Welcome to Week 3 of the 2025 Legislative Session!
Bill introduction will continue this week through Day 10 (January 22). Bill hearings also start tomorrow and will continue through the end of March. Debate on any rules changes will also begin tomorrow, January 22.
Last week, Governor Pillen gave his annual State of the State address, sharing his priorities for the year. You can read our response here.
More Appleseed Priority Bills Introduced
Several more Appleseed 2025 priority bills were introduced last week:
✅ LB223, introduced by Senator Dunixi Guereca, protects Nebraskans’ ability to access 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.
✅ LB275, introduced by Senator Megan Hunt, provides more transparency, opportunities for engagement, and access to benefits for young people in foster care receiving social security benefits.
✅ LB299, introduced by Senator Teresa Ibach, ensures that all work-authorized Nebraskans can access the unemployment insurance they have earned and their employers have already paid for by fixing a gap in state law.
✅ LB304, introduced by Senator Wendy DeBoer, helps parents afford the child care they need by maintaining the child care subsidy’s income eligibility level, which is otherwise set to decrease in 2026.
✅ LB318, introduced by Senator Victor Rountree, ensures that young people in juvenile justice facilities have access to the health care they need by enrolling them in Medicaid when possible.
✅ LB319, introduced by Senator Victor Rountree, helps Nebraskans get the food they need by eliminating the lifetime ban on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for people with certain drug felony convictions.
We anticipate more of Appleseed’s priority bills to be introduced this week. Stay tuned for further updates!
Tell Your Senator to OPPOSE LB258
❌ LB258, introduced by Senator Jane Raybould, would harm workers by weakening Nebraska’s minimum wage law – the same law that Nebraska voters overwhelmingly enacted in 2022. This bill restricts the cost of living increases that Nebraskans voted for AND carves out a subminimum wage for workers under 18.
TAKE ACTION: Tell your Senator to OPPOSE ❌ LB258 (Find your senator.)
This Week’s Hearings
Each legislative session presents an opportunity to bring long-lasting, positive change for our communities. Your voice is important in ensuring that we are building a vibrant, diverse, and inclusive Nebraska.
There is one important hearing this week that you can attend in person, stream online, or submit comment:
✅ LB174 (Prokop) – Change provisions relating to garnishment of wages for medical debt
- Friday, January 24 in the afternoon in Room 1525 in front of the Judiciary Committee
- This bill would protect Nebraskans and their paychecks by limiting wage garnishment to repay medical debt.
- TAKE ACTION: Appleseed supports this bill – submit a comment here by Friday, January 24 at 8:00 AM CT
How to submit a comment:
- On the page for the bill you want to comment on, click “Submit Comments Online”
- Read through the pop-up notification and click “I Understand”
- Click “Yes” on the “Include Comment in Public Hearing Record” question, if you want your comment to be part of the public record
- Fill out your personal information and use your email to confirm submission
- Write your comment in the “Written Statement” box
- Complete the reCAPTCHA prompt (“I am not a robot”)
- Click “Submit Comment”
Thank you for your advocacy!