Budget Wraps Up, Property Tax Plan Emerges, and Incident Draws National Attention
LB 441 Debate Incident Draws National Attention Whether you’re a casual follower of Nebraska news or a dedicated Legislature watcher, chances are you’ve seen at least one headline in your social media feed recently about the controversy around Senator Steve Halloran’s remarks during debate over LB 441 last week. The
The Final Stretch: Long Days, Late Nights
Lawmakers began the week with debate on Sen. Hunt’s motion to override Governor Pillen’s veto of her priority bill (LB 307), which the body passed on Final Reading with 30 votes less than a couple of weeks prior. The bill would have permitted governing bodies of Nebraska cities and counties
Week 10: Budget Debate Begins, Veto Override to Test Senators’ Loyalty to Governor
LB 307 Veto Override Governor Pillen wasted no time in issuing his veto of LB 307 right away Monday morning, his first of the year. While the move was expected, advocates of the measure may not have anticipated it coming down so promptly after its passage. Per legislative rules, the
Veto Declaration, Referendum Withstands Challenge, & Return of a Legend?
Much of last week’s floor debate was around a proposal to phase out the state Inheritance Tax (LB 1067), Sen. Clements’ priority bill. Nebraska is one of 6 states that has such a tax, the proceeds of which are used by counties to fund infrastructure, programs and services, and to
Session Phase 2: Priorities Set, Committees Wrap Up
We’re in the final stretch of morning debate/afternoon hearing days, as you might have noticed some committees already began wrapping up their hearings early last week. Hearings will officially conclude this week, which is a short one; both Monday and Friday are recess days, so only Tuesday-Thursday committees will meet.
Governor’s 180 on Summer EBT Surprising, But Welcome
As is often the nature of the beast in reporting news from the Unicameral, things changed rapidly from the time of writing my last post on Sunday to Monday’s surprise announcement from Governor Pillen declaring he had changed his mind and would be opting Nebraska into the Summer EBT program
Summer EBT Bill Hits Committee Roadblock
Editor’s note: Gov. Pillen announced this morning that he is accepting Summer EBT for this summer. Read more here. The following blog post was written before his announcement. CSN is sharing it for advocates’ awareness on the legislative process that place before Gov. Pillen made his announcement. After an excellent
Governor’s Tax Plan Unites Diverse Group of Critics
Public hearings on various components of Governor Jim Pillen’s proposed budget and tax reform plans kicked off last week in the Revenue and Appropriations committees, to a more negative reception than we’ve seen with other recent governors’ budget and tax plans. Pillen’s primary ally and proxy in the legislature has