Last week, we wrapped up the first full week of the Legislature’s 2023 session. Committees were finalized and new bills and constitutional amendments continued to be introduced. (Click here to see who is on which committee and here for a list of everything introduced so far.)
Bill introduction will continue through tomorrow Wednesday, January 18, and hearings will start the next week on January 23 in the afternoons. Floor debate on bills is scheduled to begin in the mornings during the week of February 13.
Last week’s highlights
Several more of Appleseed 2023 priority bills were introduced:
- LB187, introduced by Senator John Cavanaugh, protects our neighbors by creating a right to counsel for people going through eviction proceedings in cities of the metropolitan and primary class and specifies that the cost of counsel would be paid by the county.
- LB233, introduced by Senator John Cavanaugh, ensures that child support is used to support kids by eliminating child support income as a factor in determining families’ eligibility for Aid to Dependent Children (ADC) benefits.
- LB248, introduced by Senator Tony Vargas, protects families’ ability to rent housing, regardless of how they would pay their rent, by prohibiting discrimination based on lawful Source of Income (SOI) under the Nebraska Fair Housing Act and creating the Landlord Guarantee Program.
- LB271, introduced by Senator Terrell McKinney, addresses racism and disproportionality within our child welfare system by narrowing who is required to report suspected child abuse and neglect to only include certain professionals, who must be trained in mandatory reporting duties, cultural competency, and community response.
- LB272, introduced by Senator Tony Vargas, extends worker protections by reducing workers compensation waiting periods (from 3 days to 7 days) and retroactive periods (from 42 days to 14 days) under the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act.
- LB285, introduced by Senator Lynne Walz, makes sure our kids have access to healthy meals by requiring that Nebraska schools or districts who have 50% or more ‘identified students’ participate in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) to serve free breakfast and lunch to all students.
- LB290, introduced by Senator Machaela Cavanaugh, puts money in the pockets of families who need it by increasing the eligibility limit for Aid to Dependent Children (ADC), the direct cash assistance program funded by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant.
- LB294, introduced by Senator Danielle Conrad, helps families fight the cost of living by adopting the Child Tax Credit Act (CTC), which would create a fully refundable tax credit of $1,000 per child under age 18 for Nebraska taxpayers in low-income households.
- LB306, introduced by Senator Megan Hunt, helps young people understand and exercise their rights while navigating the foster care and juvenile justice system by creating the Nebraska Youth in Care Bill of Rights.
- LB310, introduced by Senator Danielle Conrad, increases the amount of aid available to families in need by changing the maximum payment level under Aid to Dependent Children (ADC), the direct cash assistance program funded by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant.
- LB405, introduced by Senator Tony Vargas, benefits workers in Nebraska’s meat and poultry industries by changing provisions of the Non-English-Speaking Workers Protection Act to standardize data collected for the Nebraska’s meatpacking coordinator’s report and requiring referrals where they become aware of a labor dispute.
- LB419, introduced by Senator Anna Wishart, ensures that maternal health is properly covered in Nebraska by extending Medicaid postpartum coverage from 60 days to 12 months.
Click here to revisit the Appleseed priority bills introduced last week, and stay tuned for further updates!
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We’ll let you know how you can take action to get involved and make your voice heard throughout the session!