VACCINE DEVELOPED IN STATE COULD SIGNAL END TO ANNUAL FLU SHOT

LINCOLN- A new vaccine strategy developed and tested by a team from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln could signal an end to the annual flu shot routine. The possible breakthrough is laid out in newly published research in Nature Communications. The study, “Epitope-Optimized Vaccine Elicits Cross-Species Immunity Against Influenza A Virus,” describes a vaccine that protects against H1N1 swine flu and can also protect against influenza in birds and humans.

“This research sets the stage for developing universal influenza vaccines so people won’t have to go to the doctor and get a flu shot every year,” said Eric Weaver, director of the Nebraska Center for Virology, who led the Nebraska research team. “This vaccine will protect you against the different strains that are out there.”

According to a UNL news release, swine vaccinated with immunogens designed in Weaver’s lab showed no signs of illness after being exposed to a commonly circulating flu strain. They developed antibodies against multiple viruses from several decades and several species and maintained their immune response throughout the six-month study. Based on the study results, Weaver said that immunity in pigs could last at least a decade. “We hope that would translate into humans,” he said.

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STATE'S NEW PRISON ALREADY BEHIND SCHEDULE, AND LIKELY TO COST FAR MORE THAN $350M

LINCOLN- Construction of Nebraska's new prison complex north of Lincoln is already behind schedule and is likely to cost far more than the $350 million lawmakers have set aside for the facility, which figures to be among the most expensive projects in state history. State officials had long maintained that they would build the 1,500-bed prison within the budget lawmakers approved and claimed construction would begin in the fall of 2024.

As recently as August, a spokeswoman for Nebraska's prison system said prison officials still believed they could build the prison with the $350 million lawmakers set aside last year to do so. But Nebraska lawmakers and state officials and legislators in South Dakota, where a similar proposed 1,500-bed prison is projected to cost $825 million, have cast doubt on that claim, which even Nebraska's Department of Correctional Services officials no longer appear to believe.

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LAWMAKERS MOVE TO END PRISON SYSTEM'S RELIANCE ON INCONCLUSIVE DRUG TESTS

LINCOLN- Nebraska lawmakers took steps Friday to limit the state prison system's reliance on inconclusive field tests to discipline incarcerated people suspected of harboring drugs, a year after the Legislature's prison watchdog raised concerns about the practice. Since 2018, Nebraska's Department of Correctional Services has routinely used "presumptive field testing devices" that resemble at-home pregnancy and COVID-19 tests to build internal discipline cases against inmates without seeking confirmatory testing, according to last year's report from the Office of the Inspector General of the prison system.

That practice, which runs counter to warnings in the user manual for the field tests, "increases the likelihood that people will be punished — including spending more time in prison — for something they did not do," Inspector General Doug Koebernick's office warned in the 26-page report published in March 2024. Lawmakers did not vote to end the practice Friday, but they did move to provide recourse for inmates who face discipline for suspected drug or alcohol violations based on the presumptive tests, which sometimes yield inaccurate results.

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LAWMAKERS WILL DEBATE MARIJUANA BILLS ON TUESDAY

LINCOLN- A bill that would legalize and regulate medical marijuana in Nebraska will finally get its long-awaited day on the floor of the Legislature. Speaker John Arch announced Thursday that state legislators would begin debate over Sen. Ben Hansen's bill (LB677) on Tuesday. The Blair lawmaker's bill, which was deemed a priority by the General Affairs Committee, seeks to implement the language of a pair of successful ballot initiatives passed by a wide majority of Nebraska voters last fall. 

The committee advanced the bill to the floor on a 5-3 vote on May 1, following a long series of negotiations among members. As amended, the bill allows doctors, physician assistants, or certified nurse practitioners licensed and practicing in Nebraska to recommend cannabis to patients who fall under a list of 15 qualifying medical conditions. 

Patients would be able to access and possess up to 5 ounces of cannabis products such as edibles, oils, or other nonsmoking products, as well as up to 2 ounces of cannabis plant products. While the amended form of LB677 does not allow patients to smoke marijuana — a method allowed by the ballot initiative passed by voters — it would allow patients to inhale cannabis through vaporization or atomization.

