Last week, the Nebraska Legislature officially kicked off its 2026 session!
New bill introduction began last week and will continue through Wednesday, January 21 (Day 10). We will keep you posted on key pieces of legislation that are introduced over the next several days.
Floor debate on bills will begin this week and hearings will start the week of January 20. Hearings will go through the end of February, with floor debate in the mornings. and hearings in the afternoons. All-day debate is expected to start in March.
Appleseed Priority Bills Introduced
A number of bills were introduced last week and yesterday, including several Appleseed 2026 priority bills:
✅ LB723, introduced by Senator Dan Quick, protects Nebraskans’ access to health care by requiring that our state does not implement Medicaid work requirements early and requires implementation of measures to reduce unnecessary coverage losses.
✅ LB734, introduced by Senator Megan Hunt, protects Nebraskans’ access to food by reinstating work requirement exemptions for some of our most vulnerable populations enrolled in SNAP.
✅ LB777, introduced by Senator Machaela Cavanaugh, makes sure that Nebraskans with low incomes aren’t drowning in medical debt by protecting our state’s current levels of retroactive Medicaid coverage for new enrollees.
❌ LB809, introduced by Senator Robert Dover, harms Nebraska renters by prohibiting localities from banning housing discrimination on the basis of a tenant’s source of income. This bill would thwart the will of Lincoln voters who passed a source of income ban last May, and it limits other municipalities from being able to enact similar fair housing laws.
✅ LB812, introduced by Senator Eliot Bostar, protects Nebraskans’ access to health care by requiring that our state does not implement Medicaid work requirements early. It also prohibits Nebraska from verifying Medicaid expansion eligibility or work requirement compliance more frequently than needed.
✅ LB843, introduced by Senator Victor Rountree, protects Nebraskans’ access to food by reversing eligibility changes that prevent refugees, asylees, and other immigrants from participating in SNAP.
✅ LB881, introduced by Senator Dunixi Guereca, supports public safety by requiring transparency and process before enacting harmful policies that force local law enforcement into a federal immigration agent role. Police have noted that serving a federal immigration agent role is mission drift that harms public trust and undermines police ability to do their primary job of investigating and fighting crime.
✅ LB907, introduced by Senator Margo Juarez, keeps our Nebraska communities and children safe by preventing ICE from entering sensitive locations such as schools, hospitals, courthouses, and places of worship without a judicial warrant. This bill would reinstate ICE’s own previous guidelines regarding these formerly protected spaces.
✅ LB929, introduced by Senator John Fredrickson, protects Nebraskans’ access to care through Medicaid by prohibiting Nebraska DHHS from requiring Medicaid enrollees to pay copays that aren’t required by federal law, and by requiring Nebraska DHHS to set the new copays for Medicaid expansion enrollees required by HR1 at the lowest amount possible.
✅ LB966, introduced by Senator Machaela Cavanaugh, aka the Hunger-Free Schools Act, makes more students eligible for free school meals by using state funds to make all reduced-price eligible student meals free.
We anticipate several more of Appleseed’s priority bills to be introduced this week and next. Stay tuned for further updates!
Child Care Subsidy Bill Prioritized!
Last week, we joined our partners, fellow advocates, parents, and child care and education professionals from throughout Nebraska to show our support for ✅ LB304 (Senator Wendy DeBoer), a bill that helps parents afford the child care they need by maintaining the child care subsidy’s income eligibility level, which is otherwise set to decrease this year. If this bill doesn’t pass this year, over 2,000 families will lose access to funding for child care.
The Child Care Subsidy Program is intended to provide temporary assistance to low-income families by helping to cover the costs of childcare on a sliding scale. This program helps parents have a safe place for their children while they find work, maintain employment, or gain the education and skills needed to get a job. Without this assistance, many Nebraskans are unable to enter the workforce or pursue education and job training. LB304 would simply extend the positive child care subsidy eligibility changes that the Legislature adopted in 2023 and make those changes permanent.
Thank you to Senator DeBoer for choosing LB304 as her priority bill for 2026! We’ll let you know how to make your voice heard as this bill moves forward in the Legislature. In the meantime, you can send Senator DeBoer a thank you through email (wdeboer@leg.ne.gov) or by phone call: (402) 471-2718.
Stay Up to Date
You can keep up with all the happenings at the Legislature by following Appleseed online:
- Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
- Don’t miss out on our live updates on legislative hearings on BlueSky and X.
- Stop by our blog for opinion pieces, informative updates, and news stories.
We’ll let you know how you can take action to get involved and make your voice heard throughout the session!
ICYMI: In our previous legislative update, we shared a few important ways that you can share your voice on legislation that’s important to you this year. On Thursday, January 15, we’re hosting a virtual beginner’s workshop on how to make your voice heard this session!