Emergency Response Depends on Critical Infrastructure - Support LB 1256
This Thursday at 1:30 p.m., the Nebraska Legislature’s Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee will hold a public hearing on LB1256, a bill that addresses how our state defines emergency management workers.
At its core, this legislation asks a simple but important question:
Does Nebraska law fully recognize the role critical infrastructure plays in emergency response?
When disaster strikes, whether it’s a tornado in West Omaha, flooding along our rivers, an ice storm, or a roadway collapse, emergency response begins with sirens. Police secure the area. Firefighters rescue victims. EMTs provide lifesaving care.
But emergency response does not end there.
It continues with infrastructure.
When a roadway collapses and vehicles fall into a sinkhole, that is not just a transportation issue, it is a public safety emergency. When utilities fail, when water systems are compromised, when debris blocks access routes, when bridges are damaged, or when flood controls are deployed, those are not secondary concerns. They are life-safety issues.
Critical infrastructure is the foundation of emergency response.
Roads allow ambulances to reach victims.
Utilities keep hospitals operating.
Water systems protect public health.
Stormwater systems prevent flooding.
Debris removal enables rescue and recovery.
Infrastructure stabilization prevents secondary disasters.
Without functioning infrastructure, emergency services cannot operate effectively.
LB1256 does not create new benefit categories. It does not alter retirement systems. It does not amend budget statutes. What it does is clarify that Nebraska’s Emergency Management Act reflects the operational reality of how disasters are managed.
Public works employees, utility crews, and infrastructure teams routinely operate under declared emergencies. They deploy under incident command systems. They work extended hours in hazardous conditions. They secure gas lines to prevent explosions. They restore water systems to prevent contamination. They clear roads so rescue teams can access neighborhoods.
They are not peripheral to emergency response.
They are part of it.
In modern disaster management, we do not respond in silos. We respond as systems. Police, fire, EMS, emergency management officials, and critical infrastructure crews operate as a coordinated network. Each role is essential.
Yet our statutory definitions often reflect outdated categories that fail to recognize this integrated reality.
Emergency response is not defined by uniform alone.
- It is defined by function.
- It is defined by risk.
- It is defined by responsibility.
If Nebraska is serious about resilience, disaster preparedness, and community safety, we must recognize that critical infrastructure is not “support” — it is central to life safety.
The public hearing on LB1256 will be held Thursday at 1:30 p.m. in Room 1507 at the Nebraska State Capitol. Citizens who are unable to attend in person may still make their voices heard by submitting written comments online before 8:00 a.m. Thursday at:
Public safety policy should reflect how emergencies actually unfold. When a tornado levels homes, when floodwaters rise, or when roads collapse, the question is not simply who rescues. It is also who stabilizes, restores, and protects the systems that allow communities to survive and recover.
Emergency response does not stop at rescue.
It depends on access.
It depends on stability.
It depends on infrastructure.
LB1256 opens an important conversation about aligning our laws with how emergency management truly functions in the 21st century.
Because when disaster strikes, critical infrastructure is not optional.
It is essential.