Two weeks ago, the Nebraska Legislature took a Final Reading vote on LB 258, introduced by Senator Jane Raybould (Lincoln). LB 258 would amend the voter-approved minimum wage law to create a youth and training wage and cap the annual increase at 1.75%. Under current law, the minimum wage is set to increase to $15.00 per hour on January 1, 2026, and increase annually thereafter by the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the Midwest Region. After the bill failed on Final Reading due to the absence of a key senator needed for the 33-vote threshold to amend the ballot measure, Senator Beau Ballard (Lincoln) filed a motion to reconsider. The Legislature took up the motion to reconsider last week during another heated and personal debate. Senators approved the motion on a vote of 33-16. However, Speaker John Arch (La Vista) did not schedule any further debate or votes on the bill and promptly moved on with the agenda. This is a procedural irregularity, and it is uncertain why Speaker Arch did not take up the vote. Yesterday, Senator Raybould filed an amendment to a separate bill to attach the provisions of LB 258. When it became apparent to opponents that Senator Raybould was seeking only to provide an opportunity to protest that the bill was not immediately scheduled for a vote following the motion to reconsider, the filibuster subsided, and Senator Raybould withdrew the amendment. It remains unclear why Speaker Arch has not scheduled the bill for a final vote.

All in all, 11 bills with a priority designation were not taken up this session. Those bills will carry over and will likely be scheduled for debate when the Legislature reconvenes in January 2026.

The Nebraska Legislature continued to work through priority bills after advancing the budget last week. However, a number of significant bills failed to advance or overcome filibusters. Last week, Governor Pillen made his first veto of the session with LB 319, introduced by Senator Victor Rountree (Bellevue). LB 319 would have ended the lifetime ban for certain individuals with drug-related convictions from receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. On Monday, the Legislature took up Senator Rountree's motion to override the veto. Although the bill passed on Final Reading on a vote of 32-17, the motion to override the Governor failed on a vote of 24-24, with one senator present and not voting.

Later that evening, the Legislature voted on a motion to invoke cloture and cease debate on LB 170. LB 170, introduced by Senator Tom Brandt (Plymouth), was one of the major revenue packages for the session. With the pending amendment, LB 170 would include LB 169 and additional sin taxes. The bill would have imposed new sales taxes on 18 so-called "luxury" items, soda and candy, and increased existing taxes on cigarettes, nicotine and vape products. The measure was projected to add $100 million per year to existing property tax relief funds. However, in the face of strong bipartisan opposition, the sponsor attempted to limit the bill to solely increase the cigarette, nicotine and vape product taxes. However, even the largely pared-down version still failed to garner the necessary 33 votes to invoke cloture and end debate.

On Tuesday, the Legislature took up LB 677, introduced by Senator Ben Hansen (Blair). LB 677 was meant to add substance, "guardrails" and a number of other technical and substantive changes to the medical cannabis ballot initiatives that were passed during the November 2024 General Election. The bill was designated as a General Affairs Committee priority bill and was set to restructure the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission to, in large part, act as the Medical Cannabis Commission. However, the committee became deadlocked over what medical conditions should be included for medical marijuana use, and whether patients should be able to smoke or "vape" medical marijuana. The committee finally advanced the bill in late April. Proponents of LB 677 have argued that failing to act would result in a "wild west" with no real regulation, as the ballot initiative was self-enacting. However, the bill faced stiff opposition from opponents of medical cannabis, and ultimately, the bill failed to overcome the filibuster. The motion to invoke cloture filed by Senator Hansen failed on a vote of 23-22. In the meantime, Governor Pillen has changed course and decided to move forward with promulgating regulations related to the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation Act.

Last week, the Nebraska Legislature took a Final Reading vote on LB 258, introduced by Senator Jane Raybould (Lincoln). LB 258 would amend the voter-approved minimum wage law to create a youth and training wage and cap the annual increase at 1.75%. Under current law, the minimum wage is set to increase to $15.00 per hour on January 1, 2026, and increase annually thereafter by the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the Midwest Region. Upon realizing one of the proponents of LB 258 was absent, opponents of the bill quickly halted the filibuster and moved to a final vote in the proponent's absence. Ultimately, the bill failed to advance on a vote of 31-17, with Senator Ballard present and not voting. By doing so, Senator Ballard was able to file a motion to reconsider the final vote. Because the bill would amend a ballot initiative, it needs 33 votes to pass.

