Indefinitely postponed
State intent regarding appropriations for interpreter services for the Supreme Court ↗
| Sponsor | Sen. George Dungan (District 26) (Introduced 01/09/2025) |
|---|---|
| Sponsor Ranking | The Nebraska Legislature is officially nonpartisan, and no published ideology measurement of its members is in our database - so none is shown. This page shows how members voted, never where anyone places them. |
| KJV verdict | PASS · 3 grounds ↓ |
| Committees | Appropriations |
| Latest Action | 04/17/2026 Indefinitely postponed |
| Roll Call Votes | There have been no roll call votes |
| Source | view on nebraskalegislature.gov (new tab) → |
Brief (4)
If it passes, what changes
This is a budget intent bill, stating the Legislature's plan to add money to one existing court program.
- §1 states intent to add $600,000 from the General Fund for FY2025-26.
- §1 states intent to add another $600,000 from the General Fund for FY2026-27.
- Both amounts go to the Supreme Court, Agency 5, Court Administration, Program No. 34.
- §1 restricts the added funds to interpreter services for deaf and hard of hearing persons.
- §1 also restricts the funds to interpreter services for persons unable to communicate in English.
- §2 declares an emergency so the act takes effect immediately upon passage and approval.
Does it do what it claims
The title matches the operative text closely: this is an appropriations-intent bill and nothing more.
- Title says "to state intent regarding appropriations"; §1 does exactly that, no actual appropriation.
- Title says "to declare an emergency"; §2 does exactly that.
- The bill does not itself appropriate the funds -- it only states legislative intent to do so.
- No other subject is claimed or addressed; the scope stays narrow to Program No. 34 interpreter funding.
The case each way
The disagreement is less about the money and more about whether a non-binding intent statement is the right vehicle.
- For: Targets a specific, named gap -- interpreter services for deaf, hard of hearing, and non-English speakers.
- For: The emergency clause under §2 lets the intent take effect without delay.
- Against: §1 is only "intent," not a binding appropriation, so the funds are not guaranteed.
- Against: An emergency clause on an intent statement (not an actual appropriation) has little practical urgency.
What the text cannot settle
This reading only covers what the two sections state; the bill leaves the real funding decision to a later act.
- The text does not specify which future appropriations bill will carry out this intent.
- No definition is given for "unable to communicate the English language" in §1.
- The text does not say whether the $600,000 figures are new money or reallocated within Program No. 34.
- No enforcement or consequence is stated if the intent in §1 is not later funded.
Written by claude-sonnet-5 from the Introduced of this bill on 2026-09-13, and from nothing else. It is a reading, not a source: bullets naming a section this bill does not contain are dropped before the page is built, but the prose is not otherwise checked. The verdict above does not come from it.
KJV verdict (3)
PASS — Aligns with the KJV
The bill funds court interpreters so deaf people and people who cannot speak English can understand and be heard in their own cases. Scripture commands speaking for the dumb, not wronging the deaf, treating the stranger as one born among you, and judging without partiality (Proverbs 31:8-9; Leviticus 19:14; Leviticus 19:33-34; Leviticus 19:15). Nothing in the bill does what the standard forbids.
3 grounds: 0 FAIL, 3 PASS. Any FAIL fails the bill.
PASS Section 1
“to increase the payments for interpreter services for deaf and hard of hearing persons”
“Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.”Proverbs 31:8-9
“Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.”Leviticus 19:14
Paying for interpreters opens the mouth of the dumb in the cause of judgment and removes a stumblingblock from the deaf before the court.
PASS Section 1
“and for persons unable to communicate the English language”
“And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”Leviticus 19:33-34
“He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.”Deuteronomy 10:18-19
Giving the stranger a voice in court treats him as one born among you rather than vexing him.
