OMAHA – Outgoing Nebraska state Sen. Laura Ebke will join the staff of the Platte Institute beginning in January 2019 as its new senior fellow for job licensing reform.
The Crete-area senator, who championed a new law to review Nebraska’s nearly 200 job licenses, will lead a Platte Institute project to educate policymakers and workers about the law’s upcoming implementation.
Legislative Bill 299, also known as the Occupational Board Reform Act, requires legislative committees to review 20 percent of the job licenses under their jurisdiction each year, in a continuous five-year cycle.
The first year of the LB299 review in Nebraska will begin in July 2019. As Nebraska makes progress with the new law, the Platte Institute’s job licensing project will report on developments in Nebraska and share the outcomes with policymakers in other states.
As one example, Sen. Ebke will join Sen. John McCollister and Platte Institute Communications and Outreach Director Adam Weinberg this week in Clearwater, Florida, for a panel on bipartisan support for job licensing reform at an upcoming meeting hosted by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
In addition to her service in the Nebraska Legislature, Laura Ebke holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and previously served for twelve years on the Crete Public Schools Board of Education.
“Laura Ebke is an exceptionally qualified leader for the Platte Institute’s campaign to review and reform Nebraska’s job licensing laws,” said Jim Vokal, Chief Executive Officer of the Platte Institute.
“As a state senator, Laura earned the respect of her colleagues in every party with her pragmatic and collaborative approach to lawmaking. As the introducer of LB299, she will be an excellent resource for Nebraskans, both inside and outside the Capitol, as the Unicameral moves ahead with its first review of our job licensing laws,” said Vokal.
