LAWMAKERS PROPOSE REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT NEBRASKA'S NEW MEDICAL CANNABIS LAWS

LINCOLN — Three similar legislative proposals introduced Wednesday seek to help implement the voter-enacted legalization and regulation of medical cannabis in Nebraska by later this year.

The legislation, introduced by State Sens. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, Ben Hansen of Blair and Terrell McKinney of Omaha, would create registry programs and further stipulate the licensing and regulatory duties of the new Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission. All three would allow Nebraskans, after receiving a written recommendation from a health care practitioner for medical cannabis, to apply for a registry card, identifying them as a qualified patient. The registry would similarly apply to registered caregivers, such as for minors.

The bills, which are all structurally similar with some key differences, are: Legislative Bill 651 (Conrad), LB 677 (Hansen) and LB 705 (McKinney). “The time is long overdue that Nebraskans in need of care have access to that care,” Conrad told reporters.

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LAWMAKER PROPOSES 'BACKUP' WINNER-TAKE-ALL MEASURE FOR NEBRASKA PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS

LINCOLN- The GOP-led push to change how Nebraska allocates its Electoral College votes for president has a new “backup” plan: a possible 2026 constitutional amendment. Since 1991, Nebraska has allocated its five presidential electors by awarding two votes to the winner of the presidential popular vote statewide and one vote each for the popular vote winner in each of the state’s three congressional districts. Maine is the only other state that follows the district model.

Legislative Resolution 24CA, by State Sen. Myron Dorn of Adams, would ask Nebraskans in November 2026 whether that practice should end and all votes go to the presidential ticket that wins the most votes in the state. It is “another choice,” said Dorn, should Legislative Bill 3, introduced by State Sen. Loren Lippincott of Central City at the request of Gov. Jim Pillen, fall short of ending the practice in one fell swoop. Dorn said he supports Lippincott’s effort.

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REPORT: NEW NEBRASKA PROPERTY TAX LAW MOSTLY WORKING BUT NEEDS SMALL FIXES

LINCOLN- State lawmakers have long been frustrated when it comes to finding ways to rein in Nebraska’s reliance on property taxes to fund local government, but a recent Tax Foundation report said a new law passed by the Legislature last year is helping. The analysis, commissioned by the Nebraska Chamber Foundation, said the legislation (Legislative Bill 34) championed by former Sen. Lou Ann Linehan and signed into law by Gov. Jim Pillen at the end of a special session “has teeth in ways that previous bills did not” in controlling property tax increases across the state.

But the Tax Foundation’s findings, shared with reporters in a Zoom call Friday, said the law needs to be amended to ensure local officials can keep meeting the needs of their communities while also preventing steep increases the law was designed to prevent. The law should also be tweaked to make sure Nebraska’s cash reserve remains at healthy levels in the event of an economic downturn, the report indicated.

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NEBRASKA LAWMAKERS REVISIT ONLINE SPORTS BETTING THROUGH BIPARTISAN PROPOSALS

LINCOLN- A bipartisan duo in the Nebraska Legislature is proposing legalizing online sports betting as a way of boosting state revenues, but only if Nebraska voters also stand by the plan. State Sen. Stanley Clouse of Kearney and Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln each introduced a proposal on online sports betting, which would work together to legalize and regulate the practice.

Bostar, a Democrat, introduced Legislative Resolution 20CA, which would effectively put the legalization of online sports betting on the ballot in 2026 if the Legislature approves it. Clouse, a Republican, said his proposal, Legislative Bill 421, would regulate the practice, but only if voters approve Bostar’s resolution.

Online sports betting has been in consideration by lawmakers several times, most recently during last year’s special session, when Bostar introduced a similar constitutional amendment that didn’t make it past the finish line. Opposition to past proposals was primarily centered on moral objections to the state facilitating something that could worsen gambling addictions across Nebraska.

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LAWMAKERS VOTE TO LIMIT 'SOFT NOS' DURING FINAL STAGE ON NEBRASKA BILLS

LINCOLN- Lawmakers can no longer give a “soft no” against ending debate or passing legislation during the Nebraska Legislature’s third and final stage of debate unless they have a conflict of interest. Most senators in the officially nonpartisan Legislature’s Republican majority backed a pared-down rules change Thursday from State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, passing it 31-17, but the measure had one Democratic backer: State Sen. Wendy DeBoer of Omaha, vice chair of the Rules Committee. She helped Kauth draft her amended proposal.

