Over the past two evenings, thousands of students have publicly shown their criticism of the University of Nebraska- Lincoln administration’s handling of sexual assault cases on campus, including a lack of support for survivors of sexual violence. It is clear that University leadership has already lost the trust of a significant portion of the student body on basic issues of safety on campus. We empathize with these students and their advocacy, and are deeply concerned that these issues have been of repeated public concern over the last several years.

Several Senators have written Chancellor Green. The full letter is linked below.

Senator Letter August 26, 2021

Special Session planned for September

Speaker Mike Hilgers has announced a plan to schedule a Special Session for the Legislature to address redistricting from September 13 through September 30th. 

The finalized census data in a preliminary format is expected in mid-August. After receipt of this data, the Legislative Research Division will need approximately two weeks to re-format the data into a useable form. This time line leaves two weeks for the Redistricting Committee to work with the finalized data to prepare proposed maps and draft legislation prior to the start of the special session. The law needs passed and the maps provided to the Secretary of State prior to October 1. This will allow the Secretary of State and local officials to have time to prepare for the 2022 elections. For instance, voting precincts cannot cross a newly drawn legislative district boundary, so depending on the newly drawn districts some voting precincts will need to be redrawn by county election officials next fall. 

The special session is limited to the purpose outlined in the call of the session, and no bills introduced outside the scope of the call will be considered. Specifically, and pursuant to the Nebraska Constitution, the Legislature’s redistricting responsibilities include redrawing districts for the Legislature, the Supreme Court, the University Board of Regents, the Public Service Commission, and the State Board of Education. The federal Constitution and federal law also place with the state legislatures the responsibility of redistricting for members of the U.S. House of Representatives. 

In addition to addressing redistricting legislation, the Legislature will be confirming gubernatorial appointments made between the end of our session in May and the beginning of the special session. Traditionally, the Legislature has always conducted confirmation hearings during a special session. While not specifically mentioned in special session calls, Attorney General Opinions hold that gubernatorial appointments fall within an administrative function of the Legislature, and thus, do not need to specifically be mentioned in the call. In addition to confirmation hearings and reports, standing committees may utilize the first few days to continue their interim work on study resolutions and to informally work on carryover legislation from the first session. No official action can be taken on any carryover legislation during the special session.

Page applications available to all Nebraska college students

The application process for the Page Program is now available to any Nebraska college

student who may be interested. The deadline for submitting page applications and letters

of recommendation for the 2022 legislative session will be Friday, October 1 at 5:00 p.m.

The page selection committee will meet in October to select individuals to fill those

Positions. For more information. https://nebraskalegislature.gov/unicampages/

Press Conference No Funding for Children with Disabilities Again This Year

Last week, a small group of legislators killed LB 376, a bill I introduced to create a Medicaid waiver, called a Family Support Waiver, to support children with Developmental Disabilities.  The bill would reduce the number of individuals on the A&D waiting list for developmental disability services that now has over 3,000 people.  Wait time is 6-8 years on average and is radically growing.  Because of the long-term critical underfunding and a service model that has not been updated for decades, Nebraska families with disabled children have struggled greatly.

The Family Support Waiver could make would help families provide care at home with services designed to help the disabled child develop to their fullest potential. For some, that would eventually mean being able to live independently. This is already a federal program available for state participation that includes a federal matching amount. I had worked with Senator Stinner to limit the fiscal impact of the bill and identify the funding in this year’s budget. The senators who filibustered the bill ignored the fact that the money is available and Appropriations Chairman Stinner had agreed. 

This fight has brought a lot of light to the issue and has solidified my resolve. I will continue to fight for these kids and families who desperately need our help.  The link above is a press release the ARC of Nebraska will be releasing. To continue to bring light to the people who need this funding, they are hosting a press conference on Thursday at 11 a.m. Please clink the link to learn more.

Senator Machaela Cavanaugh, Nebraska Legislature 402-471-2617

Newly proposed regulation changes relating to childcare centers and certain schools or school programs has garnered a lot of comments.   These proposed administrative regulations are in response to FEDERAL law and not as a result of any bill passed by the Nebraska Legislature. The federal Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014 requires DHHS to develop a state plan that includes group size limits for specific age populations, as determined by the State.  The group size limit is in addition to provider-to-child ratios. The federal law requires A PLAN but does not require certain ratio or size limits. The state can alter those limits in their state plan.

A public hearing on these proposed regulations was held on May 19th.  My staff attended the hearing and I’ve been in contact with local representatives from some of the affected programs.  While the deadline for public comment has passed, the department has indicated because of the large amount of feedback, it will continue to take comments but has asked that those comments are submitted ASAP.  Any comments should be sent to:  DHHS.Regulations@nebraska.gov.

