Yesterday marked the 80th day of the 90-day legislative session. As you might recall from previous session updates, it was also the deadline for completion of the budget process. As such, the Legislature passed the budget package, consisting of two mainline bills, LB261 and LB264, which were then sent to Governor Pillen. This concludes a two-week long debate, where lawmakers determined how to fill the $396 million shortfall that faced the state. Ultimately, a combination of spending cuts and agency cash fund transfers was chosen to close the deficit. Additionally, between now and May 21, the Governor has the power to line-item veto any individual appropriations within the budget, after which the Legislature may attempt to override with 30 votes.
Throughout this session, it has remained among the top priorities of the Greater Omaha Chamber to defend the income tax cuts passed in 2023 that are in the process of being phased in through 2027. This tax relief is a necessary step to keep Nebraska competitive with neighboring states while supporting long-term economic growth and is one of the first things businesses look at when making investment decisions, such as where to expand. With ten working days left in the legislative calendar, the Greater Omaha Chamber will continue to fight any efforts to go backwards on the progress we’ve made.
We’ll be discussing all of this in more detail during our next In the Legislative Loop briefing call on Monday morning, May 19 at 9 a.m. We’ll walk through the key elements of the budget, answer any questions you may have, and share what we expect in the final ten days of the session. If you’d like to join the call, you can register here.
One of the non-budget bills we’re focused on is LB415, which is part of the implementation of the Paid Sick Leave Initiative that voters approved in November. Throughout this process, the Greater Omaha Chamber has maintained that, from a technical aspect, there were several implementation questions that needed to be answered, in order for businesses to successfully comply with the initiative. As a result, LB415 helps clarify several elements of the measure. It lays out that employees start accruing sick time after working 80 hours, that employers aren’t required to pay out unused sick time when someone leaves a job, and that if an employee returns within a year, any previously accrued sick time is reinstated. The bill also creates exemptions for individual owner-operators, independent contractors, employees working fewer than 80 hours, and small businesses of fewer than 10 employees. LB415 advanced to Final Reading on Tuesday, where it will have one round of debate and vote, before it can be sent to the Governor.
If you’re interested in these bills, or any other legislative issues, we’d love to hear from you. While your Greater Omaha Chamber Public Policy team is hard at work right now at the State Capitol working to strengthen our business climate, never hesitate to share your insights with us on your state legislative priorities at advocacy@omahachamber.org.