Last week was full of long days, late nights, and much-needed coffee while fighting for justice and opportunity for all Nebraskans.
Appleseed’s 2025 Legislative Priorities
Appleseed’s priority bills for 2025 include legislation that would:
- Support young people navigating the child welfare system,
- Expand food and nutrition access,
- Strengthening worker safety, wages, and protections,
- Advance housing justice,
- Support families navigating the rising cost of living,
- Ensure equitable access to healthcare, and
- Create full inclusion for longtime community members.
Click here to see the legislative priorities that Appleseed is supporting during the 2025 session.
Last week’s highlights
Last week, we testified or submitted comments on several important bills, including:
✓ LB102 (Sen. Spivey) puts money in the pockets of families who need it by annually adjusting 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. This bill would also adjust the ADC eligibility and benefit level calculation to a level that actually helps families achieve economic mobility and self-sufficiency.
✓ LB192 (Sen. Quick) preserves access to food for thousands of Nebraska families by maintaining the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)’s income eligibility level, which will decrease in October unless the legislature acts now.
✓ LB304 (Sen. 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.
✓ LB368 (Sen. Hunt) helps young people understand and exercise their rights while navigating the foster care system by creating the Nebraska Youth in Care Bill of Rights.
✓ LB462 (Sen. McKinney) clarifies that certain reasonable childhood independence activities do not constitute neglect, and narrows who is required to report suspected child abuse and neglect to only include certain trained professionals.
X LB89 (Sen. Kauth) would mandate discrimination against trans Nebraskans of all ages in schools and across state agencies by creating definitions of “male” and “female” that K-12 schools, postsecondary institutions, and ALL state agencies would be required to follow.
X LB698 (Sen. Strommen), which would harm workers by severely weakening Nebraska’s paid sick leave law – the same law that nearly 75% of Nebraska voters overwhelmingly approved just last November. This bill would exempt several groups of workers from receiving earned sick leave, including seasonal and temporary agricultural workers, and workers under the age of 16. It also exempts businesses with 10 or fewer workers from having to provide paid sick leave to its employees.
This Week’s Hearings
Yesterday, we testified in front of the Business and Labor Committee in support of ✓ LB299 (Sen. Ibach), which would ensure 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. Currently, Nebraska is the only state in our country that doesn’t provide unemployment insurance to all work-authorized folks in our state. This bill will reinforce our Nebraska ideals of supporting workers and provide consistency and clarity for people earning unemployment insurance!
There is one more hearing this week that you can attend in person, stream online, or submit a comment:
✓ LB181 (Sen. M. Cavanaugh) – Provide for benefits under the Young Adult Bridge to Independence Act for young adults not lawfully present in the United States
- Wednesday, February 12 in the afternoon in Room 1510 in front of the Health and Human Services Committee
- This bill expands the Bridge to Independence (B2I) program to all young people aging out of foster care, regardless of their immigration status.
- TAKE ACTION: Appleseed SUPPORTS this bill – submit a comment here by Wednesday, February 12 at 8:00 AM CT
Thank you for fighting for justice and opportunity for all Nebraskans!