Last week was, without a doubt, the most difficult week that I have spent in the Legislature. As many of you know, we ended the week by considering LB626, the Nebraska Heartbeat Act, on its second round of debate. The bill would have prohibited abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected except for cases of rape, incest, and “health” of the mother. Unfortunately, when the motion was made for cloture in order to cease debate, we fell one vote short. Senator Merv Riepe cosponsored the bill and had voted in favor of the bill previously, but chose to be “present not voting.” Senator Riepe proposed an amendment moving the timeline from approximately six weeks (heartbeat) to 12 weeks, but without his cloture vote, we never had the chance to vote on the amendment.

Nebraska’s current law bans all abortions at 20 weeks except for the life of the mother. Today, approximately 2,000 unborn babies are aborted in Nebraska annually and 85% of these abortions occur after six weeks and almost all prior to 12 weeks. The most common reason for abortion in Nebraska is failed contraception. With all the remedies available today, I firmly believe that six weeks is the right time for an abortion restriction. In the end, it is about taking personal responsibility. I am confident the Legislature will revisit this issue.

In other action this past week, the Legislature moved LB92 (the banking omnibus bill) to Final Reading, along with LB191, which is the Business and Labor Committee priority bill. The committee amendment to LB191 incorporated LB249, a bill introduced by Senator Tom Briese and prioritized by Senator Teresa Ibach. LB249 allows nonprofit development organizations to apply for multiple rural workforce housing grants but caps the amount awarded to any nonprofit to $5 million over a two-year period. This should provide more money for workforce housing and be an important component in solving our rural housing shortage.

The Appropriations Committee will send its proposed State budget bills to the floor on Tuesday. The budget holds increased spending to 2.3% over the next two fiscal years. The primary distinctions between the Governor’s budget proposal and the Appropriations Committee package relate to healthcare and University funding. An additional $80 million in the Appropriations Committee budget will go to increased provider rates for Medicaid services, which will be particularly helpful for rural healthcare providers. The Committee also increased the State contribution to the University of Nebraska system from 2% to 2.5% over the biennium. There are also several big-ticket items included in the biennium budget, such as construction funding for a new prison ($366 million) and the Perkins County Canal ($574 million).

It is anticipated that the Appropriations Committee budget plan would leave $703 million for tax cuts and other uses. In their current form, the income and property tax relief packages total about $807 million over the next two years. The Legislature will need to consider reducing spending or revising the tax relief packages to balance the State’s budget. My prediction is that adjustments will be made to the income tax package. The budget is already very conservative and property tax reduction is a priority of many Senators – urban and rural. I am hopeful that the income tax cuts will simply be delayed and that the income tax rebate that refunds taxpayers for property taxes paid will continue. Property tax relief is clearly my highest priority!

The Legislature should begin to debate the budget on Wednesday and must pass the budget by Day 80 (May 18). On Tuesday, the Legislature will take up the Education Committee’s omnibus bill, which includes approximately 18 bills, on General File. We’ll also consider LB683, Senator Myron Dorn’s priority bill to increase access to E-15 fuel, on Select File. Finally, there are also a series of appropriations bills and a telecommunications bill on the agenda.

I am optimistic that the debate this week will be much more substantive than we have seen in some past weeks. I look forward to getting some work done for the State as we dive into the budget and can start to finalize our tax relief packages.

Please continue to submit public comments on individual bills at NebraskaLegislature.gov, or feel free to reach out to me directly at mjacobson@leg.ne.gov or 402-471-2729. My door is always open!