COLUMBUS, Neb. — Nebraska’s governor is celebrating the ceremonial signing of two bills he supported during the recent legislative session.

Gov. Jim Pillen joined State Sen. Barry DeKay at Shamrock Locker in O’Neill to sign a bill that bans the manufacture, distribution and sale of lab-grown or cultivated meat in the Cornhusker State. Pillen said the idea of meat substitutes undercuts the livelihood of producers. Nebraska processed nearly seven million head of cattle last year, more than any other state. Pillen called the passage of the new law a win against organizations like PETA.

“They’ve always put us on the defense," Pillen said. "This bill is exciting because we’re finally on the offense. We’ve said, ‘to heck with these nut jobs.’ They have one agenda, create a vegan society and put everyone in agriculture out of business.”

The governor later went to Columbus for an event with State Sen. Mike Moser at Motoplex of Columbus. Pillen ceremonially signed LB98, which adjusted the definitions of all-terrain and utility-type vehicles. The new law eliminated language that set weight restrictions for licensing ATVs and UTVs.

“This just simplifies it, gets government out of your hair so that selling them is simple, using them and not having different rules and regulations for different weight and sizes of vehicles," Pillen said.

Motoplex owner Clayton Novotny says modern ATVs and UTVs weigh more because of added safety features. He hopes the bill's passage leads to more reviews of street-legal ATV and UTV regulations.