Last week, the Nebraska Legislature officially kicked off the 2023 session, welcoming several new faces to the Unicameral. Senator John Arch was elected Speaker of the Legislature, committee chair elections were held, and committee assignments were reported.
Bill introductions also began last week, and will continue through Wednesday, January 18. Hearings will start the week of January 23, and floor debate is scheduled to begin in the mornings on the week of February 13.
In our previous legislative update, we shared a few important updates to how you can share your voice on legislation that’s important to you. More information about these options can be found here.
Last week’s highlights
A number of bills were introduced last week, including several Appleseed 2023 priority bills:
- LB8, introduced by Senator Carol Blood, strengthens tenant protections within our Mobile Home Landlord Tenant Act by requiring mobile home landlords to have good cause to initiate an eviction proceeding, and amending mobile home lien procedures.
- LB14, introduced by Senator George Dungan, ensures that youth with juvenile probation experience have access to Nebraska’s Bridge to Independence (B2I) program to support their transition into adulthood.
- LB35, introduced by Senator Wendy DeBoer, helps parents afford the child care they need by extending the sunset date on Nebraska’s current child care subsidy eligibility increase.
- LB42, introduced by Senator Ben Hansen, clarifies that certain reasonable childhood independence activities do not constitute neglect by narrowing Nebraska’s broad definition of child neglect under the Child Protection and Family Safety Act and the Nebraska Juvenile Code.
- LB57, introduced by Senator Machaela Cavanaugh, creates a statewide insurance program to provide paid leave to workers through the adoption of the Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Act.
- LB62, introduced by Senator Machaela Cavanaugh, removes language barriers between patients and providers by requiring that translation and interpretation services are reimbursed under Medicaid.
- LB84, introduced by Senator Jen Day, ensures families have access to food by eliminating the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)’s upcoming eligibility provision sunset.
- LB85, introduced by Senator Jen Day, saves Nebraska families time and resources by providing for express lane eligibility under the Medical Assistance Act and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
- LB88, introduced by Senator Megan Hunt, helps Nebraskans support themselves by eliminating the ban on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for former drug felons.
- LB99, introduced by Senator Machaela Cavanaugh, provides free school meals for all students in Nebraska by adopting the Hunger-Free Schools Act.
We anticipate several more of Appleseed’s priority bills to be introduced this week and next. Stay tuned by subscribing to our weekly Legislative Update!
Stay up to date on Appleseed’s issues
You can keep up with all the happenings at the Legislature by following Appleseed online and by subscribing to our weekly Legislative Update. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Don’t miss out on our live updates on legislative hearings on Twitter.
We’ll let you know how you can take action to get involved and make your voice heard throughout the session!
Want to support our work? Consider making a donation today.