All but three Republicans supported Kauth’s proposal. Republican State Sens. Tom Brandt of Plymouth, Merv Riepe of Ralston, and Dave “Woody” Wordekemper of Fremont opposed the change. The narrow change adopted Wednesday will prevent senators from being “present, not voting” on procedural cloture motions to shut off extended filibusters during the final reading, as well as during the last votes on whether to send legislation to the governor for approval.

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LAWMAKER JOHN CAVANAUGH OFFERS 'CARROT AND STICK' PLAN FOR NEBRASKA'S YOUNGEST CRIMINAL OFFENDERS

LINCOLN- A Nebraska lawmaker Friday said he has a “compromise” of sorts for those wanting adult consequences for younger kids involved in serious crimes and those who favor a more rehabilitative approach. State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha introduced a bill that lowers to 13 the age at which a youth could face adult penalties for felony charges. However, under Legislative Bill 407, cases for kids accused of major crimes — as young as 13 and up to 15 — first would have to be handled in juvenile court, which Cavanaugh said is more focused on rehabilitation.

LB 407 provides that court officials could later transfer those child felony offenders to adult court to face adult penalties if they fail to complete the juvenile court program. Also to be considered this legislative session is a separate proposed law change urged by Gov. Jim Pillen, which would lower the age at which a child could be detained for an alleged crime from 13 to 11. It also would drop the age, from 14 to 12, at which a minor can be charged as an adult for the most serious felonies.

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ALL NEBRASKA TEACHERS WOULD RECEIVE RETENTION BONUS UNDER LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL

LINCOLN- All Nebraska teachers could receive an annual bonus under a proposed expansion of an existing grant program to recruit and retain teachers through 2028. Legislative Bill 411, from State Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln, would amend the Nebraska Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act, adopted in 2023, to automatically apply to all K-12 school teachers. The current law allows grants of $2,500 a year once teachers reach their second, fourth, and sixth years of teaching in the state, with retention bonuses as well for teachers in high-need subject areas.

The expanded grant amount would grow, depending on a person’s years of teaching experience. “We continue to talk about the need for public school teachers and the fact that we are woefully understaffed, and one of the things that we all agree on that would help with that is just to give them more money,” Dungan said.

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NEBRASKA LAWMAKERS WILL HAVE OPTIONS WHEN REVAMPING 'GOOD LIFE' LAW

LINCOLN — Nebraska lawmakers will have at least a few bills to consider this year as they work to fix, replace or even eliminate the Good Life Transformational Projects Act, which the state aimed at creating unique, tourist magnet destinations.

One measure, introduced Wednesday by State Sen. Beau Ballard of Lincoln, appears to provide another shot for Rod Yates’ mega sports-themed vision surrounding his Nebraska Crossing shopping center in Gretna.

Yates this month moved to terminate his good life district application that had been approved by the state early last year. He did so after reaching an impasse with the City of Gretna, which rejected Yates’ demands as too risky for taxpayers, legally and financially. Ballard’s Legislative Bill 637, which he named the Destination Nebraska Act, reads much like the original Good Life Act. It does not name Yates, but appears tailored to his ideas.

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RULES COMMITTEE AVOIDS ADVANCING CONTROVERSIAL RULES CHANGES TO FULL NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE

LINCOLN — A legislative committee considering 22 proposed rules changes to how Nebraska lawmakers debate and conduct themselves declined to take a vote Tuesday on advancing key conservative-led measures.

The Legislature’s Rules Committee instead advanced two relatively minor changes proposed by two committee members: State Sens. Ben Hansen of Blair and Teresa Ibach of Sumner, the chair and vice chair of the Legislature’s Executive Board that oversees daily operations of the legislative branch.

Hansen’s proposal, Rule Change 6, would allow all gubernatorial appointments other than for agency or department heads to be considered more quickly, in a single report by committee. That would allow the dozens of appointments that committees consider each year to go as one report, unless five or more senators request an individual nomination to be debated separately.

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PILLEN BUDGET PROPOSAL WOULD BURY ALL 'GOOD LIFE' DISTRICTS, BUT LAWMAKER HOLDS OUT HOPE FOR A FIX

LINCOLN- All of Nebraska’s “good life” districts appear to be in a precarious spot as Gov. Jim Pillen’s proposed budget seeks to deny $5 million a year set aside for the new state incentive that had been committed for multiple years to boost the buildout of those destination sites. Pillen’s recently revealed biennial budget package targets “Good Life Transformational Projects” as one of about 50 programs and incentives the Legislature and governor approved over the past five years but that Pillen now proposes cutting. It’s part of his strategy to address a projected two-year $432 million state budget shortfall.

