LINCOLN — At 18, Devin Hill is old enough to join the Nebraska National Guard and put his life on the line in Afghanistan.
But the Nebraska City youth can’t get a Visa debit card that will let him access his bank account from wherever his military service takes him.
Nebraska law doesn’t allow people to sign binding contracts or leases until they turn 19.
Hill is scheduled to be deployed overseas well before he reaches that age.
David Hill, Devin’s father, said the situation shocked him.
He was even more astonished when he learned that the same law prevents 18-year-old airmen at Offutt Air Force Base from getting cell phones in Nebraska or signing apartment leases.
“This is so wrong,” David Hill said. “Someone’s old enough to be deployed but not old enough to sign a contract?”
Nebraska lawmakers moved a step closer Wednesday to changing that situation.
By a vote of 41-0, the Legislature gave first-round approval to a bill that would give 18-year-olds some rights of adulthood.
Legislative Bill 226 would allow 18-year-olds to sign binding contracts and leases without parental involvement.
The bill would allow them to consent to medical care if their parents delegate that power to them.
The bill would not apply to youths who are wards of the state. Nor would it change the ages at which people can buy alcohol, tobacco or lottery tickets.
State Sen. Kent Rogert of Tekamah, who introduced the bill, said Nebraska is one of only four states that do not consider 18-year-olds to be legally adults.
He said all other states at least allow 18-year-olds to sign contracts and get medical care.
“I think it’s important for young people to be able to do these things,” Rogert said.
The current state law creates problems for many young people, whether they are away from home attending college or just moving out on their own.
Rogert said that if 18-year-olds sign contracts now they cannot be held legally responsible for the contracts. Most businesses don’t want to take that kind of risk.
He said he hears regularly from people who encounter problems with the status quo.
Among them was Jerry Weber, head athletic trainer for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
In an e-mail, Weber described the “torrent of faxes” needed for 18-year-old athletes to get physicals and care for injuries.
Dave Kentopp, who owns three franchised fitness clubs in Lincoln, raised concerns about 18-year-olds who joined the fitness chain in other states.
If those members come to Nebraska, he doesn’t know if he would be protected by the liability waivers they signed.
Sen. John Harms of Scottsbluff questioned the wisdom of letting 18-year-olds take on the responsibility of contracts.
He said young people are not always ready to make good decisions. Research shows that brain development is not complete until people reach age 25.
Rogert scaled back his original bill, which would have made 18-year-olds fully adults.
The bill would have affected myriad aspects of state law, a sampling of which include allowing 18-year-olds to serve on juries, sell lottery tickets, make wills and be charged with child enticement by electronic communication device.
Rogert made the change because of opposition from groups that feared the broader bill would reduce services to troubled young people. If 18-year-olds were made adults, they would no longer qualify for child welfare or juvenile offender services.
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