Last week, the Legislature continued hearings and floor debate. Floor debate will continue to take place in the mornings, and hearings will be held in the afternoons. Hearings are currently scheduled to run through February 29.
Last Week’s Highlights
Last week, we testified or submitted comments on several bills:
❌ LB730 (Kauth) prohibits schools and state agencies from allowing people to access a restroom or locker room designated for a gender different than their gender assigned at birth. It also forces all state agencies to redefine “sex” using inaccurate, rigid, and binary definitions that erase transgender and gender-expansive peoples’ identities.
❌ LB732 (Kauth) bans access to medically necessary health care for transgender Nebraskans under 19 years old. Instead of trusting doctors and families to make informed decisions, this bill adds more government interference into deeply personal health care choices.
❌ LB870 (Andersen) and ❌ LB1061(Murman) both repeal Nebraska’s successful education policy of 20 years that ensures Nebraska youth who grow up in local communities and graduate from Nebraska high schools can continue their education at in-state tuition rates, regardless of immigration status.
❌LB886 (Andersen) weakens Nebraska’s drivers’ licenses law. Our roads are safest when all drivers are licensed, tested, and insured. Data has shown that road safety and rates of insured drivers have improved in states that issue drivers licenses based on qualifications to drive (rather than requiring specific immigration documentation before a license may be issued to a community member). LB886 would invalidate these licenses and ultimately undermine efforts to improve road safety across the nation.
✅ LB921 (Ibach) protects hardworking Nebraskans and whole communities by requiring additional notice to workers if their place of employment will close or have a mass layoff.
❌ LB1090 (Murman) makes the ballot initiative process less accessible to Nebraskans who would like to collect signatures in their community on an initiative they deeply care about by substantially limiting participation. This bill would require every person to file an affidavit before they collect signatures and attest that they have not been convicted of or pled guilty to a felony, and prohibits Nebraskans from being able to collect signatures if they have a past felony conviction.
ICYMI: Click here to see the legislative priorities that Appleseed is supporting during the 2026 session.
This Week’s Hearings
Yesterday, we testified in support of ✅ LR303CA (M. Cavanaugh), a constitutional amendment to require six weeks of paid family medical leave for all Nebraskans. Nebraska needs a state-level paid family and medical leave program, because the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) only covers some of the workforce, and it only guarantees unpaid leave, which many workers simply cannot afford to take.
There are other important hearings coming up this week that you can attend in person, stream online, or submit a comment on:
❌ LB809 (Senator Robert Dover) – Prohibit political subdivisions from enacting certain ordinances relating to landlords
- Wednesday, February 4 in the afternoon in Room 1525 in front of the Judiciary Committee
- This bill 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.
- TAKE ACTION: Appleseed OPPOSES this bill – submit a comment here by Wednesday, February 4 at 8:00 AM CT
✅ LB812 (Senator Eliot Bostar) – Provide requirements for the Department of Health and Human Services relating to medicaid eligibility redeterminations and community engagement
- Wednesday, February 4 in the afternoon in Room 1510 in front of the Health and Human Services Committee
- This bill 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.
- TAKE ACTION: Appleseed SUPPORTS this bill – submit a comment here by Wednesday, February 4 at 8:00 AM CT
❌ LB926 (Senator Bob Andersen) – Change provisions relating to cash assistance under the Welfare Reform Act and transitional assistance under the aid to dependent children program
- Thursday, February 5 in the afternoon in Room 1510 in front of the Health and Human Services Committee
- This bill harms Nebraska’s most vulnerable families and children by making drastic changes to our state’s Aid to Dependent Children (ADC) program, which provides direct cash assistance to Nebraska’s lowest income families with children. This bill would create additional hardships for families who need our support the most by reducing the amount of time that families can participate in the ADC program, eliminating hardship waivers, making it harder for families to get transitional child care and healthcare benefits, and imposing unnecessarily harsh child support enforcement requirements.
- TAKE ACTION: Appleseed OPPOSES this bill – submit a comment here by Thursday, February 5 at 8:00 AM CT
✅ LB929 (Senator John Fredrickson) – Provide requirements for the Department of Health and Human Services relating to deductions and cost sharing for medicaid enrollees
- Thursday, February 5 in the afternoon in Room 1510 in front of the Health and Human Services Committee
- This bill 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.
- TAKE ACTION: Appleseed SUPPORTS this bill – submit a comment here by Wednesday, February 4 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”
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 BlueSky.
- Stop by our blog for opinion pieces, informative updates, and news stories.
- Throughout the session, we’ll let you know how you can take action to get involved and make your voice heard!
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