Specific to the good life districts, the governor wants to reject roughly $5 million annually in incentives budgeted through 2029, for a revenue savings of about $20 million in four years. The plan notes that the benefit was to stretch longer, for up to 30 years — derived from a now-controversial cut in the state sales tax rate within the district boundaries.

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NEBRASKA NOTCHED SECOND-WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD IN 2024, BASED ON AVERAGE TEMPERATURES

OMAHA- Federal climate scientists’ announcement that Earth’s average temperature in 2024 was the warmest on record may have left Nebraskans wondering where the Cornhusker State fell on the temperature scale, but their questions are now answered. Nebraska last year recorded its second-warmest year in 130 years of records, while Iowa marked its third warmest year during the same period, said Eric Hunt, an agricultural meteorology and climate resilience specialist with the University of Nebraska extension service.

Nebraska’s statewide average temperature was 52.7 degrees Fahrenheit in 2024, second only to the average of 54 degrees measured in 2012. Hunt said no individual months were the warmest on record in the state in 2024. Only January and July had temperatures below 20th-century averages. Several months were in the top five warmest: February was second warmest and both September and December came in fourth warmest.

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NEBRASKA STATE EMPLOYEES UNION REACHES TENTATIVE AGREEMENT

LINCOLN — The largest union representing Nebraska state employees announced last week that its members would vote soon on a tentative agreement with Gov. Jim Pillen’s negotiators. The Nebraska Association of Public Employees, known to many in the state as NAPE/AFSCME, is set to meet and vote on the proposed contract for 2025-2027 starting Jan. 13.

The union has said it won’t release the language of the contract until after its members weigh in. But it highlighted some potential changes.In a Jan. 8 post to its more than 8,000 members, union leaders, including executive director Justin Hubly, wrote that they had secured raises of 6.5% to 19% over the next two years.

They also touted paid maternity leave, higher pay for people who speak multiple languages, better pay for some overnight shifts and more flexibility to donate sick leave to other workers. The union also highlighted having pushed up the minimum wage of state contractors to $15 an hour, which would help state employees better compete with contracted labor.

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NEBRASKA HAS NUCLEAR REASONS TO PAY ATTENTION TO TRUMP'S TALK OF BUYING GREENLAND

OMAHA- Even before returning to office, President-elect Donald Trump has the nation’s eyes turned north, with his recent talk of buying Greenland. The vast snow-covered island off Canada’s northeast coastline has long held the attention of at least some Americans: the military strategists at the Offutt-based U.S. Strategic Command, whose job is to protect the United States and its allies from nuclear Armageddon.

Last week, freshman Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., a Trump ally, introduced a bill he is calling “Make Greenland Great Again” that would authorize the president to negotiate for its acquisition. The bill quickly gained 10 co-sponsors. Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, isn’t one of them. He agrees Greenland is strategically important, but he’s wary of making threats to allies. He compared it to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric before seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

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NEBRASKA LAWMAKERS ADOPT RESOLUTION HONORING FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER

LINCOLN- The Nebraska Legislature adopted a ceremonial resolution Wednesday honoring former President Jimmy Carter for his devotion to public service and humanitarian work. Legislative Resolution 1 was introduced by State Sen. John Arch of La Vista, the speaker of the Legislature, on the first day of the legislative session, one week ago. All but one of Arch’s colleagues in the 49-member body joined the effort to recognize and thank Carter.

The resolution acknowledges Carter’s life around his presidency, such as his 1946 graduation with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy, his honorable discharge from the Navy with the rank of lieutenant, and the establishment of the nonprofit Carter Center, which seeks to improve lives in more than 80 countries. Arch’s resolution also highlights Carter’s 2002 Nobel Peace Prize win “in recognition of his efforts to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights and to promote economic and social development.”

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LINCOLN JUDGE ALLOWS NEBRASKA AG'S LAWSUIT AGAINST TIKTOK TO GO FORWARD

LINCOLN- A Lancaster County judge is allowing the Nebraska Attorney General's civil case against social media giant TikTok to go forward alleging the company has made misrepresentations under state consumer protection laws.

"We have filed this lawsuit to hold TikTok accountable for deceiving Nebraska parents and children and for the harm TikTok's deception has caused," Attorney General Mike Hilgers said Monday. Hilgers said he is grateful to the court for allowing the case to proceed "so that our office can continue to fight for Nebraskans and protect them from exploitative companies that would do them harm."

At a hearing in October, an attorney for the social media giant asked the judge to dismiss the case, calling the allegations the state leveled within it a matter of opinion and "puffery."

