2026 Nebraska Appleseed Legislative Priorities

The Nebraska Legislature introduced more than 500 new bills and proposed constitutional amendments this session and we’re ready to fight for justice and opportunity for all Nebraskans at the Capitol!

Nebraska Appleseed Priority Bills 

Here are some of the newly introduced legislative priorities that Appleseed is supporting during the 2026 session. ⤵️

Supporting young people navigating the child welfare system

✅ LB1032 recognizes tribal customary adoptions in Nebraska state law. Tribal customary adoptions allow Native children to be adopted without severing their relationship with their biological family, respecting the traditions, values, and laws of their tribes. (Sen. Wendy DeBoer)

Expanding food and nutrition access

✅ LB966, 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. (Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh)

✅ LB734 protects Nebraskans’ access to food by reinstating work requirement exemptions for some of our most vulnerable populations enrolled in SNAP. (Sen. Megan Hunt)

✅ LB843 protects Nebraskans’ access to food by reversing eligibility changes that prevent refugees, asylees, and other immigrants from participating in SNAP. (Sen. Victor Rountree)

Strengthening worker safety, wages, and protections

✅ LB921 protects hardworking Nebraskans and whole communities by requiring additional notice to workers if their place of employment will close or have a mass layoff. (Sen. Teresa Ibach)

✅ LB1056 supports Nebraskans injured on the job through several updates to the workers’ compensation system – adding a much-needed cost of living adjustment, increasing support for the loss of different body parts, covering some interpretation costs, and improving the process for choosing your own doctor. (Sen. Danielle Conrad)

✅ LB1009 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 after workplace injuries. (Sen. George Dungan)

Supporting families navigating the rising cost of living

✅ 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 this year. If this bill doesn’t pass this year, over 2,000 families will lose access to funding for child care. (Sen. Wendy DeBoer)

Ensuring equitable access to healthcare

✅ LB723 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. (Sen. Dan Quick)

✅ LB777 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. (Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh)

✅ LB812 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. (Sen. Eliot Bostar)

✅ LB929 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. (Sen. John Fredrickson)

Protecting immigrant community members and asylum seekers from deportation and family separation

✅ LB881 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. (Sen. Dunixi Guereca)

✅ LB906 protects Nebraskans by prohibiting any law enforcement individuals from wearing masks or utilizing other means to conceal their identity while performing official duties. (Sen. Margo Juarez)

✅ LB907 keeps 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. (Sen. Margo Juarez)

✅ LB963 supports public safety and proper use of state resources by requiring public notice and Legislature approval before state agencies or officials enter into agreements related to federal immigration enforcement. (Sen. Terrell McKinney)

✅ LB1034 keeps Nebraska children and learning environments safe by preventing ICE from entering schools without a judicial warrant. This bill would reinstate ICE’s own previous guidelines ensuring that schools are safe and protected spaces. (Sen. George Dungan)

Make Your Voice Heard This Session

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:
  • Find your senator.
• 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:
  • 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”)
• Watch what’s happening online:
  • You can stream all hearings and legislative floor debate via Nebraska Public Media.

Throughout the 2026 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.