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STATE LEGISLATURE APPROVES $11.1 BILLION BUDGET FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS

LINCOLN- After grappling with a multi-million dollar projected deficit all session, Nebraska lawmakers passed a balanced budget, signing off on roughly $11.1 billion in general fund spending for the next two fiscal years. The Nebraska Legislature passed both mainline budget bills Thursday, sending them to Gov. Jim Pillen's desk to be signed into law. That doesn't necessarily mean lawmakers are done with budget debates, however. The governor has the power to line-item veto budget bills, and the Legislature retains the ability to override his vetoes.

The approved plan proposes a 0.9% increase to state expenses over the next biennium, which starts on July 1, 2025, and goes through June 30, 2027. It also closes a projected deficit that at one point was as high as $432 million, and will leave about $2.6 million leftover by the end of the cycle. The projected deficit has been in flux all session. It started at $432 million, then dipped as low as $124 million before it shot back up to $396 million due to new economic forecasts.

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BILL TO REDUCE STATE'S INHERITANCE TAX DIES AFTER FAILING TO OVERCOME FILIBUSTER

LINCOLN- A bill to reduce Nebraska’s inheritance tax rates and divert revenue generated through other taxes and fees to counties that use those funds failed to overcome a filibuster Tuesday night. Sen. Rob Clements of Elmwood, who has introduced several measures to do away with the state’s inheritance tax, fell two votes short of the 33 needed to send his bill (LB 468) to the third and final round of debate. 

The bill remained trapped on Day 78 of the 90-day legislative session, despite the Legislature giving approval to an amendment Clements said addressed concerns raised by several lawmakers. Clements said Nebraska continues to be “on an island” compared to neighboring states that have done away with the inheritance tax, but said he was willing to look for compromises to ensure counties were not harmed. The amendment, which was attached near the end of the four-hour debate, made smaller reductions to the inheritance tax rate while also removing some alternative revenue sources in his original bill. 

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LEGISLATURE ADVANCES PROPOSAL ON PAID SICK LEAVE

LINCOLN- State lawmakers advanced a proposal Tuesday adding new restrictions to a paid sick leave law Nebraska voters approved last year, and which has yet to be implemented, moving the proposed changes to the final round of debate. The way the voter-approved law is written, businesses with fewer than 20 weekly employees would allow those employees to accrue up to five days’ worth of paid sick leave a year, or up to seven days a year for larger businesses. An hour of leave could be earned for every 30 hours worked.

Employees, under the ballot measure law, can use paid sick leave for themselves or a family member for mental or physical illness, injury or a health condition or for a medical diagnosis or preventive medical care. Paid sick time could also be used during a public health emergency. LB 415 would remove the current law’s blanket sick leave requirements, letting employers offer no paid sick leave to young teens, ages 14 and 15, or to temporary, seasonal agricultural workers and workers at the state’s smallest businesses, those with 10 or fewer employees.

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FORMER STATE OFFICIAL THREATENS LAWSUIT TO STOP ENVIRONMENTAL TRUST FUND TRANSFER

LINCOLN- A former state agency director who successfully sued to halt a transfer of funds from the Nebraska Environmental Trust in 2020 is threatening to sue again. Jon Oberg, who once headed the Nebraska Department of Administrative Services, said a governor-proposed, legislatively embraced transfer of $15 million out of the state lottery-funded Trust to deal with the state budget shortfall is illegal, and if approved, would likely spur another lawsuit from him.

“We were hoping that it wouldn’t be tried again, but here we are,” Oberg said. He was referring to a 2020 lawsuit that led to the dropping of a proposal by the Trust to defund $1.8 million in conservation projects and instead award that money to install ethanol blender pumps at Nebraska gas stations. The lawsuit, filed by Oberg and W. Don Nelson, a former chief of staff under then Gov. Bob Kerrey, led to the dropping of the blender pump swap and an awarding of legal fees to Oberg and Nelson.

