The Legislature began work on the budget this week. The main budget is determined in the first year of the two year biennium which makes up a session of the Legislature. In this 108th session, we are in the second year so the current budget bills deal with tweaks and necessary adjustments. I will come back to budget issues later in this update.

One of the bills I introduced this session was LB 942, to raise Medicaid provider rates for nursing facilities via a general fund budget allocation. It came to our attention that a federal program could be accessed to boost Medicaid funding for skilled nursing. The facility first pays into a federal program, and then those monies come back to Nebraska along with an additional percentage, bringing about $23 million back into Nebraska. I hope this will help stave off any additional facility closings like we have seen in the past year.

Procedurally, LB 942 will be amended into my LB 130 which is already on Final Reading. We determined this was the best way to get it over the finish line in the current session. A bit complicated but well worth it to bring these federal tax dollars back to Nebraska.

The first motion to override a veto by the Governor this year came in the form of LB 307 from Omaha Senator Hunt. LB 307 would allow local jurisdictions to authorize harm reduction strategies, known as Syringe Service Programs (SSPs), that distribute hypodermic needles to reduce the spread of infectious diseases such as HIV. SSPs protect the public and first responders by facilitating the safe use and disposal of syringes; curb outbreak of disease; and encourage intravenous drug users to enter treatment. The bill does not require any locality to adopt such a program, but gives the tools to address disease and drug issues.

I supported this bill from the beginning; I liked this bill because it did not require anything, it simply allowed local communities and health departments to implement this program. There were no mandates or requirements. I appreciated the local control aspect and the drug cessation program opportunities it afforded.

Originally this bill passed by 30 votes (only needed 25), but those 30 votes did not hold in the override attempt (which requires 30 votes), garnering only 27 yes votes. I did my own research and took several days to consider the input from medical professionals and drug counselors before deciding how to vote. I had conversations with Gov. Pillen about his veto, and with Speaker Arch who strongly supported the bill, due to his affiliation with Boys Town and experience with families affected by drug use. I saw more positive than negative coming out of this bill and did vote to override.

One of the most well attended press conferences I have seen occurred this week, sponsored by the Developmentally Disabled (DD) community. The goal was to demonstrate the desperate need for more DD funding in order to hire additional competent staff to care for this vulnerable segment of our population. The current private provider reimbursement rate is $15 per hour, and advocates say they need a minimum of $18/hour to be competitive in the marketplace.

People with disabilities are not being served well by the current model of funding. There are presently 2,638 individuals on a wait list for services in Nebraska. Providers continue to be critically short staffed and underfunded, not just from Covid but also before that time, and into the foreseeable future. Had we adequately funded providers earlier, we would not be in this situation. At this point, we now have to fund at a higher rate to catch up and fill in the ever increasing gaps. A better wage for staff would go a long way in making a better life for those with disabilities and for those who care for them.

As I indicated, most of our week was spent on LB 1412 and 1413. Both bills did advance after considerable debate. LB 1412 represents agency budgets where some find they have remaining dollars, and others may have had situations arise that require additional funds. LB 1413 deals with the transfer of funds between agencies and/or the state’s general fund. For example, there was an unexpected increase in TEEOSA (School) funding so that was allocated.

The deliberation about LB 1413 centered on whether the Legislature, at the recommendation of the Governor for the most part, should take excess funds and use them elsewhere; or if the funds should stay in the initial agencies for any contingencies that arise. The Governor’s proposal would have taken about $272 million back from various funds for the state’s coffers. As the Appropriations Committee, we ended up bringing back about $244 million of that. The Governor’s plan also redirected $10 million of those dollars toward workforce development projects.

Larger than usual fluctuations in agency budgets can be attributed in part to American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, and to inflation. In some cases, programs received ARPA money, which was utilized first before dipping into state appropriations, making it appear as if not all their budget was used. This one-time infusion of ARPA funds somewhat works against them in this way.

The complete budget can be found at a link on the Unicameral’s website at www.nebraskalegislature.gov. My contact information is mdorn@leg.ne.gov and 402-471-2620. As always, I appreciate hearing from you.