying jobs for Nebraska workers, and a greater diversity of future tax revenues.

Thank you to Silicon Prairie News for publishing my guest editorial, which explains how bills become laws in Nebraska and how your voice shapes them.

Takeaway: Your voice matters from start to finish, so you need to know how to use it differently as the session unfolds.

LB100: Establish the Office of Entrepreneurship in the Department of Economic Development, encourage state agencies to contract with startups, and require the state pension fund to Invest in Nebraska startups.

LB999: Establish the Business Innovation and Startup Commission to help guide state government decisions.

LB1015: Create a Business Innovation Reserve Fund to provide long-term stable funding of the Business Innovation Act programs.

LB1044: Change provisions of the Business Innovation Act to create long-term stability of funding and establish a minimum amount awarded

LB1156: Adopt the Disinvested Community Development Incentive Tax Credit Act to help fund small business and startup support, accelerator programs, and workforce training in rural and urban communities.

Takeaway: Read each bill (if it’s amending a law, the proposed changes are underlined) so you can speak confidently about it.

Welcome to a state government website - where function triumphs over form. When you click on any of the five bills we’re tracking on, you’ll end up at the Nebraska Legislature website. It’s filled with real-time information but can be a bit confusing to navigate.

Q: How do I find a specific Legislative Bill page? A: You can use the search box in the upper right column of the home page.

Q: How do I read the actual Legislative Bill? A: When you get to the specfic Legislative Bill page, you will look under “Text Copies” and click on “Introduced” to read the actual bill. To the right of that will be a “Statement of Intent” that gives context for the bill.

Q: How do I know which committee a bill has been assigned to? A: Look in the middle of the specific Legislative Bill page towards the bottom in the reverse chronological update feed. You’ll seed “Referred to XXX committee” toward the bottom. It’s also listed in the actual bill language, too.

Q: Where do I find when a committee hearing has been scheduled? A: Look in the middle towards the bottom in the reverse chronological update feed. When you see “Notice of Committee Hearing” you can on the journal number to the right which links to a document that will show what date, time, and room number the committee will meet for public input.

Q: How do I submit comments online for a bill? A: Go to the LB page for the bill and you will see a tan/brown box saying “Submit Comments Online for LB##”. Click on it and follow the prompts.

Takeaway: Take a deep breath and click around a bit. You’ll get the hang of it.

Takeaway: Showing up in person to testify is the strongest show of support. Just be prepared to wait since the committee will cover several bills. You can read this primer on how to testify.

Another Takeaway: Leaving comments online and sending emails to your state senator are valuable, too, especially if your schedule doesn’t allow you to testify in person.

I appreciate everyone who’s helped launch this effort. It’s a collaborative effort, so please let me know how you can help or what we can improve.

You can help me make this weekly brief better.
Do you have advice for how to testify? Would you like share what language you are using? Are you a veteran advocate who wants to provide your pro tips?

Send me your thoughts or guest commentary via direct email or leave a comment or send me a reply.