2026 Legislative Wrap-Up

​109th Legislature, 2nd Session

The 109th Nebraska Legislature has concluded, with the Second Session adjourning on April 17, the final day of the 60‑day “short session.” As predicted by Speaker John Arch (La Vista), the defining issue of the session was the state budget shortfall. Traditionally, budget work is concentrated in the first session of each biennium, with only limited adjustments during the second year. This session, however, opened with lawmakers confronting an estimated $471 million deficit in the current biennial budget, a gap that grew to $646 million midway through after the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board changed projected tax revenues.

2026 By the Numbers
The 109th Legislature Second Session saw the introduction of 547 legislative bills and 12 constitutional amendments. This followed the 715 bills and 18 constitutional amendments filed during the first year of the biennium in 2025, bringing the total to 1,260 bills introduced over the two‑year cycle. The 109th Legislature was the first to operate under a self‑imposed bill‑introduction cap, limiting senators to 20 bills each.

Despite persistent debate and frequent filibusters, the Legislature passed 159 bills during the session, excluding large omnibus packages. This marked a departure from the 2025 session and more closely resembled the highly contentious 2023 session. In 2025, senators filed 347 motions and took 24 bills to cloture, the second‑highest totals on record, behind only 2023. In 2026, senators filed an additional 238 motions and took 13 bills to cloture.

We have summarized only the major bills of direct interest to the banking industry, according to subject within the wrap-up. Other non-banking legislative measures were disposed of early in the session and were previously covered in the weekly NBA Legislative Update narratives or Bill Summary emails.
 
Members of the NBA Government Relations Committee spent numerous hours reviewing potential legislation for introduction on behalf of the NBA and analyzed other legislation introduced throughout the session. The committee makes recommendations regarding legislation and the positions to be established by the NBA on legislation of interest. These recommendations are forwarded to the NBA Board of Directors for final action.
 
Special thanks to Todd Rischling (Security First Bank, Lincoln), who served as the 2025-2026 NBA Government Relations Committee Chair, along with all of the other members of the committee for their efforts on behalf of Nebraska's banking industry. A list of the committee members is included in the full Wrap-Up linked below.

If you have any questions regarding any of the bills highlighted, please feel free to contact the NBA. This NBA Legislative Update Wrap-Up Edition has been prepared as a summary, and it does not necessarily constitute a complete or definitive analysis of each bill discussed. The NBA staff is prepared to provide you with further information or to send you copies of bills in which you are interested.

REad the Full Legislative Wrap-Up