PASS Section 1
“which shall only be used for such purpose”
“Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.”Leviticus 19:15
“Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.”Deuteronomy 16:19
“Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!”Isaiah 10:1-2
Interpreters let the court judge the poor and the stranger in righteousness instead of turning the needy aside from judgment for want of understanding.
Read against the KJV standard from the Introduced text on 2026-09-13. Every quotation of the bill is checked against the bill's text and every verse is quoted from the 1769 text, not from the model.
Text (1)
- Introduced (new tab) (application/pdf)
Each link opens the legislature's own document.
All Actions (8)
| Date | Actor | All Actions |
|---|---|---|
| 04/17/2026 | Indefinitely postponed | |
| 01/07/2026 | Title printed. Carryover bill | |
| 02/05/2025 | Notice of hearing for March 19, 2025 | |
| 01/31/2025 | Bosn name added | |
| 01/14/2025 | Conrad name added | |
| 01/13/2025 | Referred to Appropriations Committee | |
| 01/10/2025 | Hunt name added | |
| 01/09/2025 | Date of introduction |
Votes (0)
There have been no roll call votes on this bill.
Sponsors (4)
- Sen. George Dungan [District 26] — primary sponsor
- Sen. Carolyn Bosn [District 25] — cosponsor (01/31/2025)
- Sen. Danielle Conrad [District 46] — cosponsor (01/14/2025)
- Sen. Megan Hunt [District 8] — cosponsor (01/10/2025)
Committees (1)
| Committee | Activity | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Appropriations | Referred | 01/13/2025 |
Amendments (0)
There are no amendments to this bill.
Fiscal Notes & Statements (2)
The legislature's own companion documents; each link opens the official copy.
Related Bills (0)
No related bill information was received.
How this was worked out (1)
1. What was read
| version | Introduced |
| file | 01-introduced.pdf |
| sha256 | f1e84fb90f612b24c0ea086490028ac7 |
| characters | 968 |
2. What it was read against
| the standard | bills/kjv_prompt.txt, sha256 79671b42553a40fe28a8ac9c8ce9e60a |
| model | claude-fable-5-1 |
| read on | 2026-09-13 |
| the model was shown | the standard -- the verses of the 1769 text, quoted in full -- and the bill's words, and nothing else |
3. The grounds (3)
| PASS | |
|---|---|
| PASS | Section 1
“Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31:8-9 “Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.” Leviticus 19:14 Paying for interpreters opens the mouth of the dumb in the cause of judgment and removes a stumblingblock from the deaf before the court. |
| PASS | Section 1
“And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 19:33-34 “He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Deuteronomy 10:18-19 Giving the stranger a voice in court treats him as one born among you rather than vexing him. |
| PASS | Section 1
“Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.” Leviticus 19:15 “Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.” Deuteronomy 16:19 “Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!” Isaiah 10:1-2 Interpreters let the court judge the poor and the stranger in righteousness instead of turning the needy aside from judgment for want of understanding. |
4. How the verdict follows
| FAIL grounds | 0 |
| PASS grounds | 3 |
| the rule | any FAIL ground fails the bill -- even one, even beside good provisions (1 Corinthians 5:6), even for a good end (Romans 3:8); PASS grounds alone pass it; no grounds, no verdict. No counting, no weighing, nothing added up. |
| verdict | PASS — Aligns with the KJV |
5. What this cannot tell you
Every ground above quotes the bill and quotes the verse, so each can be checked. What the model did not raise cannot be checked the same way: a provision it passed over looks exactly like one that is not there. How often a ground is wrong, and how often one is missing, are not known.
Bill data comes from the Nebraska Legislature's own website, scraped and stored by our own pipeline; titles, sponsors, actions and vote tallies are shown as the Legislature published them. Nothing is generated. Nebraska's Legislature is unicameral and officially nonpartisan; its members carry no party label here because they carry none there. No published ideology measurement is in our database, so no bill or member on this site is placed on a left-right axis: every meter is a roll-call tally, labeled (Vote Record).