Also, there will be another public hearing on this matter and another opportunity for parents and providers to weigh in on the proposed regulations.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

I’ve designated Legislative Resolution 29 as my priority for this year. LR 29 will create the Eastern Service Area Child Welfare Contract Special Investigative and Oversight Committee of the Legislature. 

The standing committee, Health and Human Services, will work collaboratively with the LR 29 Committee in studying the child welfare contract, the RFP (Request for Proposal) process and contract decision making process. The committees will also study the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Administrative Services with respect to the award, implementation, and oversight of the contract. Findings and recommendations will be issued no later than December 1, 2021.  

With allegations of financial mismanagement and poor performance of the current contractor, I felt this was of utmost importance. Taking care of these vulnerable children IS of utmost importance. The contractor, Saint Francis Ministries, has commented to the Health and Human Services Committee, that their original application and bid for the $147 Million services contract was fraudulent. The latest CEO of that company used that very word in their report. So, why should the State of Nebraska continue to throw money at the contract in hopes of improving performance? In addition to the original amount, HHS issued an “emergency” contract with an additional amount that makes their payments even higher. Why? Because until other plans can be made and implemented to take care of the 2500 children involved, there is no one else to do it. The decades-long experiment in Nebraska with child welfare privatization has proven over and over that the process is fraught with problems.  

Children in the eastern service area deserve better. Let’s see if we can get to the root of the problem.

A related bill is LB 428. Section 2 of AM 566 requires the Legislature to complete an evaluation of the “pilot program” of privatization of child welfare case management services in the Eastern Service Area by December 31, 2021. The bill would authorize the Legislature to hire a consultant to assist in completing the evaluation. LB 428 is currently on Select File, or the second round of debate. It is a Health and Human Services Committee bill that is very likely to pass. 

Here’s a recent television news article about the wait list known as the “DD wait list.”

https://www.ketv.com/article/3000-vulnerable-nebraskans-wait-years-for-services/35747215

Senator Machaela Cavanaugh introduced a bill in Appropriation Committee on February 24, 2021 to appropriate $17 million to the DD wait list.  This would not provide services to all the persons on the wait list but it would for an approximate 31% of the persons on the list.  Along with LB 376, a bill to authorize the Department of Health and Human Services to apply for a new Family Support waiver heard by the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, she hopes to make headway in getting services to adults and children with developmental disabilities. Jenny Koley testified telling of her experience living independently but with supports. Denise Gehringer testified as a family with a member who has developmental disabilities.  Thank you, Jenny and Denise.

Jenny Koley, Denise Gehringer and Senator Machaela Cavanaugh outside the hearing room after the hearing.

There are a lot of questions about those unable to work during the current crisis. First I want to thank the Nebraska Department of Labor and the Governor for their quick response to the pandemic, and for the work of. Below are resources available for those unable to work or working reduced hours during:

Short-Time Compensation https://dol.nebraska.gov/stc
● Employers can apply for this program.
● For those still working but limited hours during the pandemic period.
● The Short-Time Compensation program allows employers to uniformly reduce affected employees’ hours by 10 to 60 percent while permitting the employees to receive a prorated unemployment benefit.

Unemployment Insurance https://dol.nebraska.gov/uibenefits
● For those who are not able to work and not receiving a paycheck during the pandemic period. (If you are working from home or using sick or vacation leave then this does not apply to you)
● Under the executive order signed by Governor Ricketts starting March 22 through May 2 the following will be in place for unemployment insurance:
○ The waiting week for benefits has been waived
■ Benefits will begin immediately and not with the usual first week unpaid.
○ The work search requirements will be waived
■ Individuals will not have to apply to jobs in order to receive benefits. It will be assumed that they will be able to return to their jobs after the crisis is over.
○ Benefits will not be charged against individual employers accounts.
■ Money will be paid out of the general trust fund as the job losses are not the fault of individual employers.
■ Nebraska’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund is well funded and is expected to handle the increased number of applications.

Other Important Considerations
● Please bear in mind that there are expected to be long wait times when calling the Department of Labor. This is due both to the increased demand and the Department is also dealing with the same issues as all employers. If you cannot get through it is best to leave a call back number and you will be called back.
● Currently these programs do not apply to contractors or self employed individuals as they do not participate in the unemployment system. There may be coming Federal action to help these individuals. Please contact your Federal representatives.
● As we are aware the situation is changing rapidly. The Department and the Governor with his emergency powers can respond quickly as needed. We have been in close contact with the Department of Labor and will keep you updated.