It was a wild, short session for me, especially given that I started at the Women’s Fund on Day One of the 60-day session. It’s exciting to be on this side of the glass as a former state senator and now advocate for women and girls working alongside Nebraskans like you who care so deeply care about your families, communities and futures. Thank you for being our partner in this work!
Because this is the second year of the biennium, bills will not carry over into the next session. Furthermore, half of the state senators are either up for re-election or term limited out which means the 2027 session will bring many new faces, new bills, new committee selections and a new Speaker. But before we look ahead to next year, let’s dive into what happened over the past few months.
The legislature eventually passed a budget including the adjustments necessary to make up for the more than $600 million deficit that did not include harmful anti-DEI language proposed by Governor Pillen; however, it did so by implementing one-time sweeps from several important previously appropriated funds that provide essential services to Nebraskans. This means cuts in services across the state AND an even larger deficit to make up for in the next session.
FORWARD PROGRESS FOR GENDER EQUITY
✅ LB 110, introduced by Sen. Jana Hughes last session, passed early this session and ensures health care providers cannot perform pelvic exams on an unconscious person without prior consent. As we testified, informed consent is best practice for medical treatment.
✅ LB 304, introduced and prioritized by Sen. Wendy DeBoer, passed with a vote of 43-6. This assistance bridges the gap for families in the workforce who still don’t make enough to cover the rising costs of child care; and it allows providers to stay afloat while keeping children in safe and consistent care facilities.
✅ LB 751, introduced Sen. Ashlei Spivey, passed 47-1-1 and was signed into law by the Governor. The legislation requires a study to improve the reporting and investigation of missing Black women and children. More than 600 Black women and children have gone missing in the last five years. This bill will help to identify solutions to the issue.
✅ LB 753, introduced by Sen. Victor Rountree, passed through the consent calendar and was ultimately signed into law with a final vote of 48-0. This bill ensures military protection orders are recognized and enforced in Nebraska.
✅ LB 773, introduced by Sen. George Dungan, eliminates a sunset date for the Prenatal Plus Program and adds a minimum of two breastfeeding support sessions. Originally introduced and passed in 2024, the program provides Medicaid-eligible mothers, who are also high-risk, with additional health services, such as mental health support and substance use treatment, to improve outcomes for parents and their children. It was set to sunset, or terminate, in June 2028, but LB 773 was passed as a part of LB 958 and now extends coverage through the 60th day postpartum.
✅ LB 876, introduced by Sen. Bob Hallstrom and amended onto the Judiciary Committee’s priority bill, LB 935, passed with a final vote of 38-11. This allows immediate, short-term protection orders to be granted when someone is arrested for domestic or sexual assault. As introduced, it also would have prohibited the offender from possessing or purchasing a firearm, but this provision was unfortunately removed with an amendment.
✅ LB 966, introduced by Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh and prioritized by Sen. Megan Hunt, passed 38-11 after the introducer found a private funder to cover the costs for public school students. It was amended on the floor during debate to include private school students with those funds coming from the state General Fund. In the end, the bill expands eligibility for more students to receive free breakfast and lunch at school.
✅ LB 1131, introduced by Sen. Elliot Bostar, was added to a package of bills that became LB 901 from the Revenue Committee, which passed 36-13. This bill would terminate some tax exemptions for data centers and repurpose those funds by providing tax credits to local providers to fund services that address domestic violence and human trafficking.
✅ LB 1146, introduced by Sen. Danielle Conrad, was amended to the Education Committee Priority Package under LB 937, which passed unanimously by the body. The original bill ensures certain absences are not considered unexcused, especially for pregnant and parenting students.
✅ LB 1181, introduced by Sen. Carolyn Bosn and designated as a Speaker Priority, also passed unanimously and will expand the definition of “homicide victim” to include extended family and others close to the victim, allowing for their notification of bond modification in domestic violence cases. Additionally, it ensures their right to read victim impact statements aloud at sentencing hearings.
❌ After not having enough votes to pass anti-trans legislation directly, the introducer Sen. Kathleen Kauth, in the final days of the session, tried to add these harmful and discriminatory bills to other legislation. These attempts thankfully failed as lawmakers continue to resist spending time debating discriminatory legislation that would harm Nebraskans. Read more about these desperate attempts to enact bad policy from the Nebraska Examiner.
