A controversial bill re-creating the state's prenatal care program for all unborn babies moved to the full Legislature Tuesday on a 6-1 committee vote.

The Legislature will get a chance to debate a bill this session that would require a study of death penalty costs.

Nebraska state senators decided Tuesday that getting another $500,000 in revenue a year during a time of budget cuts is worth going against a governor's veto.

In Michigan, where many enterprises are struggling to survive, the renowned University of Michigan is in the midst of a construction boom and hiring spree. Michigan State University, on the other hand, plans to lay off faculty and cut programs, blaming state funding that is lower than it was a decade ago. Flagship universities in other states are also prospering, while their lesser-known counterparts suffer from vanishing state appropriations. 

So, why not change the arrangement and require big-name universities to take responsibility for their own financing, leaving more state money to support the other state schools? As legislatures face their toughest budget year since the recession began, the idea of giving a few universities autonomy to control their own finances has some appeal.

It wasn't even a close call. When it came time to vote on a resolution (LR284CA) that would allow voters to decide whether to do away with the office of state treasurer, legislators advanced it to second reading on a 37-6 vote.

Senators on the Legislature's Appropriations Committee gave their approval Tuesday to an additional 2 percent cut to most state agencies next year, but they decided against taking $2 million back from the University of Nebraska.

Don't let those 40-degree temps fool you. There's still a lot of ice on area rivers.

Resource managers and cottage owners have a new tool in the fight to keep the state's inland lakes from being infested by zebra mussels.