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LAWMAKERS NARROW, ADVANCE BILL TO DEFINE MALE AND FEMALE IN STATE LAW FOR SCHOOL SPORTS

LINCOLN- A bill seeking to define “male” and “female” in Nebraska law advanced Wednesday for K-12 and collegiate sports teams alone, no longer for school bathrooms, school locker rooms, or state agencies. State Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston ultimately supported Legislative Bill 89, the “Stand With Women Act,” on the condition that his amendment was adopted to limit the bill to sports. He said the amended bill preserves athletic competition without a “moral panic” against transgender Nebraskans.

“I did not run for office to become part of the ‘Nebraska State Potty Patrol,’” said Riepe, who publicly requested the change last month. Riepe’s amendment was adopted 34-8. The bill advanced 33-15. The “panic,” Riepe added, “is no different” than when some people justified “government overreach” to argue that video games make people violent, rock music leads to devil worship, and comic books corrupt youth. He said “reason eventually won out” and “cooler heads prevailed” in those cases. 

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LAWMAKERS WILL TAKE RARE OVERRIDE VOTE MONDAY AFTER PILLEN REJECTS SNAP BILL

LINCOLN- Nebraska lawmakers will take up a rare motion Monday to override Gov. Jim Pillen's veto of a proposed law that would eliminate a state ban that prohibits residents convicted of some felony drug crimes from receiving federal food assistance. The bill (LB319) from Sen. Victor Rountree of Bellevue would have allowed Nebraskans convicted of selling drugs to have their eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, restored immediately after they are released from prison or jail.

Nebraska's Republican governor vetoed the proposal, which seeks to reverse the 2009 law that prohibited drug dealers and, in some cases, convicted drug users from accessing SNAP benefits, hours after lawmakers sent it to his desk on a bipartisan 32-17 vote. In his veto letter to lawmakers, Pillen said individuals "that distribute or sell illicit drugs should not be entitled to taxpayer-funded benefits." LB319 is the first bill Pillen has vetoed this year and would require 30 votes to overcome — no sure thing despite the 32 votes Rountree's bill received Wednesday.

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PROPOSAL TO CAP STATE'S MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES STALLS

LINCOLN- Nebraska lawmakers expected to spend two hours Wednesday on a nearly inevitable proposal to slow voter-approved annual increases in the state’s minimum wage to a fixed rate, rather than the faster inflation-based bumps passed in 2022. Lincoln State Sen. Jane Raybould’s proposal faced a promised filibuster. Yet even her opponents knew the measure had the votes to be sent to the governor’s desk. Wednesday was set to be the latest example in a trend of the officially nonpartisan but GOP-dominated Legislature pushing back against a handful of ballot measures passed by Nebraska voters on paid sick leave, minimum wage, school vouchers, and medical marijuana.

But instead of grinding things to a halt, State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln began withdrawing her delay-focused motions to force an unexpectedly quicker vote on the proposal. Conrad asked for a roll call in reverse order, as one of the 33 lawmakers needed to tweak voter-approved proposals that changed state law was absent. Under the Legislature’s rules, the reverse order vote caused the missing lawmaker, State Sen. Tony Sorrentino of the Elkhorn area, to be considered “excused not voting” as his name is lower than on the roll, and votes are typically done in alphabetical order. This caused the bill to fail 31-17.

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STATE WORRIES RAISED ABOUT FUNDING FOR RURAL BROADBAND EXPANSION

LINCOLN- Nerves are fraying among those seeking to expand broadband service across Nebraska due to funding uncertainty caused by recent actions by the Trump Administration and the Legislature. However, a state official said he isn’t worried that the largest program, the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, enacted by the Biden Administration to bring high-speed “internet for all,” would be impacted.

Patrick Haggerty, director of the Nebraska Broadband Office, said Wednesday that his office continues to take applications for the first round of BEAD grants while it awaits “new guidance” on the distribution of those funds. Despite the cancellation Friday of a $1.25 billion “digital equity” training program by the Trump Administration, Haggerty said he has seen “no indication” that the $405 million in BEAD deployment funds sent to Nebraska is going away. On Friday, states were informed that the $1.25 billion Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program was being cancelled after President Trump labeled the program “racist and illegal” and unconstitutional.

