I want to begin my article by reflecting on this past week. Not in the Legislature, but Holy Week. Holy Week is a time for us all to reflect on what is important in life and a true testament of sacrifice. It is a great reminder for all of us as we begin the final stretch in this legislative session.

I am happy to report that LB1087 was officially signed by the Governor on Wednesday with the ceremonial signing taking place in Fremont on Friday morning. I was happy to introduce the legislation on behalf of the Nebraska Hospital Association, but I want to acknowledge that any legislation that passes the Nebraska Legislature takes at least 24 other Senators to support the bill. I want to again thank Senator Armendariz for making LB1087 her personal priority bill and for the 44 State Senators who voted with me to pass this valuable legislation.

LB1087 will bring over $1 billion in additional federal Medicaid funding to Nebraska to be used by hospitals throughout the state based on the percentage of Medicaid patients they treat. At this point, Nebraska will be the 45^th state to adopt this program. In addition to providing a much-needed lifeline to rural hospitals, several of the larger hospitals in the state will provide $50 million in nursing scholarships to help encourage more students to enter the profession and reduce the chronic nursing shortage. It is fitting that the beam signing ceremony was held on Monday for the new Health and Science Building at the UNK campus to bring medical training closer to the western end of the state. It is also important to note that our own Mid-Plains Community College has a great nursing program that is right in our back yard.

With the budget adjustments approved and signed by the Governor, we are now going to continue to debate how to provide true property tax relief. LB388 (as amended by AM3203) was discussed last week, and LB1331 (as amended by AM3264) was voted out of the Education Committee shortly before we adjourned. These two bills are intended to move together this week to be the outline to increase foundation aid to all schools and reduce the number of schools ultimately receiving TEEOSA funding.

LB388 includes an increase in the cigarette tax to $1.00/pack (currently 64 cents), raises the state sales tax rate from 5.5% to 6.5%, and removes certain sales tax exemptions to fund the additional tax relief. The proposal would also eliminate the current state sales tax on electricity and gas used for residential purposes as a way to further reduce the tax burden on low-income residents. Keep in mind that these bills are the introduced versions and will likely have several amendments prior to any passage. Like most legislation, it is far from perfect, but we need to always remember not to let perfection get in the way of success. I will support a final bill that achieves property tax reductions for rural Nebraska. This is a clear priority of my constituents and will continue to be my goal.

With eight legislative days left in the session, we have much to do in the remaining days. We will be having some late nights as we move closer to Day 60. It will be important for everyone to keep me apprised of any issues you may see in the remaining days since bills will be amended along the way, which could change the initial intent of the legislation. I will be doing lots of reading in the next couple of weeks.

I look forward to continuing to hear from you regarding issues that are important to you. It is a privilege to serve as your State Senator and I will continue to give my full effort to make a positive difference for the District and the State. You can reach me at mjacobson@leg.ne.gov or by calling my legislative office at 402-471-2729.