The Legislature took up the motion to reconsider on Thursday morning during another heated and personal debate. Senators approved the motion on a vote of 33-16. However, Speaker John Arch (La Vista) did not schedule any further debate or votes on the bill and promptly moved on with the agenda. It is uncertain whether Speaker Arch will schedule the bill for a final vote.

Senators will return on Tuesday after the holiday weekend. Tuesday, May 27, marks day 85 of the 90-day session. With such limited time, many priority bills are unlikely to advance.

​109th Legislature, 1st Session

The Unicameral wrapped up for the week yesterday after passing the biennial budget on Final Reading. This week was perhaps the most consequential week thus far during the 90-day session. With only 10 working days remaining, senators advanced a number of bills while also becoming mired in debate on certain bills. The week started with second round debate on budget bills on Monday before moving to more controversial items later in the week.

In dramatic fashion, LB 415, introduced by Senator Beau Ballard (Lincoln), was advanced to Final Reading on a vote of 33-14, with two present and not voting. LB 415, as amended, includes LB 698, which was introduced by Senator Paul Strommen (Sidney). The combined measure amends the Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, also known as Initiative 436 or the Paid Sick Leave Ballot Initiative, and would do the following: (a) exempt businesses with 10 or fewer employees from being required to comply with the Act; (b) exempt owners, independent contractors, temporary and seasonal agricultural workers, and employees under 16 years old from accruing paid sick time, or counting towards the number of employees; (c) provides a method for providing paid sick leave to employees who are paid by commission, mileage or fee-for-service rather than hourly; (d) clarifies that existing vacation time and paid time off programs could be used as sick leave under the Act; (e) provides that employees do not begin accruing paid sick time until after 80 hours of consecutive employment rather than immediately; (f) provides that paid sick time provided to an employee on or after January 1, 2025, and before October 1, 2025, shall be counted toward an employer's obligations under the Act for calendar year 2025; (g) clarifies that an employer is not required to pay an employee for unused paid sick time upon the employee's separation from employment; and (h) provides additional flexibility for employers to direct how requests for paid sick leave should be made. Early in the debate, the bill was amended as part of a compromise to reinstate a private cause of action for employees and lower the exemption from 10 employees to five. However, after prolonged debate, Senator Mike Jacobson (North Platte) filed a motion to reconsider the vote taken on the amendment. The motion prevailed and senators then voted down the “compromise amendment” and thereafter advanced the bill.

Senators then took up LB 468, introduced by Senator Rob Clements (Elmwood), to pare back the Nebraska inheritance tax by increasing exemptions for relatives and unrelated parties, and decreasing the rates to have a 1% rate for all. After advancing on General File, the bill failed to overcome the filibuster during Select File, with the motion to invoke cloture failing on a vote of 31-11, with five senators present and not voting.

Senators took up LB 258, introduced by Senator Jane Raybould (Lincoln), on Wednesday. LB 258 would amend the voter-approved minimum wage law to create a youth and training wage and also cap the annual increase at 1.75%. Under current law, the minimum wage is set to increase to $15.00 per hour on January 1, 2026, and increase annually thereafter by the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the Midwest Region. Upon realizing one of the proponents of LB 258 was absent, opponents of the bill quickly halted the filibuster and moved to a final vote in the proponent’s absence. Ultimately, the bill failed to advance on a vote of 31-17, with Senator Ballard present and not voting. By doing so, Senator Ballard was able to file a motion to reconsider the final vote, which is now pending. Because the bill would amend a ballot initiative, it needs 33 votes to pass.

Additionally, the Legislature sent more than 30 other bills to the Governor’s desk for his signature. Included in the list of approvals was LB 559, introduced by Senator Carolyn Bosn (Lincoln). LB 559 adds a new definition for "skimmer device" and creates a new criminal offense for the installation of a skimmer device and for use of a skimmer device. Additionally, LB 559 would enact a "kingpin" law for organized financial crimes, allowing an aggregation of transactions to increase punishment for those in leadership positions within criminal organizations. The bill also contains provisions to combat organized retail theft.

