The Nebraska Legislature introduced more than 700 new bills and proposed constitutional amendments this session and we’re ready to fight for justice and opportunity at the Capitol!
Nebraska Appleseed Priority Bills
Here are some of the legislative priorities that Appleseed is supporting during the 2025 session. ⤵️
Supporting young people navigating the child welfare system
- LB462 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. (Sen. Terrell McKinney)
- LB181 would expand the Bridge to Independence (B2I) program to all young people aging out of foster care, regardless of their immigration status. (Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh)
- LB275 provides more transparency, opportunities for engagement, and access to benefits for young people in foster care receiving social security benefits.(Sen. Megan Hunt)
- LB368 helps young people understand and exercise their rights while navigating the foster care system by creating the Nebraska Youth in Care Bill of Rights. (Sen. Megan Hunt)
Expanding food and nutrition access
- LB14, aka the Hunger-Free Schools Act, offers free school meals for all students in Nebraska, making sure kids get the food they need to learn and thrive. (Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh)
- LB46 helps elderly, disabled, and homeless Nebraskans access food by having our state enact a Restaurant Meals Program through SNAP. (Sen. Terrell McKinney)
- LB192 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 September unless the legislature acts now. (Sen. Dan Quick)
- LB319 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. (Sen. Victor Rountree)
Strengthening worker safety, wages, and protections
- LB522 supports Nebraskans injured on the job by reducing Nebraska’s longest-in-the-nation waiting periods for workers’ compensation – the system that helps people recover from workplace injuries. The bill also protects workers compensation support by adding a cost of living adjustments that guard against inflation. (Sen. Dunixi Guereca)
Advancing housing justice
- LB17 protects Nebraska renters by prohibiting landlords from charging predatory fees, ensuring reasonable late fees, and refunding screening fees for prospective tenants who are not offered a rental. (Sen. John Cavanaugh)
- LB101 recognizes Nebraskans’ Constitutional right to a trial by jury in eviction cases. It also ensures that tenants are informed of their right to a trial by jury and protects against leases that would require tenants to waive that right. (Sen. Dunixi Guereca)
- LB223 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. (Sen. Dunixi Guereca)
Supporting families navigating the rising cost of living
- LB102 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. (Sen. Ashlei Spivey)
- LB157 helps families fight the rising cost of living by adopting the Child Tax Credit Act (CTC), which would create a fully refundable tax credit of $1,000 per child age 6 or under. (Sen. Danielle Conrad)
- LB304 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. (Sen. Wendy DeBoer)
- LB710 helps Nebraska families meet their basic needs by increasing Nebraska’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), from 10% to 20% of the federal EITC. (Sen. Eliot Bostar)
Ensuring equitable access to healthcare
- LB96 ensures healthier transitions for Nebraskans leaving correctional facilities by permitting Medicaid coverage for certain services prior to reentry. (Sen. George Dungan)
- LB153 ensures that postpartum health care is available to all women and people who need it, which is critical for keeping babies, families, and our communities healthy. (Sen. Dunixi Guereca)
- LB174 protects Nebraskans and their paychecks by limiting wage garnishment to repay medical debt. (Sen. Jason Prokop)
- LB283 saves Nebraska families time and resources by streamlining the enrollment process for Medicaid and CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program). (Sen. Ashlei Spivey)
- LB318 ensures that young people in juvenile justice facilities have access to the health care they need by enrolling them in Medicaid when possible. (Sen. Victor Rountree)
Creating full inclusion for longtime community members
- LB299 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. (Sen. Teresa Ibach)
- LB301 ensures that all work-authorized Nebraskans can pursue careers in law enforcement. (Sen. Teresa Ibach)
Make Your Voice Heard This Sesssion
Each legislative session presents an opportunity to bring long-lasting, positive change for our communities. Your voice is important in building a vibrant, diverse, and inclusive Nebraska. Here’s how you can get involved and take action during the rest of this legislative session:
- Tell your senator what matters to you:
- Testify at or attend a hearing:
- You can find the schedule of upcoming legislative hearings on the Unicameral’s website.
- Submit a comment online on a bill:
- Click on the link above for the bill you are interested in submitting a comment on and choose ‘Submit a comment online’. Visit the Unicameral’s website for more information.
- Watch what’s happening online:
- You can stream all hearings and legislative floor debate via Nebraska Public Media.
Throughout the 2025 Legislative Session, we will tell you about important moments to take action on key bills.
You can also sign up here to receive our weekly Legislative Update. We’ll let you know when bills will have committee hearings and when they may come up for a floor vote. Plus, we’ll let you know when our State Senators need to hear from you on big issues impacting our communities.