Lincoln's newest state senator is digging in, learning as he goes, intellectually curious and exploring challenging topics he has encountered like cryptology.
And he is positioned in the center of the decades-old property tax debate.
"It really is a privilege to be here," Sen. Eliot Bostar says.
"I am extremely grateful for the people I work with," he said. "They take the time to hear my concerns."
Bostar succeeded former Sen. Kate Bolz, who was term-limited out of office, and he represents south-central Lincoln's Legislative District 29.
Immediately, he was thrust into the high-profile battle over local property tax relief as a new member of the Revenue Committee, finally giving Lincoln a voice at that table when revenue proposals are crafted that have a direct impact on the city that is the site of state government and its flagship university.
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"We will be trying to design a tax system that is fair," he said during an interview in his first-floor office at the Capitol.
"You always have to be willing to work to find common ground," Bostar said, while recognizing that "sometimes that may be a frustrating journey."
But let's get back for a moment to cryptology, that unfamiliar word.
It's defined as the study of codes and Bostar also is a member of the Legislature's Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee, which gave a public hearing to Sen. Mike Flood's bill (LB648) to adopt a digital assets act that provides a framework for transactions of electronic records.
Four months into his first legislative session, Bostar is a big fan of Nebraska's unique one-house, nonpartisan system and the broad range of its 49 state senators.
"There is incredible diversity in the Legislature," he said.
"I think a lot of our job, in order to be successful, is to respect the fact that people are living different experiences that inform their own understanding of issues," Bostar said.
Some of those differences are reflected in their political affiliation.
Bostar is the sole Democrat on the Revenue Committee and on the Legislature's Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee.
But, he said, that's not been a negative factor in terms of relationships or in giving consideration or respect to differing opinions.
Only in congressional and legislative redistricting every 10 years does party affiliation and undisguised party influence blatantly raise its head.
And redistricting is on the table this year.
But legislative decision-making on that hot topic will be delayed until this autumn, when the Legislature expects to return to Lincoln to make its decisions with final U.S. Census figures finally on the table.
Bostar's priorities this year include health care, economic development that centers on workforce development, education and environmental issues.
His priority bill (LB630) centers on "the intersection of public health and education," he said.
It would task the Nebraska Department of Education to implement a pilot program to study the efficacy of commercial air filters in classrooms to remove common pollutants and particulate matter with a focus on their impact on academic and behavioral performance.
Pollutants can have "a real effect on the developing brain in a learning environment," Bostar said.
Research may reveal that the installation of air filters in classrooms could have a dramatic effect on academic performance, he said.
And education clearly is a legislative priority for him.
Earlier, Bostar had said: "Fundamentally, our biggest challenge is we don't spend enough money on education."
As Revenue Committee Chairwoman Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn prepares to lead her committee in development of a comprehensive — and elusive — tax reform plan that could gain legislative approval in 2022, Bostar is up for the challenge.
"It's very important," he said, "and there is value in getting out in the state and having this conversation. It is imperative that we hear from the true taxpayers of Nebraska."
Bostar recognizes that his first legislative year has been odd and unprecedented, with senators conducting their business in a pandemic cocoon that separated them from one another into committees for more than two months, delaying the development of vital relationships and restricting the uniquely open nature of Nebraska's Legislature.
"I look forward to doing this work when we have all the COVID challenges under control," he said.
As a member now, he is experiencing the remarkably open nature of Nebraska's legislative body.
That openness is more than just one house with 49 senators, easy for citizens to access and monitor.
"Every bill gets a hearing, everyone can come and share their thoughts, the ability to bring forward an idea that will be heard in a public forum is incredible," Bostar said.
"We should really be proud of this."
Bostar, who once was a special adviser in the New York governor's office, is executive director of Conservation Nebraska and Nebraska Conservation Voters.