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SOCIAL MEDIA LIMITS, LAB-GROWN MEAT BAN, DOMESTIC ABUSE SURVIVOR HELP, 28 MORE BILLS PASS

LINCOLN- Nebraska state senators sent 31 bills Wednesday to the governor for his approval, including measures requiring age verification to use social media, banning lab-grown meat, helping domestic violence survivors, and outlawing the use of credit card skimmers. The bills that passed included Legislative Bill 383, from State Sen. Tanya Storer of Whitman, requiring that, starting in July 2026, anyone wishing to create a social media account in Nebraska must prove they are 18 years old or older. Younger users would need parental permission. A parent would also need to prove they are 18 years old or older.

Lawmakers also approved LB 246, from State Sen. Barry DeKay of Niobrara at Pillen’s request, to ban the sale of lab-grown meat. Some lawmakers, including conservative State Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston, as well as the Nebraska Farm Bureau, preferred to label rather than ban the products, which aren’t currently available in Nebraska markets.

Lawmakers additionally advanced housing supports for survivors of domestic violence and sex trafficking through LB 78, from State Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln. It would increase the documentary stamp tax by 7 cents per $1,000 worth of property, which is on the transfer of real estate, a portion of which the state uses for affordable housing or homeless shelter assistance.  

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LAWMAKERS UNVEIL STATE'S 'ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL' AIMED AT PROPERTY TAX RELIEF

LINCOLN- A new “One Big Beautiful Bill” unveiled Wednesday will be the last train out of Nebraska’s 2025 legislative session for additional property tax relief this year. The new amendment to Legislative Bill 170, led by State Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth, would inject an additional $100 million each year into property tax relief, which would come at the cost of sales taxes being added to 20 currently exempt goods and services, effective Oct. 1, and increasing nicotine-based taxes on vapes (by 30%) and cigarettes (by 72 cents), effective July 1.

Proposed targets for expanded sales taxes range from animal grooming and dating services to lobbying and chartered flights, as well as soft drinks and energy drinks. Supporters have dubbed the LB 170 package as “One Big Beautiful Bill” in a nod to a federal spending package working its way through Congress with President Donald Trump’s support. “It’s why I came here,” State Sen. Jana Hughes of Seward, who worked with Brandt on the package, said of property tax relief. “It’s all I heard about.”

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NEBRASKA MEDICINE ANNOUNCES LEADERSHIP CHANGES, NEXT CEO

OMAHA- After more than 40 years in a variety of roles for Nebraska Medicine, UNMC, and the University of Nebraska, James Linder, MD, will step down as Nebraska Medicine CEO on Tuesday, July 1. Dr. Linder has held the CEO title since August 2018. The Nebraska Medicine Board of Directors unanimously chose Michael Ash, MD, to succeed him as the next chief executive officer of the private, nonprofit health system.

“Age 70 feels like a graceful time to step aside—creating space for a leader with a longer runway, while hopefully leaving me time to pursue interests outside of work,” says Dr. Linder. “There is tremendous uncertainty facing health care, but I have confidence that our organization is prepared to thrive in the next decade. As a nonprofit academic medical center, we have the people, knowledge, and culture to excel in our clinical, educational, and research missions.”

Dr. Linder says he and the board have been working on succession planning for the last several years, and the clinical, business, and leadership skills Dr. Ash brings to the role are the right fit at the right time.

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NORTH OMAHA 'INNOVATION DISTRICT' FUNDED BY $30M FROM STATE IS TOPIC OF MAY 21 PUBLIC INPUT MEETING

OMAHA- Community input will be heard May 21 on a plan for a new “Innovation District” in the North Omaha area, which is being funded by a $30 million state grant. The effort is to be overseen by the Omaha Inland Port Authority, the steward of the funding awarded by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. The public is invited to the 6 p.m. meeting at the Venue at Highlander Accelerator, 2120 N. 30th St. Representatives of the port authority will introduce the planning process and gather input to shape a vision for “inclusive economic development in the area.”

The proposed Innovation District is separate from the planned airport area business park project that is also being steered by the Port Authority Board, in partnership with a development team led by Omaha Economic Development Corp. and Burlington Capital. Funds for both projects were originally approved by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Nebraska Economic Recovery Act of 2022, though the legislation and funding sources have since been updated. On the Innovation District initiative, the port authority board has started to lay the groundwork for awarding a $546,000 consulting contract to HR&A Advisors Inc. Focus group sessions are to be held the day before the public meeting.