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BILL WOULD ALLOW NONCITIZENS IN NEBRASKA TO LEGALLY WORK AS POLICE

LINCOLN- A Nebraska lawmaker is seeking to make noncitizens who are lawfully present in the United States and able to work eligible to serve as police officers or county sheriff’s deputies. The bill (LB301) from Sen. Teresa Ibach of Sumner would help boost recruitment for law enforcement agencies, particularly in rural parts, as well as in cities and counties struggling to hire officers.

Under Ibach's proposal, “eligible aliens” — those who do not have U.S. citizenship but are in the country legally and able to work — could apply to become certified law enforcement officers. Those individuals, like other aspiring law enforcement personnel, would still need to go through Nebraska's training program and meet physical fitness standards, she added.

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NEBRASKA LAWMAKERS AIM TO DEFINE MALE, FEMALE FOR SPORTS, BATHROOMS AND MORE

LINCOLN — Nebraska lawmakers will seek to define “male” and “female” in state law, broadening a past effort focused on sex-based restrictions for K-12 school bathrooms and sports teams to colleges and all areas of state government.Legislative Bill 89, the Stand With Women Act from State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha and 20 other lawmakers, builds upon LB 575 from 2023: the Sports and Spaces Act. Now Kauth is trying to codify a “Women’s Bill of Rights” that Gov. Jim Pillen enacted by executive order in August 2023.

“We have to be able to say that a woman is a woman and a man is a man, and there should be some places where each sex has privacy,” Kauth said at a morning news conference Friday with two University of Nebraska athletes and all but one of her legislative cosponsors.

Abbi Swatsworth, executive director of the statewide LGBTQ nonprofit OutNebraska, described the bill as an “escalation” of Kauth’s past efforts.“Nobody’s ‘equality before the law’ should ever be put in jeopardy, and that is exactly what this bill does by touching everything that government controls,” Swatsworth said, quoting the state motto.

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PILLEN, SOME NEBRASKA LAWMAKERS SEEK TO BANISH LAB-GROWN MEAT FROM SHELVES

LINCOLN- Calling it a move to protect Nebraska’s ag industry, Gov. Jim Pillen on Tuesday announced his backing of three new legislative proposals — including one banning lab-grown meat from being produced in or sold in stores of the Cornhusker State. “It’s important we get on the offense so that Nebraska farmers and ranchers are not undermined,” the governor, flanked by two state lawmakers, said during a Capitol news conference.

Pillen, Nebraska’s first active farmer elected as governor in more than a century, called agriculture the lifeblood of the state’s economy. He said that while most people want the government “out of our hair,” he believes the state should protect consumers and defend agriculture. Of the proposed ban on protein food “grown in a petri dish,” Pillen said: “If somebody wants to eat that stuff, they’re welcome to it — they’re just not gonna find it in Nebraska grocery stores.” Legislative Bill 246 was introduced, at the request of the governor, by State Sen. Barry DeKay of Niobrara. Seven state senators are listed as co-sponsors.

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NEBRASKA KIDS COULD BE DETAINED FOR SERIOUS CRIMES YOUNGER, AT AGE 11, CHARGED AS ADULTS AT 12

LINCOLN- The age at which a Nebraska child could be detained for an alleged crime would be lowered, from 13 to 11, under a new bill expected to be in front of state lawmakers this year at the urging of Gov. Jim Pillen. State Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston said he plans to introduce the measure, which also would drop the age, from 14 to 12, at which a minor can be charged as an adult for the “most serious” felonies.

The legislation was briefly outlined in Pillen’s proposed budget distributed Wednesday to lawmakers. Riepe said he plans soon to formally introduce the legislation, which is being refined. The proposed legislation calls for a court hearing and a judge’s review to determine juvenile placement unless waived by both parties.

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FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER SAVINGS ACCOUNTS, NEW SALES TAX PROPOSED BY NEBRASKA SENATORS

LINCOLN — A state lawmaker seeking a universal homestead exemption for Nebraska homeowners is also proposing tax incentives for new first-time homebuyer savings accounts.

State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha introduced Legislative Bill 151 to create the “First-Time Homebuyers Savings Account Act.” It would allow taxpayers to annually offset a certain portion of federal adjusted gross income into the savings account — $4,000 for married taxpayers filing a joint tax return, or $2,000 for others with the new account.

The maximum values would increase with inflation starting in 2027. Tax-deductible contributions could continue for up to 10 calendar years, or the date of the account holder’s first withdrawal of funds not related to qualified home purchases. Cavanaugh said the goal is “to make the dream of home ownership a little bit more realistic for more Nebraskans.”

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