Parades and community events are in full swing. Two weekends ago, I enjoyed attending the Tri-County Days in Emerson. I had a good time along with my family and grandkids. The fire department fed everyone hamburgers and there were a lot of activities for people of all ages.

I would like to congratulate New to You on their 25th anniversary of being open, for all the scholarships given to Emerson-Hubbard seniors, money donated to the community, and to the many volunteers that give of their time to run NYT. May you be open for many more years to come.

Bill Updates

This week I would like to go over individual bills that were passed this past session or were Senator or Speaker priority bills.

• LB257, introduced by Senator John Lowe of Kearney, rewrites section 12-701 of the cemetery statutes to provide cities, counties, and villages with a process to revest lots purchased for internment or burial in a cemetery owned by the city, county, or village, if no one has been buried in the lot for at least thirty years. The bill provides for proper notice proceedings that allow the owner of such a lot the opportunity to file a valid claim showing they have not abandoned the lot, and further allows, the governing body to bring an action in district court to restore the cemetery lot to the governing body, should no valid claim by an owner be filed. New language is added to section 12-702 to allow the city, county, or village that becomes the revisionary owner of the cemetery lot pursuant to 12-701 to then sell the same and convey title to a new purchaser of the lot for purposes of internment or burial. LB257 passed 44-0 and was approved by Governor Pillen on March 11, 2024.
• LB1087, introduced by Senator Mike Jacobson of North Platte and was Senator Christy Armendariz’s personal priority bill, requires the state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to submit a state plan amendment to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for approval to impose an assessment on Nebraska hospitals. Under the plan, each Nebraska hospital would pay an assessment fee based on their quarterly net patient revenue. The total statewide assessment amount could not exceed 6% of the total net patient revenue of all assessed hospitals. Jacobson said the bill would allow Nebraska to access a federal program used by 43 other states and the District of Columbia that provides matching funds to help hospitals cover the cost of treating individuals on Medicaid. For each dollar assessed under the program, he said, the federal match in Medicaid directed payments would be approximately $2.19–a total of approximately $1 billion per year. Those dollars would be distributed to Nebraska hospitals based on their share of Medicaid patients treated in both inpatient and outpatient settings. The program will be administered by DHHS, which will receive an administration fee of 3% of the assessment amount, not to exceed $15 million per year. Of the total assessed amount, 3.5% may be used for health priorities including funding non-hospital Medicaid providers. That amount is capped at $17.5 million. LB1087 passed 45-0 and took effect immediately. It was approved by Governor Pillen on March 27, 2024. (“Hospital assessment program clears first round”. Unicameral Update. 16 February, 2024. https://update.legislature.ne.gov/?p=35607)
• LB857, introduced by Senator George Dungan of Lincoln and his personal priority bill, creates the Nebraska Prenatal Plus Program to cover the cost of prenatal services for at-risk mothers–defined as pregnant women eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program who a health care provider determines are at risk for a negative maternal or infant health outcome. Prenatal services under the program include nutritional counseling, psychosocial counseling and support, general client education and health promotion, breastfeeding support, and targeted case management. The program will sunset June 30, 2028. The bill also includes provisions of LB933, introduced by Senator Carolyn Bosn of Lincoln, that expands Nebraska Medicaid coverage for continuous glucose monitors to include individuals with gestational diabetes and those receiving any type of insulin therapy. This bill passed on a vote of 45-0 and was approved by Governor Pillen on April 2, 2024. (“Medicaid prenatal program approved”. Unicameral Update. 28 March, 2024. https://update.legislature.ne.gov/?p=36179)
• LB876, introduced by Senator Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue and a Speaker priority bill, expands safe haven provisions for Nebraska infants. Current state law allows for the surrendering of infants 30 days or younger in person at a hospital. LB876 raises the age to 90 days and provides additional options for a parent or a person acting on the parent’s behalf to voluntarily release custody of an infant. In addition to hospitals, the bill allows a parent or designee to surrender physical custody to an emergency care provider or at a fire or police station that is staffed 24 hours a day. No individual can be prosecuted solely for the act of surrendering a newborn under the bill’s provisions. This bill also appropriates $65,000 to the state Department of Health and Human Services in fiscal year 2024-2025 and $10,000 in FY 2025-2026 to develop, implement, and maintain a public information program regarding the bill’s provisions. This bill was passed on a vote of 47-0 and was approved by Governor Pillen on April 2, 2024. (“Safe haven provisions expanded”. Unicameral Update. 11 April, 2024. https://update.legislature.ne.gov/?p=36382)

As always, I invite you to let me know your thoughts, ideas, concerns, or suggestions by calling my office at (402) 471-2716 or emailing me at jalbrecht@leg.ne.gov.