❌ LB 669, introduced by Sen. Tonya Storer and prioritized by Sen. Dan Lonowski, failed to reach cloture during General File which means the bill failed to pass. During debate, senators co-opted language around helping survivors of gender-based violence by conflating reproductive coercion and abortion care. The bill was introduced to further an anti-abortion agenda and add unnecessary barriers to care. Forced pregnancy of any kind, by a person or by the state, is gender-based violence. Read more from the Lincoln Journal Star.
SETBACKS FOR GENDER EQUITY
❌ LB 258, introduced by Sen. Jane Raybould last session and prioritized this year by Sen. Paul Strommen, was the first bill to pass this legislative session and it will reverse what voters approved in 2022, creating a sub-minimum wage for workers under 20 and adding restrictions to future cost of living increases at a time when everyday expenses are overwhelming hardworking families. Read more from the Nebraska Examiner and see how your senator voted.
✅ LB 878, introduced and prioritized by Sen. Dunixi Guereca, passed 41-7-1 with an emergency clause, but then was vetoed by the Governor and failed to receive enough votes to override that decision. The bill would have ensured that all state employees who give birth or adopt children receive six weeks of paid parental leave. We will continue to support paid leave bills because we know that new parents need time off work to care for their growing families without missing the pay they need to provide for their families.
WHAT COMES NEXT
During the Interim
As you’ll recall, a state senator resigned early this session after facing accountability for harm in the workplace and even after that, workplace harassment at the Capitol continued. For years, there has been a pattern of denying or delaying support for Nebraskans who experience gender-based and sexual violence.
Sexual harassment in public settings doesn’t just harm the impacted individual—it also sends a message about whether systems and bystanders will respond with accountability or failure. When those responses fall short, survivors can feel let down all over again. Lawmakers continue to engage in harmful behavior, dismiss survivors, and support narratives and policies that fail to protect Nebraskans. This not only fosters unsafe work environments but also limits women’s advancement in government and discourages broader public participation in policymaking.
Between sessions, we will be working with other organizations, including the National Women’s Defense League, to understand the scope of sexual harassment and assault in government offices across the state and country with plans to address this next session and beyond. Stay tuned for more on this issue.
Get Out and Vote
The Primary Election is coming up on Tuesday, May 12. This important step in our democracy sets the ballot for the General Election in November. Are you ready to make your voice heard?
→ Check your voter registration.
→ Know your polling place.
→ Find a ballot drop box (for those of you voting at home).
Get all the details and make your voting plan today at OmahaVotes.com.
Learn More About Ballot Measures
When people take the time to vote on a ballot initiative, it’s not a suggestion or a survey. It’s Nebraskans speaking. Every oval filled in at the kitchen table, every ballot dropped into a box, every “yes” or “no” is a clear instruction from the people how we want to be governed.
✅ During this 2026 session, the first bill passed weakened voter-approved minimum wage increases for Nebraskans and also capped future cost-of-living increases. There were also attempts to limit even more workers from earning paid sick leave as well as another try at using public funds for private schools, which voters have rejected time and time again.
A new ballot initiative, Respect Nebraska Voters, will change the number of state lawmakers required to undo or change laws voters have passed from two-thirds of the state legislature to a four-fifths supermajority. It also protects our freedom to vote on important issues facing our communities by strengthening protections for the ballot initiative process itself, requiring the same supermajority to prevent politicians from passing laws that restrict the people’s ability to bring initiatives. Find out where you can sign the Respect Nebraska Voters petition today!
❌ There is another ballot initiative being circulated by the name “Fairness for Girls” that would amend our state constitution and harm all women and girls. Like anti-trans legislation introduced the past few sessions, the goal of this petition is to erase transgender people from our communities and the collateral damage will be to cisgender women.
Laws that exclude people from sports increase gender policing and harassment, reinforce misogyny, result in invasive physical examinations (including genital checks) and add to a loss in privacy. Laws and ballot measures such as these create an atmosphere of fear and suspicion, dividing Nebraskans and providing no real benefits. Decline to sign when approached by signature collectors and make sure you are having conversations with your friends and neighbors about these harmful policies.