Committee hearings for week of February 14th

Public hearings are in full swing for the 2022 legislative session! We urge you to voice your support or opposition by testifying at the committee hearing or submitting an online written comment. Note that to be included in the legislative record, online comments are due by noon the business day before a hearing (Monday hearing comments are due Friday at noon).

Below are bills we’re following that have hearings next week. For a full list of bills we support with hearings dates, view our bill tracker.

Monday, February 14th:

• Business and Labor Committee
  • LB935 (Bostar): Allows counties to enact a county minimum wage.
  • LB1018 (McKinney): Requires Omaha Public Schools to pay employees at least 70% of the state average hourly wage.
  • LB1028 (Hunt): Improves enforcement of the tipped minimum wage laws to ensure minimum wage workers are receiving all their earned pay, prevents retaliation, and increases penalties to employers.
  • LB1069 (Williams): Makes changes to the Department of Economic Development’s rural housing development grant program to make it more accessible.
    
    
• Appropriations Committee
  • LB1025 (Wayne): Allocates $450 million in ARPA funds to the Department of Economic Development to provide grants to North Omaha to respond to the negative impact of COVID-19.
  • LB1238 (Vargas): Allocates $50 million in ARPA funds to the Department of Economic Development for grants to public and private organizations in South Omaha to respond to the effects of COVID-19.
    

Tuesday, February 15th:

• Appropriations Committee
  • LB940 (M. Hansen): Appropriates $200 million in ARPA funds for affordable housing development. 
  • LB968 (Dorn): Uses $8 million in ARPA funds to the Department of Economic Development for grants to nonprofits that develop affordable housing for refugees and immigrants.
  • LB1041 (McDonnel): Allocates $21 million in ARPA to the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority for grants or forgivable loans for affordable housing units using low income housing tax credits.
  • LB1070 (Williams): Allocates $20 million in ARPA funds to the Department of Economic Development for grants for infrastructure related to rural workforce housing.
  • LB1142 (Vargas): Uses $25 million in ARPA funds for the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority for the development of affordable housing through their low-income housing tax credit program.
  • LB1252 (Vargas): Allocates $20 million in ARPA funds and $20 million in General Funds to the Department of Economic Development to give grants for development of middle income housing in urban areas.
    
    
• Urban Affairs Committee
  • LB1073 (Wayne): Creates the Nebraska Department of Housing and Urban Development.
    

Wednesday, February 16th:

• Judiciary Committee
  • LB830 (DeBoer): Increases the cap on child support for healthcare expenses.