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CALIFORNIA AGREES TO REPEAL ELECTRIC-TRUCK EMISSIONS RULE; NEBRASKA LED OPPOSITION

LINCOLN- Nebraska’s efforts to fight California on new electric-truck mandates and related regulations largely ended Monday with California officials moving to repeal the proposed rules. In a Monday court filing, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Steve Cliff, executive officer of the California Air Resources Board, pledged to formally scrub from the books the “Advanced Clean Fleets” rule. The regulations, in part, would have required certain trucking companies to transition to electric trucks over time.

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers and his office led a 17-state coalition with the Nebraska Trucking Association to challenge the California rule. Last May, he said it could prevent Nebraska and other states from doing business in California or reaching its ports. Hilgers on Tuesday, announcing the “significant victory,” said the “tide is starting to turn.” Gov. Jim Pillen, who joined Hilgers to announce the lawsuit last year, thanked Hilgers for the fight that he said could have raised prices for consumers and which Hilgers said would have “been a blow to our supply chain infrastructure.”

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PILLEN ADMITS HE AND OTHER FARMERS 'MESSED UP,' EXPECTS NEW STATE AGENCY TO IMPROVE WATER MANAGEMENT

LINCOLN- In marking the merger of two water-focused state agencies, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen on Wednesday said he and other farmers “messed up” in managing water resources. “What’s really, really important is we go forward, that we all just have the courage to say the way it is,” said Pillen, whose family runs a Columbus-based hog operation and who became the state’s first farmer-governor in more than a century. “I’m a farmer. We don’t want to admit that we messed up, but we did. We’ve over-applied fertilizer, we’ve over-applied water, and we drove nitrates down into the ground, and we have nitrates in groundwater.” 

Adding that it was time to “stop talking about it,” Pillen said a motivation behind merging two state agencies focused on water resources was to lean on new technology and scientific advancements to “educate all farmers in Nebraska so that we fix the problem and start having measurable breakthrough results.” With that, the governor signed Legislative Bill 317, which he pushed and State Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth helped carry over the finish line. The law combines the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (DEE) and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) into the new Department of Water, Energy and Environment (DWEE).

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STATE AUDITOR RAISES RED FLAG OVER RISING COST OF RENTED OFFICE SPACE FOR STATE WORKERS

LINCOLN- State government is paying about 37% more to lease commercial office space for employees today than five years ago — a hike from $16 million to $22 million that the Nebraska state auditor described Monday as “far more than necessary.”

“It is important to note that this ongoing acceleration in the cost of renting government office space has occurred despite the number of state employees remaining relatively unchanged,” State Auditor Mike Foley said in a statement. Foley, saying that he doubted that the rising costs would abate any time soon, outlined his office’s concerns in a letter Monday to the Legislature’s Legislative Performance Audit Committee.

Foley added he was surprised to learn during the review that the state leases 1.5 million square feet in 193 commercially owned buildings in 37 Nebraska counties. His team offered recommendations “to avoid throwing taxpayer dollars down the drain in excessive rental payments,” including a possible study on whether the state should consider the purchase or lease-purchase of additional buildings and whether another state office building should be constructed in Lincoln.

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CHOICE TO RAISE TERM LIMITS ON NEBRASKA LAWMAKERS MAY BE ON NOV. 2026 BALLOT

LINCOLN — A proposal to let voters decide if Nebraska state senators should be able to serve three consecutive terms got second-round approval Friday. 

If the proposal continues to advance, it would appear on ballots in November 2026. State Sen. Robert Dover of Norfolk introduced Legislative Resolution 19CA and previously amended the bill for the vote to occur at the 2026 primaries in May. 

He said on Friday that he didn't have the 40 votes he would need to get the issue on the May 2026 ballot, so he shifted back to the general election. Having the vote on the more popular November ballot requires only 30 senators' approval. The proposal and various amendments in two rounds of debate have exceeded 30 votes.

Senators have said the two four-year terms that they can serve lead to high turnover and consistent loss of institutional knowledge. They said there is a steep learning curve, and it takes multiple sessions to get up to speed with all the issues and bills they consider. 

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