Also included in this list was LB 474, introduced by the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee, which contains key provisions of LB 232, introduced by Senator Bob Hallstrom (Syracuse). As amended, LB 474 would require life insurance policies issued in Nebraska after January 1, 2026, to provide notice of lapse or termination to an assignee of the policy. This will ensure financial institutions are provided notice of a pending lapse or termination when taking a policy as collateral for a loan.

The Legislature will reconvene on Monday to debate one of the major revenue packages for the session: LB 170, introduced by Senator Tom Brandt (Plymouth). With the pending amendment, LB 170 would include LB 169 and additional sin taxes. The bill would impose new sales taxes on 18 so-called “luxury” items, and LB 170 would impose sales taxes on soda and candy. Additionally, measures have been advanced to increase taxes on cigarettes, nicotine and vape products. This measure is projected to add $100 million per year to existing property tax relief funds. However, the bill faces bipartisan opposition from senators and will likely end with a tight vote.

​109th Legislature, 1st Session

​The Nebraska Legislature spent the majority of last week debating the budget, which was sent to the floor from the Appropriations Committee on April 29th. As noted in last week’s update, the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board’s recent meeting added approximately $190 million to the current budget cycle deficit. Debate will continue today over the budget bills, as Senators have until day 80 – May 15 – to pass the budget. After already passing a number of revenue-generating bills, the remaining shortfall will likely be covered through a combination of cuts, one-time cash fund transfers, and a transfer from the Cash Reserve Fund. A number of other revenue-generating bills, including LB 169 and 170, introduced by Senator Tom Brandt (Plymouth), likely won’t be debated until after the budget is passed. LB 169 would impose new sales taxes on 18 so called “luxury” items, and LB 170 would impose sales taxes on soda and candy. Additionally, measures have been advanced to increase taxes on cigarettes, nicotine, and vape products.

​After completing first-round debate on the budget bills on Tuesday and Wednesday, Senators took up debate on a number of priority bills to close out the week. The Legislature advanced over 20 priority bills on Thursday and Friday. Senators also advanced three of the budget bills and fifteen “Consent Calendar” bills.
 
This included LR 19CA, introduced by Senator Rob Dover (Norfolk). LR 19CA would amend the Nebraska Constitution to extend term limits for Senators from two terms to three terms. If advanced on Final Reading, the question would be placed on the 2026 election ballot.

The Appropriations Committee advanced the biennial budget on Tuesday. This comes after the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board met last Friday to review tax receipts and revenue projections. The Board added $190 million to the projected budget deficit for the next two years. The state of Nebraska entered the session in January with a projected revenue shortfall of $432 million. After two meetings and adjustments, the deficit is once again closer to where the calendar year started. The first round of debate on the budget is scheduled to begin on Tuesday. The Legislature will have until day 80 – May 15 – to pass the budget.
 
Several bills aiming to shrink the deficit advanced this week, including LB 650, introduced by Senator Brad von Gillern (Omaha), and LB 645, introduced by Senator Beau Ballard (Lincoln). LB 650 pares back various tax incentives. LB 645 reduces annual contributions from the state to the Nebraska School Retirement Fund, which is currently more than 99.9% funded. Collectively, the two measures should reduce the deficit by $136 million. Several other bills await approval, including LB 169, which would impose new sales taxes on 18 so-called “luxury” items, and LB 170, which would impose sales taxes on soda and candy. Additionally, measures have been advanced to increase taxes on cigarettes, nicotine and vape products.

LB 258, introduced by Senator Jane Raybould (Lincoln), was the most controversial bill advanced this week, overcoming a filibuster on Thursday afternoon. LB 258 would, upon reaching $15.00 per hour next year, cap the minimum wage increase at 1.75% per year and establish a youth wage for 14 to 15-year-olds and a 90-day training wage for 16 to 19-year-olds, unless they are emancipated. As before, debate was negative and often personal between proponents and opponents of the bill. The motion to invoke cloture during the second round of debate was adopted on a vote of 33-16. Several amendments were considered to change the annual increase before proponents settled on a fixed increase of 1.75% per year.
 
The Legislature wrapped up the week by rapidly advancing 22 bills before noon when they took up LB 530, introduced by Senator Kathleen Kauth (Omaha). LB 530 served as a Judiciary Committee package that modifies a number of criminal provisions. After extended and, at times, heated debate, the bill advanced 33-0 with 16 senators present and not voting. The four-day weekend will provide a much-needed break for the Senators.