Time is getting very short in this year's legislative session, with just eight working days remaining. A significant number of senator and committee priority bills have yet to be debated and many more have one or two rounds of debate left before they're potentially sent to Governor Ricketts for his signature.
Senators passed the state budget bill, LB1011, March 29 and forwarded it to the Governor for his consideration. They also advanced LB1014, the state's American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) recommendations to Final Reading. Included with the bill is AM2580 which provides $4 million to Nebraska communities to establish or expand child care.
The Appropriations Committee received $4 billion in requests for the state's $1.4 billion allotment of ARPA dollars. Those requests included LB1203 which outlined about $100 million for proposed investments in the state's early childhood professional workforce and child care infrastructure. Unfortunately, the provisions of LB1203 were not included in the underlying ARPA bill, but AM2580 is a step in the right direction to help communities address their child care capacity needs. We'd like to thank State Senator John Stinner for introducing AM2580 and Senators Matt Williams, Tony Vargas, Matt Hansen and Mike Jacobson for speaking on the floor in support. Read our blog post: "Where we've landed on ARPA funds for child care"
Below is the current status of key early childhood bills senators are considering. Follow our social media channels as the bills move through the legislative process in the final days of the session. The Legislature is tentatively scheduled to adjourn April 20.
Legislation update
LB702 (Senator Matt Williams, Dist. 36) reauthorizes the School Readiness Tax Credit for child care providers and employees for an additional five years. The Revenue Committee has amended it into
LB730, one of its priority bills, which is on General File, the first round of debate.
Read FFN testimony |
Read FFN policy brief
LB741 (Senator Wendy DeBoer, Dist.10) allows the state to gather and analyze Nebraska stillbirths data to help prevent these tragic outcomes. It advanced out of committee with an amendment that splits the state review team into two entities and adds a data abstractor. LB741 is on Final Reading. Senator Tony Vargas has selected it as his priority bill.
Read FFN testimony
LB758 (Senator Tom Brandt, Dist. 32) adds early childhood programs to the Nebraska Farm-to-School program, allowing them access to fresh, minimally processed food from local farms as well as educational activities. The bill was approved by the Legislature and the Governor signed LB758 into law on March 3.
Read FFN testimony
LB782 (Senator Tony Vargas, Dist. 7) includes funding for the Nebraska Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative (NPQIC), a leader in addressing critical issues for Nebraska mothers and babies. The Appropriations Committee heard the bill on January 28.
Read FFN letter of support
LB854 (Senator Jen Day, Dist. 24) requires intra-agency notifications at the Nebraska Dept. of Health and Human Services in certain cases of alleged out-of-home child abuse or neglect by a licensed child care provider. It was amended into
LB1173, a Health and Human Services Committee priority bill, which is on Final Reading.
Read FFN testimony
LB865 (Senator Wendy DeBoer, Dist. 10) increases for one year the reimbursement rates to 75% of the market rate for child care providers serving eligible children/families who utilize the child care subsidy, bringing it closer to private pay rates. The bill was included in a committee amendment to LB1011, the mainline budget bill. LB1011 was presented to the Governor March 29.
Read FFN letter of support
LB868 (Senator Adam Morfeld, Dist. 46) broadens educational requirements to allow more child care professionals to qualify for the School Readiness Tax Credit. It was voted out of the Education Committee and is on General File.
Read FFN testimony
LB890 (Senator Lynne Walz, Dist. 15) changes the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act (TEEOSA) including a provision to change how students in qualified early childhood programs are counted in the TEEOSA formula. It is on General File, the first round of legislative debate.
Read FFN testimony
LB905 (Senator Lynne Walz, Dist. 15) recommends mental health screenings for mothers during the perinatal period and at well-child checkups during a child's first year. It is on Final Reading.
Read FFN testimony
LB929 (Senator Anna Wishart, Dist. 27) extends postpartum coverage in Medicaid from 60 days to one year. It's in the Health and Human Services Committee following a January 26 hearing.
Read FFN letter of support
LB1025 (Senator Justin Wayne, Dist. 13) creates a grant program at the state Dept. of Economic Development to support implementation of the North Omaha Recovery Plan. The plan includes stipends to help defray child care costs for individuals who participate in job training and forgivable loans to support new and existing child care businesses. A portion of the requested funding was included in
LB1014, the states ARPA funding bill.
Read FFN testimony
LB1107 (Senator Jen Day, Dist. 49) codifies current regulations that allow child care providers to bill for up to five absent days a month for children served through the child care subsidy. It's intended to help stabilize providers' monthly income and support care for children who face obstacles to healthy development. The Health and Human Services Committee heard the bill on February 23.
Read FFN testimony
LB1131 (Senator Adam Morfeld, Dist. 46) uses federal ARPA funds to provide bonus payments of $1,000 each for every teacher, child care worker and health care worker. The Appropriations Committee heard the bill on January 31. Read FFN testimony
Track Legislation
Our website's new
Policy Priorities and
Track Legislation pages give up-to-date information on bills we're supporting and monitoring in the Legislature. Information in the tracker is updated in real time from the Nebraska Legislature's website.
