February 21, 2025

109th Legislature, 1st Session

Floor Debate Continues

The Legislature closed out the week with its first scheduled day of Final Reading. The eighteen bills advanced to the Governor were all noncontroversial and advanced without resistance. Included among these were LB 85, introduced on behalf of the NBA by Senator Wendy DeBoer (Bennington), and LB 182, introduced by Senator Eliot Bostar (Lincoln). LB 85 would allow the use of an abstract of death provided by the Department of Health and Human Services as an alternative to a certified death certificate for small estate affidavits in the event of a delay in production of a certified death certificate. LB 182 amends the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Act and the Child Care Tax Credit Act. First, it expands who is eligible to receive the Child Care Tax Credit to include financial institutions for contributions made during tax year 2024 to qualifying projects. Second, it increases the transferability of the Affordable Housing Tax Credit which will allow for increased investment in affordable housing projects in Nebraska. Today marks day 30 of the 90-day session.
 
This week also marked the first full filibuster of the session. On Wednesday, the Legislature advanced LB 229, introduced by Senator Bob Hallstrom (Syracuse). The bill clarifies that “network contractors working for marketplace network platforms” (e.g., Uber and Lyft) are independent contractors, rather than employees. After facing several hours of debate during General File, opponents took the measure to a full four hours requiring a Motion for Cloture and the required 33 votes. Cloture was invoked and the bill advanced on nearly strict party lines with one Democrat (Senator Jane Raybould of Lincoln) voting for the bill, and one Republican (Senator Dave Wordekemper of Fremont) voting against LB 229.
 
Significant time was also spent this week debating whether Nebraska should adopt year-round Daylight Savings Time or year-round Standard Time. Next week, debate will likely kick off with LB 504, introduced by Senator Carolyn Bosn (Lincoln) on behalf of Gov. Pillen, which adopts the Adopt the Age-Appropriate Online Design Code Act. This is intended to protect minors from having their private information shared and allows parents to monitor their child’s online safety by having control over social media accounts and other online features.

Budget Hearings Commence

The Appropriations Committee began public hearings on the biennial budget this week. This included the mainline budget bill and LB 264, introduced by Speaker John Arch (La Vista) on behalf of the Governor. LB 264 would sweep more than 60 cash funds into primarily the General Fund or Education Future Fund, intended to cover the projected $432 million budget shortfall. The NBA, along with other business associations, testified in opposition to LB 264. The NBA’s testimony focused on the sweeps from workforce development funds and sweeping the majority of the funds in the Financial Institutions Assessment Cash Fund. Hearings continued for the rest of the week and are scheduled to resume next week on the various state agency budgets. The Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board is scheduled to meet on February 28, 2025. Following that meeting, the Nebraska Legislature will have a better idea of the actual budget shortfall.

Committee Hearings Continue

This week included fewer notable and controversial bills compared to previous weeks. Highlights include LB 246, introduced by Senator Barry DeKay (Niobrara) on behalf of the Governor, which would ban lab-grown meat in Nebraska and scope of practice reform for medical practitioners.
 
Next week brings more significant hearings, including the following:

• LB 415, introduced by Senator Beau Ballard (Lincoln), is a “clean-up bill” for the Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, also known as Initiative 436 or the Paid Sick Leave Ballot Initiative. The bill would provide several important clarifications, including, among other provisions: (1) clarifying the definition of "employ" and its application to independent contractors, owner-operators, and employees who work less than 80 total hours; (2) allow paid sick leave already provided under traditional combined paid time off (PTO) plans or other existing employer plans to satisfy the requirements of the Act; and (3) clarify that paid sick leave does not need to be paid out upon separation from employment. (NBA POSITION: SUPPORT)
• LB 258, introduced by Senator Raybould, would create a lower minimum wage for youth and employees in training, and increase the minimum wage by the lesser of 1.5% or the consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U) annually instead of the current requirement of CPI-U. (NBA POSITION: SUPPORT)
• LR 7CA, introduced by Senator Myron Dorn (Adams), would increase salaries for Senators to $30,000 per year. The current salary of $12,000 per year was established 40 years ago. (NBA POSITION: SUPPORT)
  
• LR 19CA, introduced by Senator Rob Dover (Norfolk), and LR 27CA, introduced by Senator Megan Hunt (Omaha), would increase the maximum number of terms a Senator can serve from two to three consecutive terms. (NBA POSITION: SUPPORT)

Dates of Importance

• March 14: Deadline for designation of committee and senator priority bills
• March 17: Speaker priority bills announced
• March 28: Last day of public hearings
• March 31: Full day floor debate begins
• June 9: Day 90 of the legislative session

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