Floor debate and afternoon committee hearings starting for Nebraska lawmakers

BEATRICE – Nebraska lawmakers resume debate Tuesday of this week on two fronts…floor debate during the morning… and the start of committee hearings for this 60-day session, during the afternoons.

The state is going into this year with well above normal revenue and over one-billion dollars in American Rescue Plan Act funding to allocate.
Senator Myron Dorn, of Adams, an Appropriations’ Committee member, said the state weathered the economic challenges brought by the coronavirus pandemic, much better than expected. The state had $998 million dollars in reserve at the end of the most recent fiscal year. If forecasts continue to hold, that number could grow to $1.47 billion by mid-summer.

"Nebraska has never experienced that amount of money, of over a billion dollars. Nobody saw it coming. It shows the strength of our economy here in Nebraska...and how many other factors play into that."

Dorn said there are guidelines that must be met for the spending of so-called ARPA funds, which must be allocated by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026.

"It cannot be used for a highway project or certain road projects. It can be used for water, it can be used for some broadband. The main theme behind it is how you were affected during the last two years of Covid and how your entity or business.....they will look at things and say, yes, this was a Covid impact."

The Nebraska Legislature begins its floor session Tuesday, at 10 a.m. Agriculture, Education, Transportation and Banking Committees all hold afternoon hearings.

Two bills brought by Senator Tom Brandt of Plymouth are up for hearing Tuesday afternoon. A measure dealing with changes to the Nebraska Farm-to-School Program act is before the Education Committee…while a bill dealing with oversize loads on Nebraska roadways is before the Transportation Committee.