LINCOLN —A new audit from State Auditor Mike Foley found that Nebraska’s two major incentive programs, the Nebraska Advantage Act and ImagiNE Nebraska Act, have cost the state an estimated $1.2 billion in lost revenue over the past four years, including $295 million in fiscal year 2025 alone. The report found benefits paid to companies that no longer met program requirements and raised concerns that current law does not adequately ensure long-term job and project commitments. Nearly $181 million in local sales tax revenue has also been refunded since 2019. With a projected $451 million budget deficit, Foley warned the incentives could add to mounting fiscal pressure without reforms.

In a separate review, Foley’s office cited issues with spending and reimbursements by Steve Corsi, head of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Auditors examined 105 state purchasing card transactions totaling $19,477 and identified dozens of questionable expenses, including meals purchased while receiving per diem and insufficient documentation. The agency said overlapping expenses have been reimbursed and pledged to improve oversight and compliance procedures moving forward.

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