Jim Smith (Nebraska)
Jim Smith (b. February 9, 1959) is a former Republican member of the Nebraska State Senate, representing District 14 from 2011 to 2018. He stepped down in July 2018 to become the executive director of Blueprint Nebraska.[1][2]
Biography
Smith earned his B.A. in accounting from the University of West Florida in 1984 and his M.B.A. in economics from Creighton University in 1996. His professional experience includes working as the owner of Norm's Door Service and the manager of Omaha Public Power District and working in management at Houston Lighting & Power and Gulf States Utilities.
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Nebraska committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Revenue, Chair |
| • Transportation and Telecommunications |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| Nebraska committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Revenue |
| • Transportation and Telecommunications |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| Nebraska committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Natural Resources |
| • Transportation and Telecommunications, Vice Chair |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| Nebraska committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Business and Labor |
| • Natural Resources |
| • Urban Affairs |
Campaign themes
2012
Smith's website highlighted the following campaign themes:
- Budget
- Excerpt: "As a family man and small business owner, I have also made tough budget decisions that will help in the legislature. I will work to tighten the belt on state spending and reduce the burden on Nebraska families."
- Taxes
- Excerpt: "By reducing the tax burden on Nebraska families and businesses, we can attract more quality jobs and business growth to our state. If we allow our families to keep more of their hard earned money, we can make it easier for them to live and prosper in Nebraska."
- Income Tax
- Excerpt: "I will work to eliminate the income tax on military retirement pay so our retired Veterans can stay here to help mentor our youth, start businesses, and contribute to our economy."
- Illegal Immigration
- Excerpt: "I will work to repeal all tax payer paid benefits going to illegal immigrants. I will also support a Nebraska state law similar to the law passed in Arizona."
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2014
- See also: Nebraska State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the Nebraska State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 13, 2014. The general election took place on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for challengers wishing to run in this election was March 3, 2014, two days after the statutory deadline, which fell on a Saturday. Incumbents were required to file for election by February 18, 2014, three days after the statutory deadline, which fell on the Saturday prior to Presidents Day. Incumbent Jim Smith was unopposed in the primary election and was unchallenged in the general election.[3][4][5]
2010
- See also: Nebraska State Senate elections, 2010
On November 2, 2010, Smith won election to the 14th District Seat in the Nebraska Senate, defeating Teresa Whitehead.[6]
| Nebraska State Senate, District 14 General election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
 Jim Smith
|
6,203 | |||
| Teresa Whitehead | 4,995 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Nebraska scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2018
In 2018, the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature was in its 106th Legislature, 2nd session from January 3 to April 18.
- Holland Children's Movement: 2018 scorecard
- Legislators are scored on children's issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry: 2018 Legislative Voting Record
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature was in its 105th Legislature, 1st session from January 4 to May 23.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature was in its 104th Legislature, 2nd session from January 6 to April 20.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature was in its 104th Legislature, 1st session from January 7 to May 29.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature was in its 103rd Legislature, 2nd session from January 8 to April 17.[7]
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature was in its 103rd Legislature, 1st session from January 9 to June 5.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature was in its 102nd Legislature, 2nd session from January 4 to April 18.
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2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature was in its 102nd Legislature, 1st session from January 5 to June 8.
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Smith and his wife, Ruth, have two children.
Noteworthy events
2013 ethics complaint
In July 2013, the Center for Media and Democracy, a liberal watchdog group, filed an ethics complaint against Smith, alleging that he did not disclose nearly $1,500 in travel expenses related to a trip to a Canadian tar sands mining area, which was sponsored by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The complaint stated the government of Alberta province and another unnamed benefactor paid for the flight of nine state legislators. Alberta and ALEC have been known to support the Keystone XL pipeline, whose developer, TransCanada, visited with the lawmakers on the trip. At the time of the complaint, Smith was ALEC's public sector chairman in Nebraska.[8]
Smith responded to the complaint, saying that he checked with officials beforehand, and was told that flights within Canada did not need to be reported. He said he believed that all the necessary disclosures were made, and that he covered his own expenses for a commercial flight to Canada and accommodation.[9]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Jim + Smith + Nebraska + Senate"
See also
- Nebraska State Senate
- Legislature Committees
- Nebraska State Senate elections, 2014
- Nebraska state legislative districts
External links
- Official campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Jim Smith on Facebook
- Jim Smith on Twitter
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions via OpenSecrets
Footnotes
- ↑ Note: Although the Nebraska State Senate elects its members in nonpartisan elections, members of the chamber generally function along party lines when it comes to voting and caucusing. Please see Nebraska State Senate partisan affiliation for more information.
- ↑ Omaha World-Herald, "Papillion Sen. Jim Smith resigns from Legislature early to take on new role with economic group," July 9, 2018
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "Official Results of Nebraska Primary Election," accessed July 7, 2014
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "Statewide Candidate List," accessed March 21, 2014
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "Official Results: General Election - November 4, 2014," accessed December 14, 2014
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "Official Report of the Board of State Canvassers of the State of Nebraska - General Election - November 2, 2010," accessed February 15, 2014
- ↑ Nebraska Legislature, "2014 Legislative Session," accessed June 27, 2014
- ↑ Omaha World-Herald, "Papillion State Sen. Jim Smith faces ethics complaint over trip to Canada," July 3, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2013
- ↑ Associated Press, "Ethics complaint filed against Neb. state lawmaker," accessed July 4, 2013
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tim Gay |
Nebraska State Senate District 14 2011–2018 |
Succeeded by John Arch |
